Wolverine uploader nailed by FBI
p2pnet news view | P2P | Movies:- When the unfinished workprint of X-Men Origins: Wolverine was leaked online a month before its official release date ‘No one will want to see it when it’s already been on the P2P nets,” sobbed 20th Century Fux, its owner.
But it ended up “howling its way to the top of the box office with an opening day gross of $35 million,” as EW.com described it.
Now, FBI special agents working for Hollywood at taxpayer expense have arrested Gilberto Sanchez, 47, for allegedly uploading the workprint to public sharing site Megaupload.com a month before its release, says the New York Daily News, going on:
“The indictment unsealed after his arrest said Sanchez knew or should have known that the Hugh Jackman movie “was intended for commercial distribution.”
He’s now facing three years in jail a $250,000 (£156,250) fine, says contactmusic.
Interestingly, none of the stories we found say how Sanchez got hold of the print in the first place.
But as p2pnet has pointed out Lo! these many times, Hollywood always somehow forgets to mention many, if not most, of the movies which show up on P2P filesharing networks arrive there thanks to Hollywood insiders.
This was first detailed by AT&T labs almost exactly six years ago in Analysis of Security Vulnerabilities in the Movie Production and Distribution Process.
The AT&T report said of a total of 285 movies researchers sampled on the P2P networks, 77% were leaked by industry ‘insiders’.
And the trend continues. Strongly.
(Cheers, Andrew aka Comeonecomcast 
)
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unfinished workprint – X-Men: Origins – workprint online, April 2, 2009
EW.com – ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ grosses $35 million Friday night, May 2, 2009
contactmusic – WOLVERINE – MAN ARRESTED FOR WOLVERINE MOVIE LEAK, December, 2009
New York Daily News – Bronx archnemesis of ‘Wolverine’ is nabbed by FBI for allegedly pirating ‘X-Men’ movie prequel
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December 16th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
three years in jail a $250,000 (£156,250) fine.
How much for killing somebody?
Just asking!
December 16th, 2009 at 6:14 pm
Since this was a WORKPRINT, it absolutely had to be leaked from the studio. There’s no other possible explanation. I’ll go one further and bet the studio made sure it got leaked, and their little “marketing ploy” worked (as they did chalk up a record take).
Love the way they ignore the important parts, continue to spin the “filesharing is criminal” message, and still use filesharing as a promotional tool, all at the same time.
December 16th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
@ Readers write
Its America! What do you expect? theyll do anything to protect themselves from things they believe will “hurt” them
December 16th, 2009 at 9:11 pm
Did anyone find a reference to the specific federal statute under which these charges were brought? I looked, but came up empty. Please, if you do find that information – or, better yet, an actual copy of the criminal indictment – please send me a link via email (faustybaneki.com) or via twitter (@DrFausty).
Many thanks,
Fausty
December 17th, 2009 at 10:45 am
The facts (or whatever) of how much money it made is deflection , the fact (or whatever) of where it came from is a deflection , he was (allegedly) stupid enough to share it on the internet for the reason of massaging his ego that people would thank him , its nothing to do with anything else , its sad that while there is plenty of fodder to get the RIAA nailed with , you still resort to misleading people by putting in “facts” that have no bearing on the issues , but are just your agenda and hence you are mixing your opinions with facts and are misrepresenting the situation – never apply for a job as a real journalist , theyd laugh you out of the offices .
Hey Gilberto —> o <– Bum before prison , O <– Bum after prison .
December 17th, 2009 at 11:02 am
@ GReta56:
Yup. Sanchez deserves all he gets.
The point I was trying to make was — Hollywood insiders are major uploaders, with all that implies, and the studios are able to use taxpayer-funder public servants to do their dirty work.
Other than that …
Cheers!
December 17th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
>Interestingly, none of the stories we found say how Sanchez got hold of the print in the first place.
from NY Daily News article:
>”It’s just ridiculous. I bought it from a Korean guy on the street for five bucks. Then I uploaded it. I didn’t make any money,” Sanchez said as he waited for his federal court paperwork so he could leave on $50,000 bond.
December 17th, 2009 at 5:55 pm
@Eric:
Yeah, I’ve heard that story as well.
Anything a mainstream news source puts out on this, at this point in time, should probably be automatically discredited, I would think.
True or not, the questions still remain…
How did a studio workprint make it to that “Korean guy on the street”??
Why would such a thing be out anywhere in the wild??
It doesn’t matter who uploaded it, or who might be selling burned contraband of it on the street, a studio workprint can only come from the studio. Someone in the studio had to have leaked it. That’s the kicker.
