THR writes:
Summit Entertainment isn't kidding around in its anti-piracy efforts on The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn. The studio today took the unorthodox step of sending out a press release identifying the alleged culprit in a March hacking incident that ended with images of the highly-anticipated vampire romance film circulating on the Internet.
Summit's release ID's Daiana Santia of Argentina as having been involved in a group that stole photos, unfinished images and video of Breaking Dawn, which will be released in two parts beginning in November. Summit's four-continent crusade involved the services of investigation firm Kroll Inc. and law firm Keats McFarland & Wilson, which located Santia and others in the northern Argentina town of Posadas. Civil actions have been filed in the U.S. and Argentina, along with a criminal action in Santia's home country.
“While we very much appreciate the legions of committed fans of the franchise and encourage them to create community online, we cannot ignore that property was stolen,” says David Friedman, Summit's executive vp and general counsel. “It is not fair to the majority of fans that want to see the final chapter of the Twilight Saga film franchise fully realized by the filmmaker and dedicated cast and crew to have these images out and available on the Internet.”
As a fan I think part of the 'online community' is sharing behind the scenes details we can find. I don't think breaking the law is acceptable for the fandom, even when they were filming here in Vancouver I was always careful to stay on public propoerty and obey the rules, as tempting as it was to try and hike through the woods past the gate to the "forbidden meadow" I never have, and never will.
But, even still, I can't believe that studio's with mega-bucks, waste all their time and money to ruin the lives of some fans who took it too far. I do not know this South American gal, but I have met fans from Argentina and Brazil and all over the world and the one thing I know it - they are passionate. Does that mean they should be allowed to break the law?
NO -
But, I think the punishments do not always fit the crime.
I know during filming Summit did not like me much, because I would post photos of sets - before filming, after filming, even sometimes during filming if I could get close enough safely and legally... they said I was "ruining it for everyone"
I DISAGREE!
I think that I was in a position to share cool details of the film making process, which only excited fans further about the film. I think those who did not want to see the photos - did not look...
and those who wanted to see the photos... looked, and got even more xcited about the film.
The whole angle of "ruining it for others" is B.S.
If you do not wish to see, you do not look.
The real reason is, Summit doesn't want anything out there that may take money from their pockets - - - which is B.S.
Fans who see these photos get excited, they keep talking about the film, they get more hyped up to see it... it opens dialouge, communication, sharing, discussion...
It keeps the movie from fading into a less prominent position in our minds.
So what does Summit do to people who cross the line in sharing and promoting and hyping up their film?
Spend money on legal team to find and prosecute the fan.
This wasn't some hacker who got the photos and sold them - or did anything malicious at heart.... this was a fan who crossed the line for the love of a film and a fandom she is part of.
I think it's crap.
Twilight Lexicon writes:
Given that last year Summit Entertainment prosecuted the person who broke into their set photographer’s server and stole all the still images from Eclipse (six leaked online), fans shouldn’t find this latest action too surprising. In the Eclipse case Summit spent several months building a case and tracking the IP addresses attached to the leak. The trail eventually lead to Sweden where the person responsible was found and prosecuted with the full help of that country’s authorities.
Whereas a studio may occasionally turn a blind-eye to limited footage from an event like Comic Con or a pre-screening going online because that was finished product meant for public consumption, they will always go after material that is stolen from what amounts to online breaking and entering.
Other studios have taken similar measures and jail time has resulted from such cases such as the Hugh Jackman Wolverine movie.
So this has happened before, with different studios and circumstances. It wouldbe interesting to compare all the past "crimes" of this nature and the outcomes...
Public Documents reveal more information on this case.
Lexicon also brings up the fact that Hector Santia was not listed in the Summit Press Release. This may be Daiana's husband who the internet is registered under (speculating here) and is therefore listed in the document. John Doe's in the past have been listed because of their involvement in a crime but with internet crimes, often usernames are discovered before the real identities, so legal documents will put "John Doe" until real identities are discovered. This has happened with previous cases, including the Eclipse leaked photo case. Lexicon also points out that Judge Otis D. Wright II is the same judge from Jordan Scott v Stephenie Meyer. Read More details at Twilight Lexicon
So what do you think?
