"Chernin would not name the theater chain involved."

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Snipes, Slides, and Posters hoping to deter movie piracy are probably as effective, if not less, than those same materials which attempt to deter cell phone use in auditoriums. Now that, they should start arresting people for.

-Claude

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As for some anti-piracy trailer (whose publicity stunt was this anyway, Jack Vallenti's?) being stuck up on the screen before each feature starts, personally it's a rotten idea; I will not put up the studio's copyright infringment warning signs all over my theatre. I respect my patrons and this is not the Gestapo atmosphere I want to engender when people walk into the theatre or settle down to see a movie.

I think the distributor can ask that I take reasonable precautions to prevent his property from being copied while in my possession, but I get to say how I do that -- it's my theatre and I'll take those precautions as I see fit. Putting an usher in the theatre while the show is running is something I do anyway and that usher can easily spot a video pirate aiming a camera at the screen; it's exponentially more effective than any sign, slide, or mood-breaking trailer on the screen.

Does the distributor want to BUY time on my screen or rent 1 sheet space in my lobby or on my time on the preview monitors in the lobby to push whatever message tickles his fancy at the moment? Ahhh.....it's not THAT important to him, is it?! Let him do what is necessary to protect his property at his own expense.

Look, any industry expert and even anyone even peripherally involved with the piracy issue knows that the guy in the theatre videotaping from a screen is making a copy that is simply not any threat to the industry. If it were, the studios would be actively going after that source, but they haven't and aren't.

Every print has anti-piracy codes that cannot be removed from the videocopies and can easily be traced to any theatre that played any particular print. This security system is very effective and has been in place for years. It's never been followed up with respect to the off-the-screen camera copies because the copies are total crap usless except to street corner vendors. No follow-up because this is not an economic threat. Has anyone from either the FBI or the MPAA or any studio representative EVER come to your theatre with code evidence that a copy was made from one of your screens? Surely if these orgs were focusing on such this in-theatre source of copyrighted tapes, SOME theatre managers would certainly be hearing about it.

It is the video transfer from audition copies that are give out to the Academy members that is the biggest "leak" source that winds up as pristine DVD copies all over the world. Funny, you don't hear the MPAA ranting about Academy members being potential copyright infringers, do you? Putting nonsense, threatening trailers on the screen will have about as much impact on real, sophisticated infringement sources as putting those FBI warnings all over film cans and VHS boxes. It's a joke that the MPAA uses to convince the studios to keep paying dues and to keep money flowing to supporting it and keep JV in a job.

Frank

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How much money do you think I can make if I invent and market a device that will JAM cell phones and pagers?

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They've been chasing this even longer in legit theaters. The bottom line is that it's illegal in the US to construct a device to jam radio receivers even in your own building. I believe I read that it is done in some other country, maybe Japan.

Otherwise, I would construct a device that would let their phone ring in the theater, but when they stuck it to their ear & said hello the phone would emit a piercing feedback screech. Let everyone in the auditorium get a good laugh! I like audiences! They come to your house & they like to have a good time!

On long-distance trains in this country, all but one or two carriages have a 'no smoking' rule. Smoking is not allowed, and the law allows the train companies to impose large fines on anyone caught doing so. For that reason, no-one ever smokes in these carriages. Some train companies also have a 'quiet carriage'. It is intended for people who need to work during the journey (which almost always means me), or who just want some peace. These carriages have notices in the windows requesting that people refrain from using mobile 'phones and walkmans, talking in a raised voice or anything else which could make a significant noise.

Like the speed limits on Britain's roads, this request is almost universally ignored. I have often asked people to switch off mobiles in these carriages and have usually received abuse in return. On one occasion I asked the guard if he could persuade some teenage yobbo to behave herself, only to be told that he has no way of legally doing so. He is able to fine someone smoking in the no smoking carriage, but has no legal sanction against someone using a mobile in the no mobiles carriage. This reasoning is exactly the same as with speed limits - someone driving at 40 in a 30 limit knows that (i) they stand a 99% chance of getting away with it, and (ii) even if they don't, the fine they will receive is insignificant compared to the cost of running a car.

The same applies to mobile 'phones and piracy using camcorders in cinemas. Like those stickers in the windows of no mobiles carriages, snipes asking cinemagoers not to pirate films aren't worth the polyester they're printed on unless they're backed up by the knowledge that something very unpleasant will happen to anyone who ignores them. The kind of unpleasantness I have in mind consists, first of all, of a 10kW follow-spot in the booth behind each auditorium. If anyone is seen using either a mobile 'phone or a camcorder, I would stop the film, shine it directly on him or her, then get three Schwarzenegger-like male ushers to forcibly remove him or her from the cinema. If the miscreant was attempting piracy, (s)he would then be handed directly over to the Police. When word gets out that this will happen to you if you break the law, then the problem will soon go elsewhere.

It really is a major problem and it takes real management skill to assess the situation and find the best way to deal with it. Many times the macho, get-tuff, no nonsense buldozer approach may not be the smartest thing to do -- you might win the battle but loose the war, given the greater potential damage you can cause.

In the case of the guy videotaping the film. You call the police. They don't arrive instantaniously -- if he tries to leave the theatre, do you try to restrain him? Do you put your staff in harms way to protect an MPAA member studio from looseing money on some potential ticket sales (their 90% -- your 10%)?

It's a program that copies and compresses an entire DVD onto a single CD without loss of quality. The ad banner was flashing, "Copy ANY DVD to a single CD!! Download Now!!" Now they can scream and shout that it's not the intended use of the software, but it sounds like it makes it extremely easy to "Copy any DVD" and put it up for people to "Download Now"...

Also, beware of these banner hawkers that present intriguing come-ons. Especially if to order the product you wind up giving credit card information, or even just being asked to "register" with them. In the registration process they ask you to pick a password. Do you know that 9 out of 10 people use the SAME password for EVERYTHING? Once you register and pick a password, the unscrupulous internet thief can simply go to your ISP, say AOL and with any luck, he can access your entire account because he's got your password. Many times he can then get into your back accounts, other sites that let him order goods and services. It might not work all the time for the thief, but it only has to work once with you to hurt. It is a major problem for unsuspecting consumers.