"Wolverine" Got Leaked Online, A Full Month Before Its Cinematic Release (Update)

My friend Garth Franklin over DarkHorizons.com has posted this quite lengthy but very informative news about the DVD-quality workprint of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" which found its way onto the peer-to-peer torrenting networks - a full month before the film's release, exact time is in early Tuesday US time.

And below is the complete info about this terrible issue:
"A film leaking online is nothing new, poor quality camcorded versions and/or only marginally better Telecine/Telesync transfers of most films usually hit the torrent networks within days of their US general release.
Proper DVD rips and screeners for festival titles and/or Oscar contenders have also been leaking with more and more vigor of late.
Yet outright workprint leaks are rare as they take place before public release of a film and so are often much easier to trace the source. Ang Lee's 2003 effort "Hulk", Eli Roth's "Hostel Part II" and Rob Zombie's "Halloween" reboot notably saw working prints of their films leaked a week or two before their theatrical releases.

The leak of "Wolverine" though, a full month before its cinematic release, has understandably sent shockwaves around Hollywood and the online community.
Even worse for the studio is the good quality of the transfer - what's shown is essentially complete and in near-DVD quality with only a few unfinished effects shots pointing to its 'work copy' status according to comments left by those who've seen it.
This print also has a 106 minute runtime, making it apparently about fifteen minutes shorter than the final cut which means it likely lacks some or all of the reshoot footage shot in January in Canada. The film is still not finished and receiving final post-production touches according to anonymous sources here in Sydney.

Fox legal is understandably scrambling to shut copies down, a practice that studios have become surprisingly adept at. Yet while the studio may be able to stem much of the flow, once something like this is out there it never entirely goes away.
With no real time codes or identifying traits, the big questions have arisen - who is responsible and how can something like this happen?

The hunt has begun and with something this large there won't just be lawsuits and prosecutions, but major changes and security crackdowns on the post-production process where the source of the leak seems to have come from.
The other question of course is will the leak have any effect on the box-office? That's a more murky question. Fox's biggest earner this year, the thriller "Taken", had DVD rips from the international release leak online months before the US release - yet it obviously had no impact.

Fox's next film, "Dragonball Evolution" opening next Friday, was already released in select Asian countries last month and incomplete poor-quality camcorded versions started appearing on the torrenting sites the other week.

The studio itself has earned a rather bleak reputation of interfering with filmmakers and often ignoring screenings for critics over the past two years, a behavior reflected in weak box-office returns last year, which might be a motive for such a leak. However, as of the time of this story's publication, it's certain that most leaks will be have been shut down by now while others will be under surveillance by various legal authorities."

(Update)Fox recently had posted a few comments about the situation. Here is what the studio had to say:

"Last night, a stolen, incomplete and early version of 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine' was posted illegally on websites. It was without many effects and had missing scenes and temporary sound and music. We immediately contacted the appropriate legal authorities and had it removed. We forensically mark our content so we can identify sources that make it available or download it.

The source of the initial leak and any subsequent postings will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law - the courts have handed down significant criminal sentences for such acts and the last person who committed such a crime is still in jail.

The FBI and the MPAA also are actively investigating this crime. We are encouraged by the support of fansites condemning piracy and this illegal posting and pointing out that such theft undermines the enormous efforts of the filmmakers and actors, and above all, hurts the fans of the film."

Sherlock Holmes Promised As A Cool Mix of Action and Humor

According to George 'El Guapo' Roush from LatinoReview who attended Warner brothers presentation which shown some footage of their upcoming films, Actor Robert Downey Jr. has also introduced the very first footage of "Sherlock Holmes" in the occasion.

In the preview, the only sort of plot was the bad guy saying in a voiceover to Holmes that, "Tomorrow, at midday, the world as you know it, will end." The next scene showed Downey as Holmes saying, "Well, there isn't anytime to waste then, is there?"

A lot of action footage was shown, from Holmes jumping out a third story or so window into the river below (Thames) and shots of Holmes in a bare knuckle fist fight reminiscent of Tom Cruise's fights in "Far and Away." Some of the punches were in slow motion kind of like 300. But he didn't see Jude Law as Watson until halfway in the footage, when Sherlock wanted to find someone that would compliment his skills. "Holmes, does your depravity know no bounds?" "No." is also exchanged in the footage shown, along with Holmes saying, "Watson, what have you done?"

