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I pirate movies but also go to theaters at least twice a week and buy a lot of Blu-rays. What now.
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Dear Piracy Apologists: Downloading Unreleased Films Is Not Cool
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LeninGHOLA
Vladimir Hayt
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There isn't ever going to be a legal or more convenient way of getting movies before they are released.
I download movies, however my government and the corporations they work for are corrupted beyond belief though, so as I look to my government for what is right and what is wrong, I see them as worse than anything normal citizens can do at any point in their lives. It helps me to justify my actions. Maybe when bankers/corporations/lobbyists don't get away with stealing the world from everyone else, only then I'll give two flying fucks about downloading some movie and deleting it once I'm done watching it. If I was selling bootlegged copies, sure, but I'm not. Fuck them double standard having assholes.
Most laws are anti-consumer yet then they're shocked when people break said laws or demand they be changed, which they rarely are.
Most laws are anti-consumer yet then they're shocked when people break said laws or demand they be changed, which they rarely are.
Welcome to the real world.
That's pretty amusing after your excuses.
"Grrrr. Bankers are rich and mean, so I'm gonna download a movie to stick it to them!"
Hilarious.
Not sure why as the whole damn system is corrupted.. and yet you want to cry about people downloading shitty movies. Laugh at yourself.
Godmachine
[H]F Junkie
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Theaters are miserable experiences in these times. Most are falling apart because home video dominates to such a heavy degree. Why even bother going when in a few months (sometimes sooner) you can rent or own it and able to watch at will?
Most of the theaters I have access to have sicky floors (not joking and no not porn theaters smartass) sometimes ripped and destroyed seats and even ones with dead speakers. The employee's at these theaters know that their job is either transitional or soon to be nonexistent so often the customer service is pretty bad. The food costs more and more each year for no reason other than to milk you of more of your crash and that forces people to sneak in food so now they have more shifts of ushers going through the theater during the movie and I've even seen people asked to throw away their non theater bought food/drinks.
Couple that with sequels/prequels/trilogy bullshit now that makes or break a movie getting made and no longer supporting less known and less bankable IP's.
Hollywood is shooting itself in the foot with DRM and it turns off customers to no end. Everyone HATES DRM , it completely messes with your experience and they couldn't care less. If it was up to Hollywood you would watch all your movies exclusively in a theater every time you want to watch them. They loved the good ole days and are obsessed with profit models that mimic that.
Piracy is not the issue (at least not for the big guys) as study after study is proving that piracy can actually increase interest in a property. I know people that downloaded the new Expendables and after watching it are still going to see it because they want the big screen and theater quality sound system.
But Hollywood will bang its head into the wall over and over and over again..
Most of the theaters I have access to have sicky floors (not joking and no not porn theaters smartass) sometimes ripped and destroyed seats and even ones with dead speakers. The employee's at these theaters know that their job is either transitional or soon to be nonexistent so often the customer service is pretty bad. The food costs more and more each year for no reason other than to milk you of more of your crash and that forces people to sneak in food so now they have more shifts of ushers going through the theater during the movie and I've even seen people asked to throw away their non theater bought food/drinks.
Couple that with sequels/prequels/trilogy bullshit now that makes or break a movie getting made and no longer supporting less known and less bankable IP's.
Hollywood is shooting itself in the foot with DRM and it turns off customers to no end. Everyone HATES DRM , it completely messes with your experience and they couldn't care less. If it was up to Hollywood you would watch all your movies exclusively in a theater every time you want to watch them. They loved the good ole days and are obsessed with profit models that mimic that.
Piracy is not the issue (at least not for the big guys) as study after study is proving that piracy can actually increase interest in a property. I know people that downloaded the new Expendables and after watching it are still going to see it because they want the big screen and theater quality sound system.
But Hollywood will bang its head into the wall over and over and over again..
RigmoroleMotorCo
Weaksauce
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I'd love to find some content worthwhile enough to consider pirating, or even paying for... unfortunately, the movie industry produces so much garbage that people are doing them a favor by pirating their material, making it seem desirable.
I need to put headphones on when I hear the gf playing videos, I find them to be so shamefully bad. Garbage, I throw away that rubbish. One mans trash is another mans treasure...
