Top 12 Stories of 2003:

#10: Hulk screener leaks

The year 2003 is the year that the major studios really started paying attention to this growing trend. It is evident in their active attempts to discourage piracy through advertisements and warnings, the active pursuit of individuals downloading copies of movies and other more drastic methods. If any single incident can be looked at as a catalyst for this shift in attitude, it was the leaking of a work print on Ang Lee's potential summer blockbuster Hulk.

Kerry Gonzales was loaned an illicit copy of a near-final (some effects shots were not yet complete) Hulk work print by a friend working for a company involved in the marketing of the movie. Gonzales digitized this into a high-quality copy of the film and released it onto the Internet. The most important factor here was the fact that Hulk, one of the most eagerly-awaited films of the summer, was available on the Internet not a couple of days after release, but a full two weeks before opening day.

When Hulk did open officially, the numbers, while still impressive, were significantly lower than expected. After opening weekend it went into freefall, ending up making just over double its opening weekend before it left our screens. While most attribute this poor performance to the fact that the movie just wasn't that good - or perhaps that it was good, but not in the way those who wanted the next Spider-Man were expecting - there were some who suggested that the widespread early availability of this film on the Internet had a considerable negative impact on ticket sales.

Either way, the studio (Vivendi Universal) was not amused. They decided to enlist the aid of the FBI in an attempt to track down the source of the leaked print. Soon after, Mr. Gonzales found that the Internet is not as anonymous a place as many people may think, when he was located and subsequently charged with felony copyright infringement. Pleading guilty, he was fined $2,000, sentenced to six months home confinement and ordered to pay Vivendi Universal $5, 000 in restitution.

The studio and the MPAA have both claimed that this decision represented a victory for Hollywood and a defeat for the pirates, sending them a strong message that their actions will no longer be tolerated. However, a case like this is a rare one in that a leaked movie was able to be traced back to a single identifiable source. There has been little further action beyond some strongly-worded warning letters, and certainly no further criminal prosecutions. The MPAA continues to push the hyperbolic line that the piracy of movies "threaten[s] the nearly one million men and women whose livelihoods rely on the motion picture industry, who have mortgages to pay and kids to send to college". While they may have a point, I can't help but get the urge to yell back at the MPAA's Jack Valenti "STOP PAYING HARRISON FORD $25 MILLION DOLLARS FOR MOVIES NO ONE WANTS TO SEE!" as I suspect my advice would do a lot more to protect the livelihoods of those working in Hollywood than their attempts to thwart movie piracy to date.

However, despite Mr. Gonzales' detection and sentencing and the MPAA's toughening stance on the issue, little has changed in the world of online movie piracy. It may have dissuaded some people, but those with a broadband connection, a high tolerance of poor quality movie files, knowledge of where to look and a willingness to break the law are still doing much the same thing. Where things go from here remains to be seen; this is an ongoing issue that is gathering momentum and will continue to do so by orders of magnitude. Wherever we do go, when we look back at what started it all, the leaking of this Hulk work print may very well be seen as an important turning point.

Note: The author would like to point out that despite having a fast Internet connection and knowing where to look, he has no tolerance for poor quality movies and no desire to break the law; as such he has never downloaded or watched a pirated movie. He would also like to point out that he has never seen the Hulk work print, has not seen the Hulk in the cinema and has no plans to see it on DVD. He would like to apologize in advance for anyone who loses their job because of lost income due to his reluctance to see this film. (Ash Wakeman/BOP)

The Top 12 Stories of 2003: