Warner Bros. cancels all promo screenings in Canada

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By M&C Movie News May 8, 2007, 14:28 GMT

Burbank, CA, (M&C) – In response to the growing tide of pirated feature film releases originating from Canadian theaters, Warner Bros. Pictures Canada is taking a bold step to combat piracy, canceling all promotional and word-of-mouth screenings on all of its forthcoming releases, effective immediately. The policy will be implemented with the Studio’s next release, 'Ocean’s Thirteen,' and will be in effect for all films thereafter from Warner Independent Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures, including the July 13 release of 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.'The announcement was made May 8 by Darcy Antonellis, Senior Vice President, Worldwide Anti-Piracy Operations, Warner Bros. Entertainment, and Executive Vice President, Distribution and Technology Operations, Warner Bros. Technical Operations.The newly enacted policy represents the Studio’s response to the lack of legislation in Canada to curtail the growing wave of camcorder-shot (“camcorded”) films being trafficked around the world. From 2003 to 2005, 37 states and the District of Columbia enacted tough laws against camcording. In May of 2005, the U.S. federal government followed suit. Yet, despite incontrovertible evidence that film piracy has become a major economic and law enforcement issue, Canada has not adopted a federal law making camcording illegal or permitting the confiscation of equipment, and, as a result, has become the main source for most of the world’s film piracy. Over the last 18 months roughly 70% of Warner Bros. titles released have been camcorded in Canada.

"Canada is the number one priority in terms of anti-camcording legislation,” Antonellis said. “Within the first week of a film’s release, you can almost be certain that somewhere out there a Canadian copy will show up. Within the last 12 to 18 months we've seen a significant increase in terms of first-source proliferation that shows up on the Internet and subsequently shows up as hard goods elsewhere."“We regret having to cancel our screenings in Canada but our Studio must take steps to protect not only our branded assets but our commitment to our filmmakers and to theaters all over the world,” said Dan Fellman, President, Warner Bros. Pictures Domestic, a division of Warner Bros. Distributing Inc. “We’ve been working collaboratively with the exhibitors to encourage the government to put additional measures in place to deter and stop camcording.”For the past two years, Warner Bros. Pictures Canada has been working with the Canadian Motion Picture Assoc (CMPDA) as it has been lobbying the federal government to make the act of camcording a punishable offence. Although Warners is the first to take such a hard-line stance, the other studios are just as frustrated by the Canadian situation. For instance, 20th Century Fox has talked about pushing back the release date of its pics in Canada because most movies are typically released on the same date there as in the U.S., creating an opportunity for a camcorded copy to flood other markets before the film can officially open. Warners is the first studio, though, that's willing to sacrifice a valuable marketing tool to take a stand. "This is an important step towards curbing piracy on a global scale," said Warner Bros. Intl. prexy of distribution Veronika Kwan-Rubinek. "Piracy is the leading issue the international film industry struggles with every day, and Canada is the first place to take action, as Canadian recorded content is distributed and viewed all over the world," Kwan-Rubinek said

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Another Canuck scofflawMay 8th, 2007 - 15:20:49

Interesting press release - really shows all sides of the issue from Warner Bros. perspective.

One side benefit of outlawing camcorders in theatres would be that mobile phones would quickly need to follow; the best of these can already make a passable recording of a feature-length film, and transfer it with reasonable speed by the time the sender gets to the end of the block.

People will complain at first, but this will be MUCH less complicated when recording of any kind of scene is illegal; releases for the people, trademarked logos and copyright images, it's all just too complicated for a family album or home movie. And when the MiB memory erasers are mandatory as you leave the theatre, you'll be able to enjoy the same finely-crafted summer movies over, and over, and over.

Face it, you were getting sick of Youtube anyway.

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yaddaMay 8th, 2007 - 17:36:05

better to be camcording than shooting people. maybe this way Canadians will get a chance to make some box office on their homegrown films instead of big budget crap that the studios pump out.

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badda bingMay 8th, 2007 - 17:39:15

Geez, last week it Wwas New York's turn to get blamed...www.wtopnews.com/index.php?nid=114sid=1130323

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badda bingMay 8th, 2007 - 17:40:48

sorry...should have been =114&sid=

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MichaelMay 8th, 2007 - 21:16:30

Who downloads theatre captures anyway???

The quality is always . . . .

These idiots are, as usual, barkng up the wrong tree.

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ThoiMay 9th, 2007 - 00:44:15

' better to be camcording than shooting people. maybe this way Canadians '
Yes , Canadians use magic bullets and bombs that do not hurt people and do not destroy property .
The newspapers and history books are all lies ! We did not do it !
If the average Canadian lived in Germany in 1938 we would still have this insane vastly inflated self image .

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KrackonisMay 9th, 2007 - 01:03:05

This is totally from the companies PoV.

Unfortuantely we don't want ot put security in our theatres, guns on our streets or go through huge hoops to watch our citizens media usage. It's media. Charge them more on the back end buying CD's adn such. WE will not turn our citzens into criminals because the US puts private property rights over public rights.

We in Canada feel differently. WE have the right to no be harrassed by money grubbing corporations. Our governments serves us. Not the other way around. Sorry.

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zeeMay 9th, 2007 - 05:06:33

its the commemorative loonies with the secret recording device thats responsible.

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S WilsonMay 10th, 2007 - 15:05:15

I would like to see where they get thier numbers from? It is a joke, and they think that they can strong arm Canada into creating a piracy rule that will never work anyway. Should i turn my VCR in so us canadians can not copy thier brodcasts as well; eh

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cripMay 10th, 2007 - 18:31:42

I am a disabled person living in an area where the nearest movie theater is 200 miles away. So, I don't go to theaters. Those rich fat-cats can just try and take my mouse out of my hand. It's a FREE market society, isn't it?
TORRENTS FOREVER!!!!!!!

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