VCDQuality Forums (http://www.vcdhq.com/forum/index.php)
- Movie, movies and more movies! (http://www.vcdhq.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?forumid=14)
-- Review: L.A. Twister (2004) (http://www.vcdhq.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=47408)

quote:

---

If you can explain to me why its ok to have movies broadcasted on TV for free (i.e. I don't pay a dime to see it), but it's not ok to watch it when I feel like it? The only difference: the net is not controllable.

---

__________________

Loving God.... Vengeful God...

exposure

Now I have to see this. I would probably never even known about it otherwise.

That should be worth something...

Best of luck to you.


PS. Want to read my screenplay? lol just trying to cash in on the thread sven! It would make for great cocktail talk...

on various stuff...

Duke: How did I feel when I first realized that there is a pirated version of the movie? I was curious. I was happy to see that there is another audience out there that likes the movie.

I was worried that it won't look as good as it should be. Since then I was able to download the pirated version of my film and it actually looks and sounds OK. I do think it should be seen in the best form possible (on the big screen) and I want to thank DethStar for making the trip out to Madison for that reason.

404notfound: Paul W.S. Anderson? I'll remember what you said if I ever meet him. I know Zack worked with him on RE2 and tells me everytime how much more prepared he is. Forgive me, but I won't act on your request. In the meantime I'll wait for PT Anderson's new movie. He truly is a great filmmaker.

Pony_sr: Thank you for the review, I don't know if I would go as far as calling L.A. TWISTER a masterpiece - wait,... hell yeah! Did I mention that MAGNOLIA is a masterpiece?

xcajx: Regarding your screenplay. I'm not really a person that reads other scripts, but what's your story in one sentence ;-) ?

Hopefully for the next post, I can announce an idea for taking this "experiment" to the next level. Before I do I want to make sure that my "people" are onboard... This is starting to become a public forum, and I want them to hear it from me first.

__________________
unrated - unfiltered - unprecedented
L.A. TWISTER SCENE EDITION DVD

Re: Re: on various stuff...

Ok Sven, i'll let you off just this once. I personally believe the man doesn't have an ounce of talent but as i have seen others feel different (Some people actually liked Resident Evil and A vs P!! Go figure!) I was prepared to give him a chance over Alien Vs Predator. He maintained the studio made him butcher the film in order to receive a PG certificate and he told the fans to await the uncut dvd to see his true vision. What a surprise.... 3 months later he says that there was no uncut version and it was always shot as a PG movie.

If he doesn't have the confidence to stand by his film something must be wrong!

Anyhooooooo another Anderson rant over with (If you hang around you'll no doubt see more)

__________________

delete this post.

__________________
Spitball Admin
http://www.spitballcinema.com

Good Job!!!

The Movie Was Great, and i tank you, Sevn for understanding the GOOD side to piracy. I usually don't even pay attention to Mystics reveiws, as i liked alot of the movies he slammed, but i took a chance, and im glad.

By The Way -show all of the other directors this thread and let them know that there are caring people who actually don't want to get ripped off and download movies for a preview, and also i hope you get this move to realease wide so everyone can see that not all good movies are from big0budget biig name producers.
Also a shout out to the MPAA, see look the "pirates" actually buy movies, as said before, go after the sellers on ebay, and the sellers on the streets.



-Warezman1234 AKA Gordo(don't ask) :P

__________________
Midgets Are People Too

The critics are ALL WRONG!!! 2 out of 5 stars is the biggest understatement since the criticisms on Fight Club. This movie contains all the necessary elements; laughter, drama, suspense. IMDB has a more accurate picture with it's current 7.8 out of 10 stars.

Sven mentions Magnolia being a masterpeice, this movie is in the same category on a smaller scale. It is one not to be missed nor forgotten (given it's unique plot). Take it from someone who lives in L.A.

It should be obvious to Movie Exec's all the way down to cast, we are the real audience - the downloaders. Our passion for movies mostly revolves around watching just about everything we can (good and bad) and buying the majority of Retail DVDs (since we watch more movies than the average person), including foreign. It'll be best not to fuck with us. Instead love us, or at least accept us.

quote:

---

Originally posted by wickedsun
If you can explain to me why its ok to have movies broadcasted on TV for free (i.e. I don't pay a dime to see it), but it's not ok to watch it when I feel like it?