Good movies: 5th Element, Fight Club, Natural Born Killers, Crash(1996), Ghost in the Shell 1+2, Brazil, etc...
I need to put headphones on when I hear the gf playing videos, I find them to be so shamefully bad. Garbage, I throw away that rubbish. One mans trash is another mans treasure...
Good movies: 5th Element, Fight Club, Natural Born Killers, Crash(1996), Ghost in the Shell 1+2, Brazil, etc...
Wrong again! I don't give two shits if people illegally download content for free. The only time I find you and your ilk irritating is when you attempt to ascribe some noble motivation or reasonable excuse to the activity. Isn't "I want something and I don't want to pay for it" all the justification pirates need?
Of course, I know why you and yours make excuses. It's the same reason people come up with lame excuses for anything they do: Because you know you're wrong.
No, wrong again. If they actually listened and cared about what the consumer thought piracy would go away as fast as it came. I was just stating on top of that from the top down in this country/world is corrupted and people want to worry about such small things as piracy. Cry about the important stuff, then and only then, I'll take the small things like piracy more serious.
1 in 4 US corporations now pay no federal taxes at all and more and more are moving their headquarters to Switzerland to avoid US taxes altogether, too big to fail businesses get bailouts, inflation of the money supply hurts everyone that can't have a 5-7% return on their savings every year, wars for profits, corporate welfare, etc. Yes, downloading a shitty movie is the real problem we need to tackle. lol Get a grip.
If you don't give two shits about it why were you crying there was no good excuse for it?
Doesn't make sense.
I take after the rich and the government, i don't fucking care if it's wrong.
Well the rich and the politicians do whatever the hell they want and the only people told to bind themselves to moral codes are the middle class and the poor.
No it wouldn't, economic inequality is getting higher and people like watching movies, the end.
Well if the people on top cared about the common folk economic equality would shrink, too. It's the same across the board, IMO. Double standard in this world and even if laws are made to protect the rich interests the people are still sick of the bullshit, either way.
They want to pay people slave wages then are shocked when the slaves start stealing apples to feed their family or sneak in some entertainment to temporarily escape their shitty reality.
Someone needs to look up the definition of pedantry and semantics.
Actually, what's silly is when people confuse pedantically fixating on semantics for a decent argument.
Stealing is a general term and can be used to categorize other behaviors.
Copyright infringement is a form of stealing. You are taking and consuming something that doesn't belong to you without paying its creator for it. What's more, it was expressly created so that it could be sold to you. That's stealing by way of copyright infringement.
Thanks for wasting both our time.
Yes, they are "depriving someone of their things."
The ability to derive benefit from the fruits of one's labor is a fundamental right. A pirate is not only depriving the artists/creators/communities of the fruits of their labor but also undermining the very system that allows those artists/creators/communities to create their art/products in the first place.
But again, certain types of people don't want to hear or believe that. Lest they feel compelled to stop getting things they want right now, and for free.
Hey. There are rich people in the world, so it makes sense that people violate copyright law.
Maybe if people were paid enough money to afford all the things they want all the time, fewer people would steal movies and TV shows.
I'm being deprived of the fruits of my labors too and so are most poor and middle class Americans. By paying upwards of half my income in some form of taxes, and, it just goes to a government that wastes it on bombing the rest of the world and giving their other rich friends no bid contracts (corporate welfare).
Again, lets all sit around a campfire crying about piracy when the WHOLE fucking system is corrupted. Yes, take and take and take from the middle class and poor and then when they can't afford to take the entire family to the theaters and buy their children $9-$10 tickets, $10 bags of popcorn, and $8 sodas... then sue them for stealing a shitty movie that still made tens/hundreds of millions at the box office. Can't win for losing with you people.
Corporations? Lobbyists? Bankers? Politicians/Governments? Oh, you mean, just the poor thieves, not the rich ones.
Corporations: Lets dump toxic waste that would cost billions to dispose of properly into the ocean and just pay the fifty million dollar fine for doing it.
People: All the good jobs are leaving the country. I work at a minimum wage job, let me download 'Frozen" so my kids can see it as we can't aford the theater prices.
You: Kill the movie pirates.
lol
I gather that this is part of the justification.
I can sympathize with independent content creators more easily... But I still want Game of Thrones to be fully funded. It'd be nice if HBO had a donation account for that show... It'd be nice if that were a workable idea...
