Just when it started to look like Hollywood was getting it, they’re back to punishing their fans for the sins of movie pirates. This time it’s the movie lovers of Canada that they’re threatening to kick in the groin.
According to 20th Century Fox, the country is a “piracy hotbed”. Pirates with camcorders invading theaters has become an epidemic there, and Fox feels the country isn’t doing enough to stop it. So, The Hollywood Reporter says they’re threatening to either refuse to release their films to theaters where a camcorder has been used to produce pirated DVDs or worse, delay the release of their movies to all Canadian cinemas.
Will that stop Canadian pirates? Well it’ll certainly slow them down. But it’ll also piss off and alienate most of their Canadian viewers too. Shouldn’t the people paying to buy tickets to movies be their first priority? This isn’t Uganda we’re talking about here. It’s Canada. It’s practically America. Fox is treating them like a third world country.
Fox distribution president Bruce Snyder says, “Look, this is their primary business. Any interruption in the flow of product to their theaters has to be alarming. But we're asking our partners to protect our content. They're the first line of defense to thwart the pirates.” But apparently the theaters hands are tied. In Canada they aren’t allowed to arrest or prosecute moviegoers with camcorders. So what is Fox supposed to do? Apparently they see cutting off their nose to spite their face as the best option.
I’ll never understand how selling bootlegs made with a camcorder can be a profitable business anyway. Who is buying these things? Most of the time the picture is terrible, almost unwatchable and forget about the sound. I understand why people might download transfers made from screeners, but that’s not what we’re talking about here. This doesn’t make sense, unless it’s being purchased by people in other countries who aren’t getting Hollywood movies except in long-delayed releases. If that’s the case, then by putting Canada on the delayed release schedule they’re just creating a whole new market for pirated videos. Smart Fox. Real smart.