---

__________________

Its nice to see a different approach

__________________

Okay, I've read through most of the post so far on this thread and i have too say i agree with most of the comments made on piracy and the like, But it's fair to say that most of the people that have posted their idea's and thoughts are 18+ but i'm not so here's the story from a 13 year olds p.o.v:

On Piracy

It is good too be the envy of your friends when you can say "Oh yeah i downloaded Alfie last night" or whatever, But it can get annoying when u have a friend asking if he can borrow this or that but i admit i do get my mum too buy any films i have d/led and enjoyed . It also helps if you want to go to the cinema and aren't aloud too watch cause your not old enough.

On L.A Twister And Sven Pape

I haven't seen the film yet and like many others did not know jack all about it untill this thread. And kudos to you Sven for just seeing how much the anti-piracy commities lie about this and that.And for giving everyone a chance too have their opinions on a dvd along with (what i hear) Is a brilliant film .
So on the whole thanks for the chance to let me and everyone else host their views.
GoodBye For Now
Stuart

I will definitely be buying L.A. Twister when it comes to DVD. Its cool that Sven was curious about us pirates, and came here to discuss it. Greets sAJ

This could be the start of a new trend, young aspiring directors promoting their work here at VCDQuality. Just as long as their work is of a decent standard.

Imagine a young Paul W.S. Anderson coming here. Hehe. I doubt he'd appreciate our comments of his celluloid exploits and the sacrilege butchering of many a great franchise.

Wow, all this talk really made me want to see this movie! I'm definitely going to see L.A. Twister as soon as I have a chance!

__________________

all i have to say about the riaa and mpaa is quit wasting millions trying to stop the pirates and keep it in your packet since u need it sooo much more. pirates dont hurt ya your still going to get your pay cheque at the end of the day. or just realize that u might be able to throw some ppl in jail cause there in a rlz group but at the end of the day there still million more ppl to take there position on the internet

u can stop some ppl

but u will never stop it


quit throwing away money trying to stop it.

how many million/billion have they waste busting ppl

g/j haha

i will buy this movie as soon as its on dvd i hate WP's hehe

Well, I finally got around to watching the DVD Screener yesterday and it is a pretty damned good movie. Whilst I'm not going to enthuse at length about it like Mystic did (hey, it's his review thread!) I will say that it held my attention from start to finish. I wouldn't say there's many laughs in the movie but it certainly raises a smile on numerous occaisions and it also achieves something that most films fail tragically at - you actually give a shit about the central characters. Overall, very well written, very cleverly directed. Zack Ward also impressed, mainly because I've only ever seen him in big clucking turkeys before, let's hope this is the first of many quality parts for him as he can act and he looks distinctive without actually being better looking than me... That's my kind of actor

I won't patronise Sven with a "score" but overall, it's well worth watching and it certainly deserves more exposure

__________________
Statistically... 9 out of 10 people actually enjoy gang rape.

Before I commit intellectual property theft....

...which I fully intend to do....

Most of us pretty much agree that the whole argument of the entrenched media publishers re piracy or 'media sharing' is a pantload.

Sven is not alone in seeing the benefits to the overlooked/fledgling artist.

Check out http://www.baen.com/library/

An old guard print publishing house firmly embracing the idea of casting bread upon the waters.

A brief quote from the site:

"Losses any author suffers from piracy are almost certainly offset by the additional publicity which, in practice, any kind of free copies of a book usually engender. Whatever the moral difference, which certainly exists, the practical effect of online piracy is no different from that of any existing method by which readers may obtain books for free or at reduced cost: public libraries, friends borrowing and loaning each other books, used book stores, promotional copies, etc."

They have a mix of full novels available for download including Larry Niven's "Fallen Angels" and a host of others.

Sven,

I finally watched this movie of yours. I had to obtain a copy since no theatres around here were showing this movie nor had they any plans to.

I really liked the style you shot this movie with and am looking forward to supporting more of your work. (yes I mean by buying it)

As soon as this movie is available on DVD in Canada you will be getting another sale from me.

I'll be honest, before I heard the hype from msytic and others I didn't even know your movie existed. I almost definitely would have been very likely to give this one a skip if my attention had not been drawn to it through this forum.

In my case you can thank "piracy" directly for a sale you have gained that you had absolutely no chance of getting prior to my viewing this thread.

