Cammed copies of Star Wars: The Force Awakens circulate on torrent sites

Welcome to BoingBoing, Mr. Shkreli!

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These people (that viewed the movie illegally) will need
to be hunted down and NEURALIZED !

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I think we should all pause a moment to reflect on the number of Bothan spies who must have died to bring us this.

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You make an excellent case for why there should be day one digital distribution. You will always get pirates, but we have the ability to stream/sell digital from the get go. People have stupidly huge home theatre setups that are arguably nicer than a lot of theatres.

Granted I donā€™t have internet speeds high enough to stream HD content without hiccups, but still. It is a thing that can be done.

Itā€™s more 'dude guys why are you making shitty cam videos of it?

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The irony of Star Wars being a Vietnam allegory wasnā€™t lost on Disney, it was lost on the entire generation who embraced it after its release in 1977. Perhaps more than any other cultural force in the second half of the 20th century, Star Wars made war cool again.

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Good, we need a better animated gif of Poe and Finn cuddling.

Itā€™s about time Star Wars had a good LGBT couple in the movies.

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I was telling someone the other day that this was the first time in a long while I saw people sprinting in and out of the auditorium when they had to use the restroom.

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ā€œUnprecedentedā€!? Iā€™m sorry, but that simply isnā€™t true.

What theyā€™re describing is standard operating procedure for every DCP (digital cinema package) that is used - itā€™s just how the system works. Basically, a hard drive with the movie is sent to the theater who then uploads it to their server. An e-mail is sent with the key to the projectionist. The key is sort of like a password and rental guide rolled into one. It unlocks the movie so it can be played and has a specific time frame in which the movie can be played (like, 12 noon on Friday the 18th through 8am on Sunday the 20th or somesuch). Depending on how popular the movie is, new keys are sent out to unlock it again and extend the run. And the key is specifically made for that server so if the theater wants to load it elsewhere, they have to report it and get a new key.

The goggles arenā€™t new either. Heck, they were using those to spot cammers back when theaters were still using 35mm. That the goggles may have been used in public screenings rather than publicity screenings is rather unique, but not unheard of.

Now, I wouldnā€™t doubt there was some EXTRA security going on, like guards being sent with the couriers to deliver the DCPs in the first place. But that would probably only happen in the US.

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For most movies Iā€™d agree. Iā€™m that way myself, and going to the movie theatre for this was a major exception for me. But I still doubt youā€™d bother downloading a cam version of ā€œForce Awakensā€ (unless Jerry Seinfeld was ā€œdirectingā€).

No way theyā€™re sending out screeners for a movie even elderly Academy voters are going to trudge out to the theatres to see.

I saw it in a theater. I will see it again ā€¦ probably at least two more times. I will buy the blu ray.

Thereā€™s no way Iā€™m going to feel guilty about checking on a piece of dialog on a cammed copy.

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You know, I was so certain that I was going to win #1 Star Wars Hater this week that I could almost taste it.

And then this guy shows up, out of nowhere.

You win, nubwaxer. You win.

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In related news: water is wet, fire is warm and space is big.

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Well, aside from maybe the infrared surveillance (nothing new or special) we had none of that at the best cinema in Germany. Apparently they didnā€™t in Spain or wherever, either.

Iā€™ve seen the torrent out there, but gave it a pass. This is one of the movies to see on the big screen. We are planning on going New Yearā€™s day so hopefully there will be less people there.

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On Friday morning when I saw it someone took a flash photo of the opening crawl and an usher came over to have a word with them but they werenā€™t thrown outā€¦

Or people who have seen it multiple times and just NEED A FIX I AN QUIT ANY TIME I WANT TO DAMMIT!

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Tumblr. You seek Tumblr.

It is glorious!



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I went to the Australian midnight premiere and there was no security, in fact I had a dslr on me to photograph all the kids in costume - of which there was noneā€¦

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True, a cam version is no substitute. But 1) Itā€™s actually really hard to find a movie theater with a sound system that rates higher than ā€œacceptableā€ and 2) Why bother going to such lengths to deter camming?

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