Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Selling 35mm Prints that are not Legally yours....

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Topic: Selling 35mm Prints that are not Legally yours....

Sara Serine Orton
Film Handler

Posts: 32
From: Moscow, Idaho, USA
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 06-17-2000 01:01 PM

This is tough situation. I know of someone selling 35mm prints that they have no right selling. They still belong to the distributor. I've heard of folks trying to get rid of prints for years but the distributor never picked them up. Ususally its a stupid film like 'Bordello of Blood.' Just recently I've heard of a very recent academy award winning movie being sold under the table. I'm not working for these people but have a friend who asked me what she should do about this. Confronting the guilty parties will only get her fired and she can't risk that. My suggestion would be to call the distributor anoninmously (I know I spelled that wrong...) and ask them to check up on the print and then the mystery will unfold. Is this the best idea? What would you guys do?

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John Walsh
Film God

Posts: 2490
From: Connecticut, USA, Earth, Milky Way
Registered: Oct 1999

posted 06-17-2000 01:16 PM

Personally, I would do nothing. Nothing at all. Don't help or hurt the situation in anyway. While it's not right for someone to sell another's property, the owners should have kept track of their prints.

And if you get involved, it could *very easily* turn against you.

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Sara Serine Orton
Film Handler

Posts: 32
From: Moscow, Idaho, USA
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 06-17-2000 01:19 PM

Good advice. Thank you. :-)

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Scott D. Neff
Theatre Dork

Posts: 919
From: San Francisco, CA
Registered: Oct 1999

posted 06-18-2000 04:58 AM

I don't know WHERE to get a copy --- but we have a subscription to "The Big Reel" -- a magazine full of 35 and 16mm prints for sale.

Thank you Big Reel for my print of "L.A. Story" (only $80)

And I woulda had a print of "Goonies" if it weren't for those meddling kids.

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Brad Miller
Administrator

Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99

posted 06-18-2000 05:21 AM

The Big Reel is published by Antique Trader. You can reach them at 319-588-2073. It's turning into a haven for bootlegged B westerns though and very few film prints are advertised any more.

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Scott Norwood
Film God

Posts: 8146
From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas)
Registered: Jun 99

posted 06-18-2000 06:05 AM

Actually, there's still a good amount of 16mm stuff in TBR. It's the 35mm titles that are getting harder to find and more expensive. I haven't figured out yet if this is a result of a) an increase in the number of collectors, b) reduced print availability, or c) an increased desire by the 35mm collectors to keep their transactions more private. I'd assume it's a combination.

BTW, I agree with John--keep your mouth shut about this sort of thing. In many cases, prints for sale are totally legal. In other cases, this is a grey area. In neither case will it benefit anyone to report this.

I am making the assumption here that the print in question is of a movie that is already available on video and that the buyer and seller have no intentions of making video transfers or dupe prints. I am absolutely against film piracy in any form and would not hesitate to report it. There's a big difference, though, between film pirates who screw over the film-makers and -distributors and private individuals who collect film to watch at home.

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John Wilson
Film God

Posts: 5438
From: Sydney, Australia.
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 06-23-2000 05:10 AM

L.A. Story for 80 bucks?? Score, Scott! Try getting it for that much on ebay! If you ever want to part with it, I'm your man!

-------------------------------
"I could never be a woman. I'd just sit at home and play with my breasts all day."

Steve Martin - L.A. Story

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Tim Reed
Better Projection Pays

Posts: 5246
From: Northampton, PA
Registered: Sep 1999

posted 06-23-2000 08:31 AM

>>It's turning into a haven for bootlegged B westerns <<

The BIG REEL's always been about B-Westerns (and happily so for me). That's why it was started, back in the late 60s/early 70s. It was a newsletter that gave B-Western collectors a means to discuss their hobby, and to trade prints. It was originally published by Don Key (put the name together, that's funny) in North Carolina, which was, in those days, a hotbed of B-Western activity.

Incidentally, if you like Westerns at all, and if you want some real family-friendly fun, spend $3.00 next time you're at a K-mart or a truck plaza, and pick-up one of John Wayne's 1930's B-Westerns (you can often get TWO on one tape). You'll be guaranteed an exciting, fast-paced story, with lots of ACTION! You also can't go wrong with a Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, or a Hopalong Cassidy video!

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Better Projection Pays!

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Reeve Byrne
Film Handler

Posts: 35
From: Anchorage, Ak USA
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 06-23-2000 09:09 PM

I would keep my ear open to see if it continues to happen. If it gets out of hand and other people are getting in trouble the I would think about saying something. But otherwise than that I wouldn't lose any sleep over it.

BTW I was just in Moscow what theater do you work at? Or do you work at one in Pullman?

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Greg Mueller
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1687
From: Port Gamble, WA
Registered: Jun 99

posted 06-24-2000 08:37 AM

I'd mind my own business

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Amateur Astronomer, Machinist, Filmnut

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Sara Serine Orton
Film Handler

Posts: 32
From: Moscow, Idaho, USA
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 06-24-2000 10:53 AM

I work in Moscow at the University of Idaho. We have our own little movie theater in the Student Union Building.

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