I really hope that when you make it big in the industry that you do not get your head stuck up your ass like so many others

I respect that you took the time to sign up here and show us that not everyone in your industry is silly heh.

I really don't want to come across like everything about your movie was perfect, but I think that you are headed in the right direction and if you stick with it you will have some great big things in your future.

Thank you for a truly entertaining movie in 2004. You don't understand how much garbage I have sifted through for this diamond in the rough.

If only people would learn from you and realize that I don't need to see everything CGI and shit blowing up everywhere to make a good movie, than you have made a huge mark upon the film industry for the better and not the worse

If you leave any questions that I feel "qualified" to answer then you will hear from me again If not, then you can count on me waiting for your next film.

Best regards,

A true Movie fan that will pay for movies that are not crap. Hollywood are you listening? Stop making every single movie a 2 hour long commercial full of mindless garbage and you will have my support.

I pay to see movies I truly enjoy. Usually in the Theatres and on DVD. Want my money? Then make a decent movie and you'll get it.

When is this coming out on DVD in Canada? Would love to know so I can take note and go pick it up to add to my collection.

P.S. How could I leave this without bigups to my boys?? E. Datclericstalker, Craxx, and Nintik you bastages. For everyone else... YOU KNOW AK!?!? Shoutout to Sassy H. and Clarrr-Keeeey!

(Sorry, had to toss in that plug for my buds Gotta add some additional keepsake value. )

This is gonna be pure jokes/memories if I see myself in the extras when I buy this flick. I'm staying optimistic

__________________
Wisdom concerning the 2004 Election Results.....

[03/14:11] <kalvaitis> I bet Michael Moore will be so depressed that he'll eat France. You better watch out, Shn.

Today's frontpage of the Hollywood Reporter

I thought this fits our discussion...

Nov. 05, 2004

MPAA launches legal offensive against online pirates

By Jesse Hiestand
Movie pirates were warned Thursday that they are under surveillance as potential targets of copyright infringement lawsuits that the MPAA will begin filing Nov. 16.

The campaign has been quietly under way for months and will tentatively involve about 250 cases filed in courts around the United States.
The potential defendants are people who allow dozens if not hundreds of movies to be uploaded from their computers onto such peer-to-peer file-trading networks as Kazaa and eDonkey. Warner Bros., Sony Corp., the Walt Disney Co. and the other MPAA members hope to head off the problem before it gets out of hand, as happened with the record labels.

"If we don't act now, the consequences will be devastating to the entire film industry," MPAA president and CEO Dan Glickman told reporters at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. "This is about protecting some things that all Americans hold dear: consumer choice, artistic creativity and economic growth. They cannot happen if the creators' ability to come up with these works of art is impinged by the fact that they are being distributed for free around the world."

The lawsuits follow and complement efforts to educate people about the economic consequences of movie piracy. An ad slated to coincide with the filings states "Is this you?" and lists the user names and Internet addresses of hundreds of actual file traders.

"I think (the lawsuits) will be a major deterrent both to people currently doing it and people who might be thinking of doing it in the future," MGM chairman and CEO Alex Yemenidjian said.

The campaign has broad industry support, uniting the studios and unions despite their recent contract fights over residuals from legitimate DVD sales. Glickman and his top anti-piracy lieutenants were joined Thursday by DGA national executive director Jay Roth and secretary-treasurer Gil Cates, WGA West executive director John McLean and president Daniel Petrie Jr., SAG national officer Anne-Marie Johnson and IATSE International representative in charge Joe Aredas.

"This is stealing, plain and simple," Cates said. "Why would my fellow directors want to make a film that is exploited in that way, which robs them of both their livelihood and their work? And why would the studios want to put money into a film that can be stolen and illegally mass-distributed before or just as it reaches the screen? The answer is we won't and they won't."

Johnson added that piracy has a direct impact on workers throughout the industry. "The majority of us are one residual paycheck from losing our health and pension," he said, "so we can't and we won't condone peer-to-peer file sharing and allow theft to continue."

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who did not attend the briefing, said online piracy has implications for the state because movies generate about $30 billion in annual revenue.

"We must teach our children that the illegal downloading of movies and music is wrong and that it has consequences," Schwarzenegger said in a statement.

