The internet is awash in buzz (at least the sites I frequent) about the leaked and pirated Wolverine movie. Somebody dropped this thing on the world - a month AHEAD of it’s theatrical release date. Movies winding up on the ‘net is nothing new, but something of this kind of blockbuster status being leaked early certainly is. Reportedly it’s DVD quality too, not some shaky cam job either. This isn’t great for the Wolverine movie, and it’s really bad for Fox Studios who are really worried about Box Office dollars now, but I gotta say it looks good on ‘em.
Now, while I’ll admit I was tempted to download it, that temptation was quickly doused when I learned it was an early workprint copy. This means incomplete special effects, visible wire work, green screen, and none of the reshoots added in. No thanks. I’ve been waiting for a Wolverine movie for a while, and when I do see it I want the complete version on the big screen. I just hope it doesn’t suck, and unfortunately it might. There’s been many reports of this being a train wreck, largely in part to interference from Fox chief Tom Rothman, but I keep hoping that Hugh Jackman’s solid grip on the character pulls it through. We’ll find out soon enough.
Still, having this leaked and possibly ruining Fox’s tentpole release of the year must be some kind of karmic backlash. Consider all the ways Fox has screwed it’s product’s fan base and gone out of its way to damage good shows/movies over the years, I can’t help but feel like Nelson on the Simpsons and point at Fox and go “Ha-Ha!” Gotta say Fox, you earned this one.
But it doesn’t stop there. Oh no, Fox has to up the ante. After swearing legal vengeance on whoever leaked it (or downloads it) and even troubling the FBI over it and asking movie web sites and the fan community not to download and review the film early, I read this over on
CinemaBlend.com:
...today when Fox News reporter Roger Friedman posted a review, on FoxNews's website, of the recently pirated, illegal copy of X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
As CinemaBlend’s Josh Tyler goes on to write: “let the implications of that sink in.” Really, it’s a doozy. Now, while Fox comes out to indicate News and the Movie studio are different entities and Friedman is a freelance writer, it still boggles the mind they’d let this happen. Go ahead and read the entire article by Josh Tyler and you have to shake your head at the incompetence shown by FOX. After complaining non stop about movie piracy for eons, and getting a lot of facts wrong along the way, and trying to make their product as difficult as possible to get to the fans, and now begging the online community to ignore the leak, they wind up with an early review of a downloaded, illegal, pirated version of Their Own Movie on Their Own Website! Kudos to you FOX - you have attained an EPIC FAIL. If you ever open your mouth about pirated content again after this, I hope you’re laughed out of town.
It’s just really too bad it had to happen to the Wolverine movie. The first X-Men movie is one of my all time faves, and I’m a huge Wolverine comic fan as well. I’ve been waiting for a solo Wolverine movie for a long time, and now all this drama has to surround it. After the first awesome trailer, I’ve been avoiding any further clips/trailers/spoilers like the plague. I’ll be going to the theatre to see this, no doubt, but I’ll be regretting the fact my money is contributing to Fox - the worst movie studio of all time.
In the end, the Wolverine movie and those that worked on it don’t deserve this. However, Fox Studios, the corporation and CEO, certainly does. Way to go karma.
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