So the big news buzzing around H’wood yesterday was the report that a work print copy of the upcoming Wolverine movie had indeed been leaked onto the Intard-webz, and was making the rounds on the various torrent sites. While this probably has many fanboys slobering more than usual, as they analyze every single frame of a movie, that isn’t the locked final print, and spouting their proclamations far and wide for whoever will listen in hopes of gaining some respect, and possibly losing their virginity (finally), the rest of us should just ignore it and wait until May.
More ramblings (and I do mean ramblings) on that, after the jump.
Why ignore it? Remember, this is a work print that is being circulated; this is not a locked print, so anything can happen, including having most of the special effects, music track, or final scenes removed or tweaked in the final release. The prospect of watching this in-progress movie is about as appealing as reading a Frank Miller comic book script before seeing all the art work by Jim Lee. Sure it might be interesting to see what might happen, but until the polished issue hits the stand, it’s about as interesting as slowing down at a car accident to see if you can see a dead body.
I remember the hype surrounding episodes 1-3 of the Star Wars films, and how some people had early copies of the films before they debuted in theaters. Sure there was the temptation of watching these in a dorm room at 3:00 AM, but in reality those copies sucked, and didn’t compare to the visual experience of seeing the films (good or bad) on the big screen. The same is true for this copy of Wolverine; see it in the theater, it will be a more enjoyable experience.
Watching movies is a group activity. There’s something special about experiencing a moment in time with your fellow fan. Yes, the jackhole spilling nachos on your cardigan, while the dumb bunny in the back row blathers on her cellphone is extremely annoying, but that shared experience is more gratifying than five slobbering fanboys crowding around a 21-inch computer screen hoping to increase their superiority points over their fellow comic book fan when they go to the local comic book shop next Wednesday.
“You’re just jealous you didn’t download it, Stephen.”
If you’ve followed this site for any length of time, you know I’m not a huge reader of the Marvel titles, and during a time when Wolverine is being exploited more than usual with the whole Wolverine Appreciation Month (you really think it is an appreciation month as much as it is a “let’s hype the upcoming movie” stunt?), having this pre-release movie available for anyone to download just doesn’t interest me. In fact it wouldn’t surprise me if this wasn’t a stunt cooked up to add an extra layer of anticipation. Does the movie look good? It looks very interesting, and had I not been a father of a two-year-old, I’d probably be in line on opening day to see what Fox is offering to fans. Do I want to see a half-assed copy that isn’t complete yet? Heck no.
“But Stephen, this is like karma…or something… for Fox for pulling that crap with Watchmen”
The other, more disturbing aspect of this stunt cooked up by either an angry former employee, or a crazed Intard-webz hacker is that it could seriously put a damper on future movie projects. The slobbering fanboys who are feaverishly downloading this movie and then bashing it online, end up causing the built in Wolverine fanbase to reconsider whether or not they will see the film. I truly believe that had the Intard-webz not gone ape-crazy over early images and news of The Spirit, that the film might have opened larger than it did. And yes, I know there are other factors at work that contributed to the failure of the movie, but the Slobbering Fanboy Nation (I sense a T-shirt coming) played their part extremely well. With The Spirit tanking, followed by the a less the box office busting release of Watchmen, another failure could cause studios to rethink the importance of comics as a source of big box office monies. And that just hurts everyone.
“If I see it now Stephen, I’ll have more friends because they will flock to me because I have the inside information”
Wolverine hits theaters in May, that’s not that long of a wait, and that feeling of superiority you’re going to get now, still won’t earn you anymore respect. And it’s not going to get you laid – unless being the love doll to a large tattooed man in prison is your idea of getting laid. The FBI is now involved, and ISPs are more willing than ever to to turn in private information about its subscribers at the mere mention of a court order. So those that are doing the downloading are going to get caught, and retribution will most certainly be involved.  If you know someone who has the moive, politely ask them to delete it (not likely to happen), or refuse to view it if offered. It’s the honest thing to do, and keeps your good Karma…or something… going for a while longer.
Yes, I realize this statment might be perceived as going against the very name of a site called Major Spoilers, but I still believe that waiting until Christmas morning to open a present is much more satisfying than sneaking into your parent’s closet and learning what gifts you having coming to you. Knowing that you’re getting socks ahead of time is indeed depressing. And while finding out you got socks Christmas morning is a bit of a letdown, it’s not as bad as finding out you’re going to jail because you peaked early.