With all the supposed damage control that these studios are saying they have to engage in, it’s very doubtful this was the work of an individual employee satisfying “his own agenda”. If they were really trying to protect it, there wouldn’t have been a leak.
December 17th, 2009 at 9:01 pm
Have to agree with D.A., theres no way in hell a workprint copy can get “out” unless someone INSIDE
puts it out. Hell, even a final print a month out from distribution would only happen from inside!
Or even the U2 album that “somehow” got leaked….a month early? Seeing a pattern here!!
This whole thing smells of scapegoat (and BULLSHIT!)
December 17th, 2009 at 10:58 pm
I want to address something really quick before I get on to my main point.
To Jon – You do a great work on this site but constantly slanting things to one side by adding “facts” to stories that are not relevant to the story or leaving out important parts of the story because they don’t show the file sharer as an innocent victim hurts our cause. And to constantly keep referring to companies by misspelling their names in profane ways also give the rest of the world the impression that we are just immature kids that should be punished (a friend of mine has actually referred to us that way). And lastly, referring to the FBI using tax payers dollars to work for the RIAA/MPAA isn’t completely honest either. File sharing is illegal (it shouldn’t be but under current law it is) and using law enforcement to enforce the law isn’t exactly and abuse of the law enforcement agencies at tax payers expense. File sharers share your views but most artists and politicians don’t. And by cutting down record and movie companies (even though they deserve it) and using law enforcement agencies enforcement of the law (even though these laws should be overturned) to push the message doesn’t garner favor with people outside the movement.
Now on to my point.
DA – “they ignore the important parts, continue to spin the “filesharing is criminal” message, and still use filesharing as a promotional tool, all at the same time.” You are absolutely right. They crawl all over the net to find someone sharing just a few files and then use their massively deep pockets to drag people that don’t have a dime to defend themselves into court and then receive huge jury awards, but turn around and see to it that a WORKPRINT is made available online. The only way for a WORKPRINT to make it online is to be LEAKED by the studio itself.
Personally, I smell a rat. If the studio was gonna leak this so it ended up on the net then why did they have to use a Korean guy on the street to get the WORKPRINT in Sanchez’s hands. Why not just put it on the net themselves and call it good? Why the need to make sure it LEAKED and then conduct an investigation? They should be investigating the LEAKER not the poster. Of course, that would mean investigating themselves. Sounds like they set up Sanchez to take the fall for their LEAK so they wouldn’t have to admit that they LEAKED it THEMSELVES.
December 17th, 2009 at 11:49 pm
@Reader’s Write [December 17th, 2009 at 10:58 pm]:
(I’ll let Jon defend himself on your curious analysis of p2pnet itself.)
“…why did they have to use a Korean guy on the street to get the WORKPRINT in Sanchez’s hands?”
Who the hell says this “Korean guy” had anything to do with anything, or even existed, for that matter?? That’s just some part of a story in the mainstream that *claims* to have a statement from Sanchez. As I said, any mainstream news story on this thing is just looking to get discredited before it even gets read. (Don’t know why? If I have to explain that one, well that’s another conversation.)
Obviously, they only had to join a public torrent swarm, after the leak, and track the uploader (who could have gotten it ANYWHERE at that point), in order to find their patsy. Sanchez was just the one who had the luck of the draw.
_______________________________________
The reason I said they “used filesharing as a promotional tool” was straightforward.
They leaked the workprint simply to draw mass attention to the film, prior to its release. Period. Which it certainly did. But, they also used their own leak as a false flag, in order to continue their anti-filesharing propaganda. Both of these things were pre-planned.
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“referring to the FBI using tax payers dollars to work for the RIAA/MPAA isn’t completely honest either.”
The FBI, the CIA, or any publicly-funded policing agency exists to investigate CRIMINAL matters. Copyright Infringement is a CIVIL INFRACTION, and any “investigating work” required to prosecute such offences are supposed to be contracted privately and paid for BY THE COMPLAINTANTS. Involving the FBI in a civil suit investigation is not something a member of the Public has the privilege of doing.
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“File sharing is illegal… File sharers share your views but most artists and politicians don’t…. etc.”
The first statement is PROPAGANDA!
Filesharing is absolutely legal. LOOK IT UP!!
Anything you say based on the contrary simply serves the interests of those spreading the propaganda, and does a complete disservice to the “movement” you profess to be looking out for.
What people choose to share may be “illegal” to share, but filesharing is, and always has been, LEGAL!
Just as photocopying is legal, but copying too much of a book may not be.
Know what you’re talking about before shooting your mouth off!
That’s how you benefit any “movement”.
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As to “garnering favour with people outside the movement”…
The only ones that are really “outside the movement” are those that would benefit financially from defeating it, and have no interest in what the Public thinks of anything.