It's now easier to create content outside of that system, but sometimes I do want to support the large projects.
1. Again, can't stress this enough, I'm only arguing with people who make lame excuses to justify their thievery. I don't care if pirates ever get punished in any way (and BTW, there are still some things I pirate myself - *shock*).Corporations: Lets dump toxic waste that would cost billions to dispose of properly into the ocean and just pay the fifty million dollar fine for doing it.
People: All the good jobs are leaving the country. I work at a minimum wage job, let me download 'Frozen" so my kids can see it as we can't aford the theater prices.
You: Kill the movie pirates.
lol
2. Do you know how much it costs to rent a DVD from a Redbox? It's $1.20 ($1.50 for Blu-ray). Renting a movie online, which is even more convenient, will only cost $2-4.
3. Your attempts to frame this issue as one of poor people just trying to get a little entertainment are pretty sad. Families simply don't have to go out and spend $60+ to watch a movie and buy expensive theater snacks, and they don't have to see every movie or TV show the second it's available for public consumption.
athenian200
Gawd
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I think piracy actually WAS pretty cool. Although, it was a lot cooler when it involved guys with eye patches boarding ships and getting into sword fights. Pirates of the Caribbean and Assassin's Creed IV were great.
A bunch of pasty-faced nerds sitting around watching a bar on a screen fill up isn't half as cool or interesting. So, if they mean that piracy is mostly boring and geeky these days rather than daring and bold, then I guess they have a point.
A bunch of pasty-faced nerds sitting around watching a bar on a screen fill up isn't half as cool or interesting. So, if they mean that piracy is mostly boring and geeky these days rather than daring and bold, then I guess they have a point.
D
Deleted member 126051
Guest
Okay. Going to disagree that Optimus on a Dinobot is going to get me into IMAX 3D.
Not IMAX, because you're chopping out nearly 1/3 of the frame to fit the IMAX screen.
Not 3D, because most 3D is so badly done about the only thing it adds to a movie is the need for a barf bag.
And, even in 2D, Transformers 4 was so jerkily jump-cut that I didn't need 3D to require a barf bag.
And no, I'm NOT exaggerating on this. I literally had to get up in the middle of the movie, run to the bathroom and throw up.
Now, I wouldn't pirate it (nor am I going to buy it). Because I have no desire to inflict that on myself again.
But Bay got his $10 out of me for my ticket. Kudos.
Similarly, I won't pirate unreleased films either.
Even so, equating every instance of a film being downloaded as a lost sale fallacious at best.
Also, how do we KNOW these things have been done a specific X-number of times?
And if we have the ability to obtain these sorts of figures, why was there not more effort put in to shutting down said torrents?
Oh, that's right, because stuff like this helps build buzz for a film.
And because every download is NOT necessarily a lost sale, it also stands to reason that such downloads might actually put butts in seats.
In other words, it's now part of modern marketing.
So people are going to make all this noise about "eeeeeeevil pirates!"
While on the back end, they're still raking in the cash.
And, if their movie bombs, they simply blame pirates.
The reason Hollywood is doing so badly now is the addiction to the expensive blockbuster production.
So they bet (yes, it's gambling) tens and hundreds of millions of dollars on these productions.
If the bet pays off, they make the same play again.
If it bombs, for any reason, it's "Oh, piracy!"
The reason most films fail is NOT piracy. It's because the films suck. Or at least weren't good enough to recoup their production and advertising costs. And, with budgets getting ever larger, the risks just keep going up and up.
Meanwhile, in case people haven't noticed, the economy isn't exactly in great shape. So people are economizing with their entertainment dollars.
A subscription to an online MMO can be anywhere between free and about $20/month.
So they can spend $0-20 and get hours/days worth of play and entertainment time on THEIR schedule.
Or they can spend $20 and go to one show, spend even more on food, and have to do it at a time that isn't necessarily convenient for them.
Don't get me wrong, and a theater is the preferential way to experience a film firsthand. But ticket and concession prices have been crazy for YEARS, and are slowly slipping into "are you friggin' KIDDING ME?" range. Especially with the rush to 3D as an excuse to tack on a few bucks to a ticket price. Or "premium theaters", meaning a place with slightly nicer seating where you can buy actual REAL FOOD (not hotdogs that have been on the rollers since the original Star Wars debut, or nasty nachoes, or $8 for a box containing a quarter-microgram of Junior Mints, washed down with a $7 water-down soda in a cup brimming with ice).
