iRant: Downloading Movies Ad
OK, I don't want to get in a big discussion about how bad media downloading is, and I'll probably regret posting this, but it grinds my gears (thank you, Peter Griffin ;-) ) to see those ads before movies in the theatres that feature, in the one I saw, a Hollywood stuntman telling you how downloading movies is endangering his livelihood.
The impact of downloading on that man's career is far less than the impact of inflated actor and director salaries for movies nowadays. If they think this type of ad is such a good incentive against illegal downloading then why don't they put George Lucas (or whoever) up there? "Hi, I'm George Lucas, and stealing movies is making it so that I can barely afford to buy a new jet to fly to the new home that I just bought on my own private island" - you get the drift :-) .
I watch that ad and it just seems so crassly manipulative to me. It's like the studios are trying to make us believe that some poor, hardworking Hollywood pions really need US, the people who have actually paid $10 to go into the theatre to watch the increasingly mediocre movies that the big studios put out, to change. Oh, no, nothing wrong with the system whereby the headlining actor gets several thousand times more pay for work that need not be as dangerous, challenging, or even very difficult - nope, the problem is that there's people out there downloading movies. Come on guys - we know it's an issue, but why are you targeting those who have obviously paid to see this movie - in fact, people who have ended up paying with their time and money to watch this ridiculous commercial. Give me a break.
PS: BTW, it's not like everyone in this situation is a problem. I was quite pleased to learn that Keanu Reeves, of all people, gave almost $90 million of his Matrix-related profits to the costume and special effects teams who played an enormous role in making those movies what they were (he also bought his crew of stuntmen each $10,000 Harleys). Maybe that won't change things all that much, but at least it shows he has some perspective!
The impact of downloading on that man's career is far less than the impact of inflated actor and director salaries for movies nowadays. If they think this type of ad is such a good incentive against illegal downloading then why don't they put George Lucas (or whoever) up there? "Hi, I'm George Lucas, and stealing movies is making it so that I can barely afford to buy a new jet to fly to the new home that I just bought on my own private island"
I watch that ad and it just seems so crassly manipulative to me. It's like the studios are trying to make us believe that some poor, hardworking Hollywood pions really need US, the people who have actually paid $10 to go into the theatre to watch the increasingly mediocre movies that the big studios put out, to change. Oh, no, nothing wrong with the system whereby the headlining actor gets several thousand times more pay for work that need not be as dangerous, challenging, or even very difficult - nope, the problem is that there's people out there downloading movies. Come on guys - we know it's an issue, but why are you targeting those who have obviously paid to see this movie - in fact, people who have ended up paying with their time and money to watch this ridiculous commercial. Give me a break.
PS: BTW, it's not like everyone in this situation is a problem. I was quite pleased to learn that Keanu Reeves, of all people, gave almost $90 million of his Matrix-related profits to the costume and special effects teams who played an enormous role in making those movies what they were (he also bought his crew of stuntmen each $10,000 Harleys). Maybe that won't change things all that much, but at least it shows he has some perspective!
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Del.icio.us | 10/07/2005 10:07:00 p.m.
posted by Jeff MacArthur at 10/07/2005 10:07:00 p.m.
2 Comments:
Hey guys, thanks for the posts - I've been pretty swamped lately, but I'll get on these very soon (just trying to make sure I get my own post up every day first ;-) ). Talk soon!
Pretty funny stuff, Chris - BTW, that link is broken (I just cut off the part past the main URL and got there). Maybe a little racy for some, but give my props to your buddy. :-)
Hypa - you (or anyone) can email me at jeff@commandn.tv . I'll put my email on the main page soon, though (and, yeah, we're crazy busy lately!). Thanks for the tip!
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