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'Sicko' Leaks, Weinstein Freaks

by Terrence O'Brien on June 19, 2007 at 12:34 PM

'Sicko' Leaks, Weinstein Freaks'Sicko', Michael Moore's sure-to-be-scathing new documentary about the health care industry, has been leaked onto the Internet a good two weeks before its scheduled June 29th release date. First came a high quality version -- apparently ripped from a pre-release screener DVD -- that made its way through the BitTorrent file-sharing channels. Then, two separate users posted the film on YouTube in its entirety, broken up into fourteen, Web-friendlier chunks. Between 700 and 900 people viewed the movie on YouTube, which was quickly pulled once the site received complaints from Lionsgate, which is handling domestic distribution of the film for The Weinstein Co.

The Weinstein Co. is more than a little peeved, "Every DVD screener that comes from the Weinstein Co. is watermarked and traceable," said general counsel for the company, Peter Hurwitz. "We are actively investigating who illegally uploaded 'Sicko' to the Internet, and we will take appropriate action against that person."

To dissuade people from downloading 'Sicko,' or, to at least make it more difficult, anti-piracy firms have launched a campaign to flood the Internet with fake versions of the film, a tactic similar to what the recording industry has done with songs that leak.

Moore, on the other hand, is less concerned. He's reiterated his long time stance in favor of people copying and distributing his films, "I think the music industry's response to Napster was misguided ... and for me, it's about getting people to see the movie and that's what I want, so they will talk about it ... I would never want to prosecute anybody who would download [one of my films]."

From Newsvine

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Tags: bittorrent, leak, michael moore, MichaelMoore, movie, sicko, youtube

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