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Movie Directors the Next Terrorism Threat

Director Mike Figgis spent longer at LAX airport than intended. He'd arrived in Los Angeles, along with half the acting and directing world, for what is known as 'pilot season', when the big studios try out new scripts, directors and actors in a two-week frenzy of auditions and career make-or-breaks. When Figgis was being grilled by airport immigration, he was asked the purpose of his visit. Unthinking and tired after a long flight, Mike replied: 'I'm here to shoot a pilot.' After five hours in an interrogation cell (yes, really), he finally made it into town.

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New York City Film piracy penalty is now a misdemeanor

With the summer blockbuster movie season just ahead, City Hall and the Motion Picture Association of America are warning that secretly videotaping films is now a misdemeanor in New York City.

Days before the highly anticipated "Spider-Man 3" opens across the United States, Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed a new law on Tuesday that upgrades film piracy from a violation with a $250 (euro183) fine to a misdemeanor that carries up to six months in jail and penalties of up to $5,000 (euro3,675). More than 40 percent of bootlegged films are recorded in New York City theaters, the MPAA says. The duplications are typically sold for mass reproduction or posted on the Internet, sometimes just hours after the movie has premiered.

25+ Million Americans Pirate Movies

Roughly 18 percent of the U.S. online population has illegally downloaded a full-length movie at some point in the past, according to a telephone and online study of 2,600 Americans. A typical movie downloader is 29 years of age, while 63 percent of all downloaders are male, and 37 percent are female. Kaan Yigit, director of the study, observes, 'There is a Robin Hood effect — most people perceive celebrities and studios to be rich already and as a result don't think of movie downloading as a big deal. The current crop of 'download to own' movie services and the new ones coming into the market will need to offer greater flexibility of use, selection and low prices to convert the current users to their services — otherwise file-sharing will continue to thrive.'

» extremetech

Sony Pictures and Aardman Animations set to announce film deal

The Times reports that it has learned that Sony Pictures will announce on Monday, a deal with Aardman Animations, the maker of "Wallace & Gromit" and "Chicken Run". According to the Times, the deal comes less than two months after Aardman's five-film deal with Dreamworks Animation SKG (DWA) broke down following the disappointing performance "Flushed Away".

Free Blockbuster rentals for Netflix subscribers

Calling all Netflix subscribers: Don't throw away those red flaps you tear off your DVD mailers. Instead, take them to a Blockbuster store for free rentals.

The Blockbuster promotion is an obvious attempt to build a database of potential subscribers to its online service. The service, called Blockbuster Total Access, is similar to Netflix in that it has no due dates, but it gives members the option of exchanging DVDs at one of its retail stores in addition to by mail.

The Blockbuster promotion is an obvious attempt to build a database of potential subscribers to its online service. The service, called Blockbuster Total Access, is similar to Netflix in that it has no due dates, but it gives members the option of exchanging DVDs at one of its retail stores in addition to by mail. The deal runs from now until December 21, so you've got about two weeks to score the free rentals. In the meantime, which service do you like better?

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