Sorry, but our current economy simply CANNOT continue to support the industry this way. And, at some point, they may ACTUALLY catch on to this.
But I won't be holding my breath.
Not IMAX, because you're chopping out nearly 1/3 of the frame to fit the IMAX screen.
Not 3D, because most 3D is so badly done about the only thing it adds to a movie is the need for a barf bag.
And, even in 2D, Transformers 4 was so jerkily jump-cut that I didn't need 3D to require a barf bag.
And no, I'm NOT exaggerating on this. I literally had to get up in the middle of the movie, run to the bathroom and throw up.
Now, I wouldn't pirate it (nor am I going to buy it). Because I have no desire to inflict that on myself again.
But Bay got his $10 out of me for my ticket. Kudos.
Similarly, I won't pirate unreleased films either.
Even so, equating every instance of a film being downloaded as a lost sale fallacious at best.
Also, how do we KNOW these things have been done a specific X-number of times?
And if we have the ability to obtain these sorts of figures, why was there not more effort put in to shutting down said torrents?
Oh, that's right, because stuff like this helps build buzz for a film.
And because every download is NOT necessarily a lost sale, it also stands to reason that such downloads might actually put butts in seats.
In other words, it's now part of modern marketing.
So people are going to make all this noise about "eeeeeeevil pirates!"
While on the back end, they're still raking in the cash.
And, if their movie bombs, they simply blame pirates.
The reason Hollywood is doing so badly now is the addiction to the expensive blockbuster production.
So they bet (yes, it's gambling) tens and hundreds of millions of dollars on these productions.
If the bet pays off, they make the same play again.
If it bombs, for any reason, it's "Oh, piracy!"
The reason most films fail is NOT piracy. It's because the films suck. Or at least weren't good enough to recoup their production and advertising costs. And, with budgets getting ever larger, the risks just keep going up and up.
Meanwhile, in case people haven't noticed, the economy isn't exactly in great shape. So people are economizing with their entertainment dollars.
A subscription to an online MMO can be anywhere between free and about $20/month.
So they can spend $0-20 and get hours/days worth of play and entertainment time on THEIR schedule.
Or they can spend $20 and go to one show, spend even more on food, and have to do it at a time that isn't necessarily convenient for them.
Don't get me wrong, and a theater is the preferential way to experience a film firsthand. But ticket and concession prices have been crazy for YEARS, and are slowly slipping into "are you friggin' KIDDING ME?" range. Especially with the rush to 3D as an excuse to tack on a few bucks to a ticket price. Or "premium theaters", meaning a place with slightly nicer seating where you can buy actual REAL FOOD (not hotdogs that have been on the rollers since the original Star Wars debut, or nasty nachoes, or $8 for a box containing a quarter-microgram of Junior Mints, washed down with a $7 water-down soda in a cup brimming with ice).
Sorry, but our current economy simply CANNOT continue to support the industry this way. And, at some point, they may ACTUALLY catch on to this.
But I won't be holding my breath.
Justintoxicated
[H]F Junkie
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While this is arguably true, it's also entirely irrelevant to the topic. Government confiscation of your money is done at the point of a gun (in the end). Last time I checked, consuming popular media and culture created by ever-despised corporations wasn't compulsory.
I'm pretty sure people are also out there somewhere talking about Star Wars. Better go put a stop to that as well.
Again, there's a certain scope and relevant context to this discussion. You're far outside it. We could discuss what you want to discuss, but then we'd no longer be discussing the topic of this thread.
There are cost-effective ways of consuming that media. Netflix, a $3 rental on iTunes, Amazon or even Amazon Prime. Oh, but by all means, while launching your revolution, let's pretend that we all have a constitutionally protected right to cheap movie theater seats while going all Tea Party (with whom I have no problem) on the System.
The movie theater experience is now aimed at teenagers with disposable income. Families aren't the target anymore. So that's not a terribly persuasive argument.
I have a feeling that a certain type of person will justify pretty much everything they do because they're just so very angry at the system.
It's like that classic Forrest Gump moment right after Jenny's boyfriend strikes her: "I'm sorry babe. You know I'd never hurt you. It's just this war and that lying sunnuvabitch Johnson!"
Your politics, however noble you might consider them, doesn't make your illegal/immoral/questionable actions any less illegal/immoral/questionable. It just allows you to sleep at night by giving you a convenient rationale for your actions . . . so long as it is never put under any amount of real scrutiny.
"You know I'd never take anything that didn't belong to me. I'm honest! It's just this damn income inequality and those lying bankers and CEOs!"
It's like that classic Forrest Gump moment right after Jenny's boyfriend strikes her: "I'm sorry babe. You know I'd never hurt you. It's just this war and that lying sunnuvabitch Johnson!"
Your politics, however noble you might consider them, doesn't make your illegal/immoral/questionable actions any less illegal/immoral/questionable. It just allows you to sleep at night by giving you a convenient rationale for your actions . . . so long as it is never put under any amount of real scrutiny.
"You know I'd never take anything that didn't belong to me. I'm honest! It's just this damn income inequality and those lying bankers and CEOs!"
RealityCrunch
[H]ard|Gawd
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But, that would make Robin Hood the bad guy
"You know I'd never steal. It's just this damn income inequality!"
"You know I'd never steal. It's just this damn income inequality!"
RealityCrunch
[H]ard|Gawd
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Silly emoticons. not
not Excuses run the world. You don't have to accept them. It's not illegal to lie either.
Yes, downloading movies is like beating on a female...lol.
So like politics in general, got it.
Or I think like the lying CEO's and bankers and if I can get it and get away with it no crime was committed. It's a dog eat dog world and only fools think they should care to be fair when the whole system is designed to exploit the weak.
That reminds me of something else that makes this particular piracy rationale so dumb. At least Robin Hood was stealing directly from the aristocrats - specifically, whatever fancy stuff and cash they had on them as they traveled the countryside.But, that would make Robin Hood the bad guy
"You know I'd never steal. It's just this damn income inequality!"
Copyright violations like this, when they happen in lieu of paying for them legally (yes, I know it's not a 1:1 relationship, but we're talking about the moronic notion that it's some sort of protest as opposed to taking what one would never have paid for anyway), affect a lot more people than just the fat cats in suits who don't contribute creatively. Movies and TV shows, especially the ones that get frequently pirated, are very expensive to make and their production employs a lot of people. Damaging the income stream of a movie/TV show almost certainly won't be felt by the people who are already wealthy; it could, however, damage the industry and make things harder for the people at the bottom of it.
RealityCrunch
[H]ard|Gawd
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Bah, now you're just over-thinking it "stealing is stealing is stealing"
"stealing is stealing is stealing"SS_Wehrwolf
Gawd
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"In other words, don't buy the movie ticket if you don't agree with the parameters."
Ok. I will just pirate the movie instead. Thanks for the peptalk asshat.
Ok. I will just pirate the movie instead. Thanks for the peptalk asshat.
Your rationale is dumber. This isn't about robin hood, he was cracking a joke, genius. And by the way last time I checked the aristocrats have small armies protecting them all the time or they would be getting eaten by the poor.
It's not about protesting anything...lol. It's simply when poor people sooner or later wild the fuck out and just not give two shits what laws are what. See: The rest of the world. Now go back to your TV dinner and recliner analysis.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MU5rMO65ZTg
But, that would make Robin Hood the bad guy
"You know I'd never steal. It's just this damn income inequality!"
Yes.
I was taught in church that thievery was a sin punishable by an eternity in hell.
It doesn't matter what the intentions are, or if you're stealing back what was stolen from you, you're going to hell.
Better let the kids starve or not get that life saving medicine if it puts their soul in jeopardy.
Which made me start thinking religion is a tool the powerful use to keep the masses in check and prevent them from rising up against the tyrants that run our lives.
RealityCrunch
[H]ard|Gawd
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Was Jesus the first Pirate? He bought a few loaves of bread and made a whole bunch of duplicates, essentially robbing the bakers from a lot of potential sales
Religion IS nothing but a tool to control the uneducated masses. Any creator of mine would say fuck paying Caesar shit as he'll squander it on protection from the poor, hookers, and wars to steal other peoples shit, too....lol.