Guapo also see shots of Rachel McAdams, Robert Downey Jr.'s love interest in the film, who knocks him down in one scene , and he wakes up later handcuffed naked to a bed. The last scene shows a maid walking into the room and screaming at the site of a naked Holmes handcuffed to the bed with only a pillow to cover him up. Holmes then says, "Madam, I need you to remain calm and act like a professional. Take this pillow as the key to my release." It was a pretty funny scene.

There were also shots of Holmes picking a lock until Watson just kicks the door in, a scene where he has a hammer but is up against an enormous man wielding a giant sledgehammer. Holmes throws the hammer at the guy's chest and it bounces off with no effect.

El Guapo also judging from the two minutes shown, that the movie looks to be a cool mix of action and humor. But, sometimes the dialogue was hard to understand because every actor seemed to have a different English accent.

Gerard Butler's New Action Film will be "Citizen Game"

Lionsgate will be releasing another anticipated popcorn action film this year which starred Gerard Butler and previously called "Game." Now, the studio announced that the film has been renamed to "Citizen Game" and got the September 4th release date. Actually, an Italian trailer for the film recently also has leaked online, but quickly got pulled down by the studio. In substitute, Lionsgate promised to release the American trailer soon.

"Citizen Game" is written and directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, better known as the "Crank" guys. Actually, this futuristic action movie was shot before two filmmakers went on to shoot "Crank" sequel which is "Crank: High Voltage."
Here is the plot of the film: Plot: In the not too distant future, Kabel (Butler), a death row inmate, has unwittingly become a pop culture hero. Every week, millions worldwide tune in online to watch him and hundreds of other convicts battle in Slayers, an ultra-violent multi-player online game invented by technological genius Ken Castle (Michael C. Hall). To the wealthy young gamer who controls his every move, Kable is just a sim (simulation) character. To the resistance group that opposes Castle’s games as high-tech slavery, he is a critical element in their battle to take down the inventor. Caught in the crosshairs of two opposing forces and under the command of a teenager’s remote device, Kable must use his extraordinary fighting skills to escape the game, bring down Castle and overthrow the system.

Another Thrilling Preview of "Taking of Pelham 123"

Sony Pictures had once again released another promotional preview for their anticipated summer film, "Taking of Pelham 123" which starring two big name actors, Denzel Washington and John Travolta. This second trailer looks quite similar to the first feature trailer, but shows new footage in the latter half. The film is directed by Tony Scott (Deja Vu) and is set to hit theaters on July 12th, 2009. You can check the trailer by clicking on the link below.

In "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3," Denzel Washington stars as New York City subway dispatcher Walter Garber, whose ordinary day is thrown into chaos by an audacious crime: the hijacking of a subway train. John Travolta stars as Ryder, the criminal mastermind who, as leader of a highly-armed gang of four, threatens to execute the train's passengers unless a large ransom is paid within one hour. As the tension mounts beneath his feet, Garber employs his vast knowledge of the subway system in a battle to outwit Ryder and save the hostages. But there's one riddle Garber can't solve: even if the thieves get the money, how can they possibly escape?

Visual Effects of "Transformers 2" Will Be A Top Notch

Currently, via Variety, Digital Domain and Industrial Light & Magic, the visual effects studios working on the upcoming Michael Bay's "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" have revealed that Bay has added levels of complexity over the first installment, which making their job much more difficult and challenging.

"Michael took the production value up many, many notches," said Industrial's Scott Farrar. "Just the backgrounds alone are huge. It's a combination of 'Apocalypse Now' and 'Ben-Hur,' in regards to fantastic backgrounds and the unbelievable sets we worked at around the world."

Farrar added that the are about 60 robot characters that play in settings around the world and will now interact much more with that world. Farrar highlights "the splashes and the hits and the fighting on dirt or moving, banging into trees," explaining, "Things splinter and break, they spit, they outgas, they sweat, they snort."

Plot of the film this time revolves around Optimus that teams up with US military to take on the evil Decepticons, who invaded Earth to capture Sam (Shia LaBeouf). He has learned some secrets about the origins of the Transformers and their ancient history - information, it turns out, that is worth war.
Directed by Michael Bay, the sequel stars Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, John Turturro, Isabel Lucas and Rainn Wilson. The film hits theaters on June 24, 2009.