20 Comments
I personally go to see Big Blockbuster movies like Wolverine in theatres for the experience. I want to be able to sit a theatre with some friends and watch a nice finely polished completed version of a film such as this. I don’t want to sit in my room at home alone and watch a crappy, grainy, incomplete version of the film, one which you will not at all be able to appreciate the experience, not to mention the fact that you will either not be able to see the amazing special effects that are present in a movie like Wolverine (since they are usually only present in the final completed version of the film) or you’ll simply be able to see the “rough” unfinished special effects scenes. I’m not wholly against watching leaked movies online, I would just prefer to do it with “throw-away” movies that I didn’t plan on seeing theatres anyways so it doesn’t make a difference if I watch it off the internet or not (I’m talking about movies such as White Chicks, no one needs to pay money to go to the theatre to experience those type of movies).
First, let me open with: Stephen Schleicher sold out to the MAN, man!!! ;p
Second, isn’t this getting to be way too common? Every other month, I feel like I keep hearing about something like this happening. Think maybe the studios are doing this on purpose? Maybe just to hear initial criticism and to tweaks based on that?
Last, if this does end up hurting the movie, I’d be happy. Not only that, I would hope that the would spill into comic books removing Logan from X-Men and Avengers and sending the character into exile for a couple of years. ;p
“… but that shared experience is more gratifying than five slobbering fanboys crowding around a 21-inch computer screen hoping to increase their superiority points over their fellow comic book fan when they go to the local comic book shop next Wednesday.”
But, what if one of those geeks has a project with which they can throw the image up onto a wall-sized 10′ screen in nigh-glorious 1080i quality … ?
Jacin: You’re still not watching a downloaded movie in HD, just a crappy 640×480 heavily compressed movie projected at 10′.
Maximus Rift: I only wished I HAD sold out to the man, because that payday my friend is mighty large (12 figures minimum) :D :P
Jude: Jump into the archives and read my piece on legal first run downloadable movies… would much rather experience Wolverine that way.
Why I want LEGAL first run HD downloads in my home
All the effects in the world couldn’t save this garbage of a movie…no damn costumes…boring action..and STUPID STUPID STUPID A$$ ending…I was hoping for a good movie but WOLVERINE really got SCREWED in this one! Just my opinion….and if you don’t like it..go FOX YOURSELF!;)
Hmmm… to download or not to download. Well to be honest, I’m a process junkie and I would love to see an early cut of Wolverine and then see the finished movie. But I’m more concerned about downloading a virus, instead of the legal consequences of pirating a movie. So I’ll just wait for the DVD (unless the reviews for Wolverine are really good).
I watched it the other day and i dont feel wrong or dishonest for doing it for what they did to deadpool they dont deserve my money, thanks have and have a good night
I would pay good money just to watch Hugh Jackman strut around in his underwear.
I’m just sayin’ is all…
Turks: OF course you realize the last month of reshoots (the stuff that wasn’t added into the film yet) had a lot more deadpool stuff, and may just have changed the ending you saw?
JEFF: Too Much Information! :D
well im still gonna see the movie in theaters haha but yeah i heard theres more deadpool footage but the outcome is still the same so is the character design of him (baraka)
i didn’t want to pay to see this thing because it looked like crap. well, it is crap. i understand things can change since the official release, but belive me, they can’t change it that much.
what they did to the ending can’t be saved, unless the redo half of the movie.
i wasn’t going to pay for it anyway. doesn’t excuse anything, but now i know why i won’t pay. if there was any glimpse of hope, i would go to the theatre.
deadpool was cool for the whole 2 minutes he was in the movie by the way.
It kind of reminds of whenever some friend or relative offers me a bootleg copy of some movie still in theaters. My attitude has always been, “Why did I get a DVD player to watch a badly lit, blurry, shaky picture with bad sound? For the chance to see the silhouette of some guy getting up to go to the bathroom?”
@crood:
dude, this is actually a dvd-rip. granted it’s not as good as in theatre, but it’s very good. no special effect though.
the story is there isnt that the most important thing?
i am going to watch the wolverine movie tonite…i will be very pissed off that they ^*%$%^&ed up deadpool…urgh!! but what do you expect! its FOX the same people who brought you the Fantastic BORE!!!
The point is you’re not seeing the movie as it’s intended to be seen. Why would I want to see an action/special effects movie without the special effects?
to be honest, there’s not many heavy-CGi scene. lots of action scene though. only the last battle is heavy with cgi, which was a bit confusing, but still boring.
To each his own
My view on illegal downloading of films/music is simple:
You can’t complain when they don’t make a sequel to your favourite film or when your favourite band splits up if you are not paying for their products.