p2pnet news | Movies:- “These are strange times indeed. While they continue to command so much attention in the mainstream media, the ‘battles’ between old and new modes of distribution, between the pirate and the institution of copyright, seem to many of us already lost and won. We know who the victors are. Why then say any more?”

That’s from the intro on the Steal This Film: Part II site.

In August, “Here’s a movie MPAA boss China Dan Glickman and his Hollywood employers aren’t going to like,” p2pnet posted, going on, “It’s called Steal This Film and it was made by the League of Noble Peers, an open network of people, ‘qualified neither by name, age or state’.

Part I was, “quite accidentally, made by porn producers, lawyers and programmers,” LNP told p2pnet. “Part II may be very different. If there’s one point that we’d like to get across, it’s that authorship is dead, buried and done with.”

The dank, dark reaches

Cyberspace has opened whole new realms of communications —- except down in the dank, dark reaches where dwell those who run the entertainment cartels. There, time stands still, locked into the physical 1970s where total control and corporate domination are the key phrases.

In the world of movies, people such as Canada’s Devon Grey, owner of Updoc films, are dancing rings around the corporate mastadons, mired in tarpits of greed as they desperately try to remain relevant.

“Our goal isn’t to become a large production company, but rather to continue as an outreach for people who want to make movies while staying true to their creative vision,” says Grey, going on:

It’s easy to say we refuse corporate sponsorship while operating at such a small level, but in this day and age, when the Internet makes getting discovered so effortless, Updoc Films continues to keep rejection of product placement an issue by highlighting the true nature of its relationship with the movie industry. This stance isn’t going to win us any popularity points among the powers that be and there will always be people who just don’t want to be woken up, but we’re okay with that. Alongside our creations are an array of features that shine a spotlight on the underbelly of the movie and advertising industries. Until their relationship and agenda become transparent, Updoc Films will keep supporting projects that highlight them.

‘We know who the victors are.’

This June, “Do you have a message for the content industries?” – asked the League of Noble Peers. “Then we need you!”

Now, “Because waves of repression continue to come,” says the League.

• Lawsuits are still levied against innocent people.
• Arrests are still made on flimsy pretexts to terrify and confuse.
• Harsh laws are still enacted against filesharing, taking their place in the gradual erosion of our privacy and the bolstering of the surveillance state.

And, “All of this is intended to destroy or delay inexorable changes in what it means to create and exchange our creations,” says the LNP, adding:

“If STEAL THIS FILM II proves at all useful in bringing new people into the leagues of those now prepared to think ‘after intellectual property’, think creatively about the future of distribution, production and creativity, we have achieved our main goal.

“It has been an exciting and demanding year for us and we really hope you’ll enjoy the work we’ve done. It would not have been possible without the the thousands of donations you have given us. We have a plan for the future and if you would like to continue to support us, go here“:

You know what to do ……

Meanwhile:

Q: How many downloads have you had of STEAL THIS FILM?

A: Someone recently told us 5 million, which was nice to imagine – but we put the number closer to 2.7m. We’re not sure how many viewers there are for each download, or how many people re-distribute STEAL THS FILM using disks and local networks. But we estimate conservatively at 1.2 distributions for each download and 1.5 viewers for each copy, so…

Click here to download Steal This Film II

And stay tuned.

Slashdot it!

Also see:
p2pnet – Steal This Film: Thanks : ), August 28, 2007
Updoc films – It all started with Godzilla …, December 26, 2007
we need you! – Steal this film. Again, June 8, 2007

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This entry was posted on Monday, December 31st, 2007 at 6:18 am and is filed under Movies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

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