Big Brother Might Give You a Warning about Illegal Downloads

Don't worry, it's not like they track you down all the time.

In another effort to drive down illegal downloading, a new organization, the Center for Copyright Information, will push for legal ways to warn consumers about the consequences of illegal downloading. The group is backed by the trade groups, Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) as well as the music industry equivalent, Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and even internet providers such as Comcast and Verizon Network.  

The Center for Copyright Information is coming up with ways to give warnings to internet users about the potential consequences of downloading movies, music, and tv shows illegally.  What is being discussed, according to Deadline, is if a person were to download something illegally, he or she would receive warnings through email, have their internet speed noticeably reduced, and/or block their internet service altogether.  Because of the lost of potential earnings, the Center wants to treat this similarly like credit card and financial frauds.  

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MPAA to Fix Its Double Standard?

If you've been reading regularly, you know about Blue Valentine's battle with the MPAA over it's NC-17 rating for what many believed to be a not so great reason. The film features a rape scene between a couple involving alcohol (as far as I know, haven't seen the film), and for that it received the most brutal of ratings for a feature film. However, the film makers and actors appealed, and the rating was overturned and they got a much more marketable R rating. But I guess it won't end there for the MPAA.

Now, it seems there's some musings coming from the MPAA, so the fallout from Blue Valentine's battle may not fare well for fans excessively violent movies.

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Unrated 'Hatchet 2' Pulled from AMC Theaters

Back in September, AMC Theaters announced that they would be showing Hatchet II in more than 60 theaters, even without a rating from the MPAA.

While a bold move for any theater chain...

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FCC, MPAA Clear Path for New Movies on Your TV

"Selectable output control." That's the key phrase in a new FCC ruling that will allow studios much quicker in-home delivery of their first-run films than ever before. A new antipiracy technology, selectable output control will prevent copying of movies beamed into homes throughout the country, giving distributors the reassurance they need to start the VOD process earlier than the current model.

Bob Pisano of the MPAA heralded the decision as "an important victory for consumers," adding, "and it is a major step forward in the development of new business models by the motion picture industry to respond to growing consumer demand." I fear this is another way studios are seeking to minimize exhibitors nationwide, not so much out of belligerence but out of practicality. The piracy is a big factor, but there's another side to this. After years of conditioning audiences that they had to wait months for DVDs (of VHS, where this really started), the release windows for home video have shrunk and shrunk, and now Alice in Wonderland will be out of theaters completely by the end of May to increase the likelihood of DVD and Blu-ray sales when the title becomes available 88 days after its theatrical release.

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'Half-Blood Prince' Tones It Down For PG Rating

Is Harry Potter becoming family friendly again? Rope of Silicon reports that Harry Potter and the Half- Blood Prince will be rated PG "for scary images, some violence, language and mild sensuality," as deemed by the MPAA.

The past two movies have been PG-13, and although the box office didn't show the effects of it, I heard more than one complaint from parents about the maturation of the series, both thematically and visually. The curious thing about this is, I thought Prisoner of Azkaban was the most adult in nature, and if we're going by such an abstract concept as "scary images," I would say it's in the current PG-13 realm. Of course, that brings to mind the always bizarre interpretations of the Motion Picture Association of America, which will stamp a film like Amelie and The Exorcist are rated R but Jaws and The Incredibles are somehow both PG. Go figure.

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