“For Your Consideration” season has begun. I know this because the first Oscar screener of the season has been leaked online. A week and a half before the official release date, Ridley Scott’s new film American Gangster has been uploaded to the bit torrent networks and has already been illegally downloaded by tens of thousands of people. And that’s just in the first 20 hours online. As I write this, over 10,000 users are currently downloading the video off a popular bit torrent website.
Audiences usually stay way from pirated movies due to the notorious bad quality video camera-taped copies. But with Award Season screeners, the movie quality is as good as a retail DVD release. So what is to stop consumers from downloading this film early? American Gangster is set to hit theaters in he United States on November 2nd, but its release in other world territories happens as late as February of 2008. So while this might not have a huge effect on the box office in the U.S., it is likely to hurt foreign markets hard. And as for the U.S. results, that is debatable. Recently horror director Eli Roth blamed piracy for the lower than expected box office numbers of Hostel: Part II. The workprint for his film was leaked online a week before the movie’s national release.
American Gangster stars Russell Crowe as a detective who is working to bring down the drug empire of Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington), who is smuggling the heroin into the Manhattan in the coffins of soldiers returning from the Vietnam War. I’ve heard nothing but great things about this film. The movie currently has a 100% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 9.0 rating voted by users on the Internet Movie Database.
Also interesting of note: Paramount Vantage have uploaded free pdf versions of five screenplays to a public “For Your Consideration” website. Two of the scripts available for download (The Kite Runner and There Will Be Blood) have not yet been released theatrically.
Disclaimer: It should be noted that I myself have not downloaded the print, but instead have confirmed it’s authenticity through a message board in which users discuss the quality of bit torrent downloads.
October 24th, 2007 at 11:50 am
I like that site… thanks for pointing it out.
Also, all of the scripts can be downloaded via that site. Not all are linked, but they all follow the same file structure/naming convention.
October 24th, 2007 at 12:47 pm
your disclaimer is kind of amusing.
October 24th, 2007 at 12:49 pm
and what would that file structure be exactly? It’s flash so you can’t follow the string!
October 24th, 2007 at 1:40 pm
Oscar screeners these days are usually digitally watermarked. Whatever asshole leaked will end up being arrested.
Dumb.
October 24th, 2007 at 1:44 pm
Open one of them up and take a look at the link, then change it as needed for the other 4 movies…
http://www.vantageguilds.com/itw/FinalScript_ITW.pdf
itw is the “variable” to find all the scripts, this example is for Into The Wild
October 24th, 2007 at 1:59 pm
It’s sad but true: the movie is going to be generally liked because of the actors and content. But the sad fact is: the film is not very good. It’s no where where it should be.
October 24th, 2007 at 4:49 pm
Bummer to hear it doesn’t live up to expectations. I was stoked for this one.
October 24th, 2007 at 4:54 pm
I think piracy makes film makers make movies that translate well onto the big screen. Sure you can pirate saving private ryan and get decent quality, but you lose the magic that happens with a 2 story tall screen and dolby digital surround sound.
October 24th, 2007 at 4:57 pm
Ohh come on now, you know you fired up uTorrent and headed right to the Pirate Bay to grab that video
October 24th, 2007 at 5:03 pm
I disagree as I find downloading movies far more enjoyable as one can pause and enjoy a movie right in their living without the theatre distractions and higher prices. Memberships to private trackers where these films are seeded so well that I got the full dvd in 10 minutes even makes it more easier and attractive to get. I also find myself renting less and less and instead just downloading what I want for free. You’d be amazed how one changes their mind after becoming members of elite trackers where preleases and movies are extrememly easy to get changes the dynamic of downloading movies. Also because I downloaded the movie and didn’t pay a cent I am much less criticical and willing to see movies that I would never consider paying for or even sometimes renting. That’s my take. RIP Oink!
October 24th, 2007 at 5:28 pm
Sooooo, what website is this on? Just tried Pirate Bay and the entire site doesn’t seem to be working. Any help?
October 24th, 2007 at 5:36 pm
Piracy didn’t hurt Hostel: Part II, the fact that Eli Roth is a bad director and that the first one sucked; is what hurt the second one.
October 24th, 2007 at 5:41 pm
I actually agree with Eli that the piracy hurt Hostel: Part II, which is a pretty good movie. But, mainly it was released the wrong time. It should have been released much later in the Summer (Aug or Sept).
October 24th, 2007 at 6:08 pm
It sucks that they didnt get to preview the movie when they had wanted, the person who leaked it should have waited, cause now he is target number 1 for the Motion Picture Assosiation of A$$hol3s.
the guy who leaked this was probably a member of Oink, which was recently shutdown by the corrupt people in power, so this would have been a small retaliation for the damage you have caused.
i hope your company loses a lot of money on this.
it is not bussiness as usual anymore, we are fighting you. and you are losing.
