Wolverine Leak Aftermath
Fox responds to web leak as FBI gets involved
US, April 2, 2009 - 20th Century Fox issued a statement late yesterday in response to Tuesday's leaking of their upcoming movie X-Men Origins: Wolverine onto the Internet: "Last night, a stolen, incomplete and early version of X-Men Origins: Wolverine was posted illegally on a website. It was without many effects, had missing and unedited scenes and temporary sound and music. We immediately contacted the appropriate legal authorities and had it removed. We forensically mark our content so we can identify sources that make it available or download it."
The statement continued, "The source of the initial leak and any subsequent postings will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law – the courts have handed down significant criminal sentences for such acts in the past. The FBI and the MPAA also are actively investigating this crime. We are encouraged by the support of fansites condemning this illegal posting and pointing out that such theft undermines the enormous efforts of the filmmakers and actors, and above all, hurts the fans of the film."
As Deadline Hollywood Daily reports, "Estimates now are that the Hugh Jackman film, the 4th in the X-Men franchise for 20th Century Fox, was downloaded hundreds of thousands of times from file sharing websites on Tuesday. This is a huge blow to the studio's major summer blockbuster if those viewers don't go to a theater to see the film."
One person who admits to downloading the film is Fox's own columnist Roger Friedman, who reviews it at his Fox 411 column: "Directed by Gavin Hood, the film is as cutting edge as it is old fashioned. This may be the big blockbuster film of 2009, and one we really need right now. It's miles easier to understand than The Dark Knight, and tremendously more emotional. Hood simply did an excellent job bringing Wolverine's early life to the screen."
Friedman claims "the film works so beautifully because the screenplay is so streamlined. David Benioff ... carefully delineated these characters and did a smashing job. I had less trouble following this story than the one in Fireflies in the Garden. He's made Wolverine just the right kind of summer entertainment — a thrill ride with lots of emotional investment and a hero simply bigger than life. That's all you can ask for."
For those willing to actually pay money to see a film the way it was intended, you can catch X-Men Origins: Wolverine in theaters May 1.
UPDATED: The chairman of Rising Sun Pictures, a special effects house working on Wolverine, issued the following statement on the leak: "From the reports we've had, the stolen material is a work in progress version of the film with many incomplete sections. As we worked on individual sequences within the film, neither RSP or its staff members have ever been in possession of a full-length version, so it would have been impossible for the movie to have been leaked from here. It's common practice for work in progress between us and the production to carry vendor watermarks and for these works in progress to be integrated into various edits of the film for screenings which would explain why our name appears."
X-Men Origins: Wolverine Movie Leak
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