Spider-Man 2 camcorder arrest
p2pnet.net News:- A California teenager using a camcorder during a Spider-Man 2 movie was arrested after a projectionist with night vision goggles spotted him.
He could now be labelled a ‘criminal,’ end up in jail for a year and be fined up to $2,500.
However, if the Feinstein/Cornyn Artists’ Rights and Theft Prevention Act (ART – S. 1932) gets through, the fine goes up to $250,000, first time ‘offenders’ could get three years in jail, or five years if they’re caught distributing for profit, and repeat offenders could land in jail for 10 years.
In the US, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon can see you in a state jail for up to five years, or net you a fine of not more than $1,000; or, imprisonment in jail or a ‘house of correction’ for no more than two-and-a-half years.
The MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) “hailed the arrest and credited its recent initiative to offer cash rewards of up to $500 to theater employees who turn in moviegoers attempting to make illicit film copies,” says a CNN story here.
“In theaters nationwide, there are now thousands of eyes looking for camcording-pirates and this incident proves that pirates who use these devices in theaters will be caught,” said James W. Spertus, the MPAA’s vp and director of antipiracy operations is quoted as saying.
The CNN report also has the MPAA claiming that camcorders account for 92% of all illegal copies of films “that are sold online and on street corners worldwide”.
They didn’t dredge up MPAA boss Jack Valenti’s hoary “file sharing causes tremendous financial loss to the industry, untold hardship to support workers, and costs thousands of jobs” theme, picked up by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America).
And somehow, the fact that last year was Hollywood’s second biggest year EVER with official MPAA box office figures at $9.5 billion is forgotten.
The print and electronic reports have also forgotten the AT&T Labs report (which hangs much of the blame for online movie trading on ‘insiders’ rather than p2p movie fans) last mentioned? Of a total of 285 movies sampled, 77% were leaked by industry insiders.
Mel Gibson sued a Hollywood post-production company after three employees to copies The Passion of Christ, and there was a massive outcry when other hot movies such as Warners’ ‘Samurai’ and ‘Mystic,’ 20th Century Fox’s ‘Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World,’ Fox Searchlight’s ‘thirteen’ and Buena Vista’s ‘Calendar Girls’
The blame was laid, as usual, on camcorders and file sharing.
Ultimately, “Technicolor technicians determined that copies of such pirated movies as Warners’ ‘Samurai’ and ‘Mystic,’ 20th Century Fox’s ‘Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World,’ Fox Searchlight’s ‘thirteen’ and Buena Vista’s ‘Calendar Girls’ all could be traced to Academy screeners” in the possession of Yep, a Hollywood insider, one Carmine Caridi, a 22-year member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.
It happens all the time but unless the media get hold of the stories, you never hear about it. Bad PR.
But you can bet you’ll read all about it very time a kid gets nabbed.
July 1st, 2004 at 9:13 pm
I wonder how many Projectionists took the goggles home. And how many will be caught using those to look down chicks tops and up skirts during Movies…
All Movie goers should be concerned that $15.00 an hour projectionists now have night vision goggles to play with (on every teenage boys wish list). Movie theater staff could be viewing people inappropriately in a darken movie theater.
July 1st, 2004 at 9:13 pm
You should see the fun stuff we see with our goggles. They distributed them about 6 months ago.
The late night showings are the best.
July 1st, 2004 at 9:14 pm
As far as I know this the following is not illegal: Perhaps a few people should bring Camcorders to the show – and NOT record – but rather watch your home movies.. on the camcorder while the show is on.
I wonder if the night vision goggles can tell the difference between someone recording a movie and someone watching home movies on the screen on their camcorder.
I wonder if using a gameboy during a movie would have the same effect?
July 1st, 2004 at 9:43 pm
Did they give you handcuffs too? And is there anywhere online where yuo can find the rules of arrest?
July 1st, 2004 at 9:45 pm
Bloody good idea! Make sure they aren’t loaded and that there are no batteries and then just mess with them in as suspicious a manner as you can manage.
July 2nd, 2004 at 1:06 am
The LAPD arrested him and took him to Devonshire Division for 10 hours in Adult Prison Cells and then to Juvinal Hall now until he is arraigned on Monday. I belive the MPAA is juscing the LAPD to scare the 16 year old.
Poor Little Guy got the Abu Garaib Treatment. For being stupid.
July 2nd, 2004 at 1:08 am
Its ok to have batteries and even a tape… just make sure that the unit is not recording and your ok.. the minute they fuck with you its lawsuit time…. and in Cali that means suing the Movie Theaters and the Projectionist Union.
July 3rd, 2004 at 12:41 am
reminds me of the stories of infrared devices tuned to see through clothing. Talk about an invasion of privacy!
July 3rd, 2004 at 1:06 am
Of course, the ideal situation is to have hundreds of moviegoers all bring toy cameras – or anything that looks like a camcorder through nightvision lens. Then let them try to pick out any real ones. At the same time the actual camcorder user will be using some type of disguised spy camera – maybe something like a pen-on-the-ear camera. So while all the decoys get dragged away, the real culprit is safely recording away.
I also have to wonder if holding up a small box of popcorn or a few packs of raisinettes the same way you might hold a camcorder – could this be interpreted as obstruction of justice if this trips up the hall monitors?
July 5th, 2004 at 4:30 am
Another Guy: Now if I could only build a camcorder that looked liked a set of night vision goggles?
April 29th, 2006 at 8:07 am
http://p2pnet.net/story/1809