October 24th, 2007 at 10:14 pm
Just watched the screener version. Wow, this movie is a big let down. It’s well-executed and the set/fashion design is impeccable, but there is not a cliche crime-movie that American Gangster doesn’t steal from. It’s a true story so that’s even more surprising. What’s unusual about this cat-and-mouse game is only stated at the very end in text. AG sets the film up just like Mann’s impeccable Heat, almost to the point that it’s ripping it off. Unlike Heat, Scott’s AG doesn’t illuminate on the crime world in ways we’ve never seen. It focuses solely on Washington (doing his Training Day schtick, truly tired now) and Crowe (playing the Serpico role - seemingly the only cop in existence besides the Rza who doesn’t take bribes). This film had a lot going for it, but it won’t connect with audiences. It’s waaaay too long. It’s not boring, which I’ll give Scott credit for, but again, you’ve seen it all before and better. Urban audiences will get the soundtrack but shrug off this movie - sort of like Heat originally - because it’s 3 hrs. Sophisticated audiences won’t bite as hard b/c it truly tries to solidify Washington’s character as the Pablo Escobar of Harlem, and again, it’s very predictable. Man, anyone who calls this a classic needs to reexamine the Carlito’s Way, Serpico, Heat, Blow, Goodfellas, Departed, Infernal Affairs, Long Good Friday, Scarface, Untouchables, and even Zodiac. Brings nothing to the table except a nice, shiny, authentic table.
October 24th, 2007 at 10:49 pm
I told you my stance up above, but here’s what I wrote for another site:
So I caught American Gangster tonight.
The film starts out with some fire. Then it turns into a dialogue ridden, action deprived, prolonged film about drug trafficking and those who oppose it. Many of the story lines are unnecessary and bloat the film.
The acting was okay. Denzel was, well, Denzel. You’ve seen it before; it’s just he’s in a 60-70s suit. Russell Crowe was good because he was a perfect match for the part. However, it’s not his best performance and if he’s nominated I’ll be surprised. Lots of cameos and a hell of a cast behind them.
The action was good but it was sparse. Lots of stake outs with little to no action. There were little spurts of action through out the movie but the total time of action was probably around 10 minutes. That is, until the end. The action that did happen at the end - way too late - was top notch and lasted about 10 minutes. It was tense and well shot.
The resolution was perhaps the best part of the film, mainly because it happened at a faster pace than all the bloated and unnecessary building of the sides.
In all honesty, American Gangster was mediocrity at it’s finest. Has some very good craftsmanship. You’d expect that from Ridley Scott. But, alas, it has some of the worst. The contrived dialogue and slow pace are the two worst things. The visible (I hope we got an early print.) boom mic was horrendous. It’s like they didn’t even try to edit that or cover it up. Sad.
The bottom line is that it’s over-hyped. It’ll make it’s money, but I think it could have been so much more. But then, that’s the definition of mediocrity.
October 25th, 2007 at 12:21 am
This is one of those films where the longer you drift from the first viewing, the less and less you like it. To see this film get kudos will be a truly depressing thing. This wouldn’t pass for a great film in the 70s. nevermind today.
November 2nd, 2007 at 1:06 pm
It was just on big copy of lots of other movie.
Cuba Gooding was either miscast or just bad acting.
Kind of a waste of time
November 2nd, 2007 at 10:40 pm
THE boom mic? I counted 5.
November 4th, 2007 at 12:47 am
Sure we can debate about the state of rampant piracy in this industry, but the fact remains that studios shouldn’t complain about piracy considering that they spend millions of dollars to intentionally manufacture cinematic waste and actually try to pass it off as original and interesting material. People SHOULD pirate and perhaps this will send a message to the executives who are completely immune to good storytelling concepts, by favoring a more irrelevant marketable alternative just to meet a bottom line.
November 4th, 2007 at 9:17 am
I saw the movie last night at the THEATRE! I thought it was a little over the top at times and not enough punch, but I think people aren’t giving the movie props, because it’s a gangster real-life story of a Black man that had the cops, mafia, and other suckers in his hand. We all love Scarface, but was it really that good or was it the mass amounts of Coke and guns that attracted us to the film. There’s thousands of Italian mafia characters out there, but never has there been a Black one. Also, the idea that one man would travel alone to Vietnam during the war and strike a deal with the elite in that country was truly brilliant. Please don’t mince my words, brilliancy doesn’t always translate into good, but you have to admit that the risk was insane. I mean Lucas was in with the government and shipping pure shit in coffins! This country has been a complete hot mess since its existence and dollars are definitely the root of all evil and in my opinion Democracy doesn’t rule America! I give the movie a B overall!
November 24th, 2007 at 9:39 pm
I didn’t see the boom mic until the last scenes when Washington and Crowe were talking.
I couldn’t really believe it. I tried to make up some kind of rationalization, that it was a water sprinkler or something.
My kids saws it in a number of other places in the film.
I still find it hard to believe a professional big budget film by Ridley Scott, with famous actors, got released with such obvious flaws.
The movie was unpleasant, owing to it’s subject matter, but not riveting. I suspect that a whole lot of people who saw that boom mic will leave the theater and the only thing they’ll take away from it will be the memory of the microphones.
January 13th, 2008 at 10:41 am
The constant appearance of the boom mic ruined this movie for me. I started looking for it. At least it will make a great drinking game when it comes out on DVD. Very lame.
January 30th, 2008 at 3:28 pm
Blazak, you won’t find any boom mics on the DVD - because their appearance is due to incorrect framing by the projectionist. Within the correct aspect ratio, there are no mics.