Blogtown, PDX

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Film Let’s Go to the Movies Bit Torrent.

Posted by Erik Henriksen on Thu, Jun 21 at 12:40 PM

scaled.arrrrrghright.jpg As you probably already know—you internet savvy Blogtown reader, you—it’s pretty standard for leaked copies of movies to hit torrent sites either immediately after or shortly before a film’s official release. But this summer’s already got a few major leaks of movies way before their releases: Whiny torture pornographer Eli Roth blamed a leaked work print of Hostel II for his movie’s failure at the box office, Michael Moore’s eagerly anticipated Sicko—officially out on June 29—is already available for torrenting, and now Dark Horizons has the word that Pixar’s latest, Ratatouille (also out on June 29), has also been leaked.

A lot of times when I have to go to a press screening, there’s a whole shebang—I get wanded, there’s a security guard keeping an eye on things during the movie, sometimes I get a written request not to give anything away, and there are strict restrictions on how early we can print a film’s review. Hollywood’s definitely aware of the problem of films getting leaked early, and they’re (futilely) trying to stop films from getting onto the internet before they land in theaters.

Unfortunately, they’re going about it the wrong way. Downloading has two major benefits over theater going. First, even when you factor in the costs of internet, etc., it’s way cheaper than paying for a ticket. And—and this, I think, is an even bigger problem—going to movies simply isn’t all that enjoyable anymore. Theaters have proven far too slow at keeping up with technology, even as theater behavior and pre-show advertising has worsened. Also, DVD and home theaters have raised expectations—honestly, I don’t even have that swanky of a set-up, and shit still looks/sounds better on my TV than it does in most theaters. Theaters need to get their shit together—cheaper tickets, no cell phones, kicking out people who won’t shut the fuck up, HD digital projection in every auditorium, etc.—if they want to take the experience of watching a movie back from the internet.

All the same, downloading isn’t going to go away. As loathe as theater owners might be to admit it, the best solution is probably offering day-and-date releases, in which you’d have two options on opening day: Go out and see a movie in a great setting, or download it and watch it in the convenience of your home. So in this instance, sure, you could download an okay version of Ratatouille at home, legally and cheaply, or you could cough up a little more cash to go see it in a nice theater. (And in Ratatouille’s case, seeing it projected HD/digitally on a big screen is pretty much the only way to go—this movie is gorgeous.) That way, those who don’t care about the theater going experience can still legally support the movies they want to see at a reasonable, affordable price (think iTunes), while those who want to go out and make a night of it can get an experience they couldn’t get from sitting at home on the couch.

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Comments

I agree Erik that many movie theaters aren't enjoyable any more. Sharing one's space with other people's children—tsk. Add to that suburban perception problems with downtown Portland (all those homeless widely touted by the Portland Business Alliance as the reason for "downtown dying") and the general public has plenty of reasons to stay home.

But that might not be a bad thing, because there are still those of us who like to consider ourselves above the "general public"—and who are happy to pay for the fleeting illusion of having our beliefs confirmed. People who like to visit a movie theater for more sophisticated reasons.

Nothing is better, for example, than sitting in the bar of the Living Room Theaters on a Saturday afternoon—sipping an expensive drink and displaying one's plumage for Portland's hoy-paloy to marvel at. I just love those nice big windows.

I agree with you about the technology gap being thinner than ever, but when we're talking existential uplift, the Living Room Theaters still competes with my couch. In fact, their couches are a lot nicer than our $80 job from Target...plus it's always nice to get out of the house.

Posted by Matt Davis | June 21, 2007 1:37 PM

Spot on!

Crappy movies fail because they suck, not because they were leaked. If anything, the movie leaking on the web keeps good people from paying good $$$ to see a crappy movie. Rarely have I left a movie theater in the last 5 years saying "That Sucked", thanks to the internet and the ability to 'preview' a movie.

Thank you interwebs for saving me from seeing shitty movies! Screw you, Hollywood, for trying to shaft people into seeing your crap!

Posted by Tony in the couve | June 21, 2007 1:42 PM

I was just reading yesterday about a movie that was planned for DVD release just six months after the release in theaters... and the theater companies were refusing to show the movie in protest. They had to scrap the DVD release plans to get theaters to show the movie (but then the movie did so poorly, they ended up releasing it six weeks later anyway). I can't remember what movie it was, though, something recent.

So, anyway, expect major pushback from the theaters if they ever try to do a download/theater simultaneous release...

Posted by no one in particular | June 21, 2007 1:58 PM

Yes, those awful hoy-paloy. Filthy traiters.

Posted by tODD | June 21, 2007 2:21 PM

Oh Todd, don't go there!

You should know by now that the Mercury is loathe to edit or spell check blog posts.

Posted by Sans Soleil | June 21, 2007 2:50 PM

I would like to see the business model of a movie theater that charges $0.99 with top of the line digital projection and sound systems. Those $3 theaters don't make their money from the ticket price, they make it from concessions.

Posted by ragold | June 21, 2007 3:13 PM

I don't have time to screw around with torrents. I would gladly pay for a quick, easy, high quality download or better yet, just add it to my already great Comcast On-Demand.

Why we don't have simultaneous theater-internet-cable-satellite-DVD releases is beyond me. The theater owners are that powerful? I thought Hollywood was in charge. Bunch of old shrivs I guess.

Posted by G | June 21, 2007 3:20 PM

Hoi Polloi. Awfly sory.

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Posted by rewq4545 | June 30, 2007 7:00 AM

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