Big Movie Studio Bans All Previews In Cdn. Theatres Over Piracy Concerns
Posted May 8, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
They’re the first chance for you to see a new movie before anyone else does – those early and great gala previews of the next big flicks. But for one movie giant, they’re now a thing of the past – at least in Canada. Warner Brothers has announced it will no longer allow any of its previews to be shown in cinemas in the Great White North. The studio is upset about the practice of patrons taking camcorders into the picture palaces and taping a flick off the screen. Many wind up either being sold on cheap DVD knock-offs or put up on the Internet, potentially cheating the moviemaker out of millions of dollars in ticket sales and rentals.
The result: their coming attractions will no longer be coming in advance. The first preview to be banned is the look ahead to “Oceans Thirteen”, which is due out June 8th. And fans won’t get an early preview of the July 13th release of “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.” “We regret having to cancel our screenings in Canada, but our studio must take steps to protect not only our branded assets but our commitment to our filmmakers and to our distributors,” explains Warner’s Dan Fellman.
The company is incensed that the government hasn’t done more to pass a law banning the taping practices, which it says are running rampant in this country. “Within the first week of a film’s release, you can almost be certain that somewhere out there a Canadian copy will show up,” complains Warner anti-piracy VP Darcy Antonellis.
Douglas Firth, President of the Canadian Motion Picture Distributors Association, admits piracy is a serious problem in Canada.
“In 2005, C anada accounted for between 20-25% of the worldwide problem. That’s a shocking number,” he said.
Even more shocking is the fact that c urrently in Canada it’s not illegal for anyone to walk into a movie theatre with a camcorder and record an entire film. It only becomes illegal once you’ve use that footage to make copies or make profit.
“It’s easier than you think because the technology’s changing,” Firth adds. “Some of these are such small cameras, they’re capable of great quality.”
Does this means all previews won’t be previewed? Not quite. Media will still be invited for a first look. And you’ll still see some of the advance screeners from other studios, but be ready to lose more if things don’t change. Last year, 20th Century Fox threatened to delay releasing some of its biggest blockbusters in Canada if the camcording threat wasn’t eliminated. It wasn’t but its flicks are still unspooling here.
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