The MPAA will follow the procedures the RIAA pioneered in going after illegal music trading: first, intercept the Internet address of a person sharing a movie on a peer-to-peer network and then sue them as an unidentified "Doe" defendant in a federal civil case. The MPAA can then subpoena the Internet service provider to reveal the person's name, allowing the person to be sued individually for damages.

Copyright law puts a price of $30,000 on each film infringement, or up to $150,000 if it is deemed willful.

It is expected that most people will be given an opportunity to settle the cases for a few thousand dollars, as the RIAA has done with many of the 6,200 cases it has filed since September 2003.

The RIAA's campaign has produced mixed results, from raising the public's awareness of copyright law to early embarrassments like suing the wrong people.

Experts say movie and music piracy are fundamentally different.

Film files, whether from ripped DVDs or camcorded in theaters, are far larger and more cumbersome to transfer electronically than songs, though that has become less of an issue as home consumers add broadband connections.

Music and movies also are viewed differently by copyright law, according to attorney Dan Ballard, who advised some of the consumers sued by the RIAA. The courts have recognized a person's right to make copies of music they own for personal, in-home use, he said. No such right has been extended to movies.

"I don't know of any fair-use argument for downloading a movie, so the courts are going to be very receptive to the MPAA's cases where they may have been a little more reluctant with the RIAA's cases," Ballard said. "Consumers also seem to consider movies differently. Everyone knows it's unlawful to download a movie, so the gestalt is that it's acceptable for songs but not for movies."

Others say the industry suits are ineffective because recent studies show that P2P traffic is at least as high if not higher now than it was when the RIAA started suing people.

"It's also a bit misguided to launch these lawsuits against movie fans at a time when the (movie) industry is enjoying fantastic profits," the Electric Frontier Foundation's Fred von Lohman said. "There is absolutely no evidence that peer-to-peer file sharing is hurting Hollywood's bottom line as opposed to the music industry."

The MPAA estimates that the studios lose about $3.5 billion annually to physical piracy like bootlegged DVDs but does not have a ready figure for Internet-related losses.

Glickman said the MPAA was not anti-technology, as evinced by CinemaNow, Movieflix, Movielink and other legitimate, studio-sanctioned online movie services. Nor were the lawsuits timed to the studios' setbacks in the Grokster case, he said.

In that case, courts have ruled that there are substantial noninfringing uses to P2P technology, prompting the MPAA, RIAA and National Music Publishers' Assn. to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft recently vowed to prosecute large-scale and organized crime-based piracy operations, complementing the MPAA's decision to go after individuals.

"We would rather pull people into theaters than drag them into court," Glickman said. "At the same time, we will use every tool we have to limit theft and to limit piracy and the other problems technology can cause."

__________________
unrated - unfiltered - unprecedented
L.A. TWISTER SCENE EDITION DVD

Yeah, that's been in the news a lot recently. Quite why the MPAA want to clog up the courts like the RIAA i don't know.

COurthouses are gonna get pissed off with all these cases making a backlog for more important cases such as murders, robberies etc.

But then the MPAA and RIAA only think of themselves and their pockets.

Oh, this thread is also being discussed on IMDB:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0347368/board/nest/12906096

Any more news on the DVD Sven?

Personally though, I doubt many people are worried about the MPAA's "threats", the only people they are gonna bust are kiddies sharing 10,000 odd mp3's on some lame P2P network. P2P networks such as kazaa, edonkey.etc are actually bad for the movie pirating scene, as they allow almost "one-click access" to pirated material, meaning pretty much any dumb-ass can download a film for free.

This puts the scene in the public spotlight alot more.

If they tried to sue someone like myself, I would politely tell them to fuck off, as although I have watched my fair share of pirated movies, the amount of money I spend each month on going to the cinema, and buying dvd's is absolutely crazy.

I think what they are doing is good however, as it will deter a lot of the people who are unsure how safe they are in cyberspace from downloading movies, resulting in less exposure of releases to people who are likely to be idiots. They are never going to stop people pirating movies, and they know that, but these threats and lawsuits are an effective way of contracting the loop around piracy and therefore finding an effective "balance", the point where piracy is still continuing, but the gay cgi blockbusters are back to making a profit again.

On a sidenote, I'm interested as to when L.A. Twister will be out on DVD as well, any clues?