# respectcopyright.org... kiss my furry white ass **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 3, 2004, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/respectcopyright-org-kiss-my-furry-white-ass/222517 "2004-01-03T20:46:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2004, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/respectcopyright-org-kiss-my-furry-white-ass/222517/21 "2004-01-04T02:43:37Z")
I agree that the ads are horseshit. IMO, it should not be fear of putting the hardworking folk on the unemployment line that keeps you from pirating. It should just be the guilt from knowing you are stealing. But I understand the anger of the OP. The movie industry seems to be run by idiots. I often think that movie executives don’t actually _watch_ movies, that they just read reports. They are not interested in creating something good, just in predicting trends. I understand the motive to make a profit, and I’m down with that. But they seem to interested in the ‘big kill’ blockbuster and it seems to me that they would do better by making smaller, better films with those budgets. But what do I know? I just like to go to the movies. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2004, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/respectcopyright-org-kiss-my-furry-white-ass/222517/22 "2004-01-04T02:54:25Z")
And _another_ thing: What’s with saying “The pre-movie entertainment is brought to you by [sponsor]” and then showing these crap-ass “PSAs” and ads? Newsflash: _That’s not entertainment!_ Entertainment is (hopefully) the movie you are currently not allowing me to see. Why on earth would anyone _sponsor_ that shite? And don’t tell me you’re “entertaining” me while you subject me to ads against my will. Don’t pee on my leg and tell me it’s raining, man. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/13edae/32.png) [@Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Cheatem_Undhow)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2004, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/respectcopyright-org-kiss-my-furry-white-ass/222517/23 "2004-01-04T02:58:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lynn Bodoni \* > **I would argue that if the movie industry was so concerned about profits, that they wouldn’t try to pawn off crap on us.** Oh, come now Lynn. Need I really list all the crappy movies that were nevertheless enormously profitable? How much did _Independence Day_ or _Armageddon_ pull in again? My point was that the movie business is _risky_. No one really knows what’s going to make money. _Indepenence Day_ was a crappy big-budget sci-fi Will Smith vehicle that made gobs of money. _Wild, Wild West_ was a crappy big-budget sci-fi Will Smith vehicle that tanked. If you’re an exec tring to decide which crappy big-budget sci-fi Will Smith vehicle to invest millions of dollars in – before even one second is committed to celluloid – you’re playing a risky game. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/13edae/32.png) [@Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Cheatem_Undhow)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2004, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/respectcopyright-org-kiss-my-furry-white-ass/222517/24 "2004-01-04T03:11:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Diogenes the Cynic \* > **1.) I don’t really believe that fewer movies will get made. The demand for new movies is still enormous and I don’t believe that pirating really cuts much into profits. New releases are still breaking records for prifits.** I agree, but the OP presumes a loss of profits to the movie industry. And again, while I don’t share that view, it’s an arguable point that shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand. \*\* > [@](#): > > 2.) I don’t _care_ if fewer movies get made, because most movies are crap anyway and if studios have to be morse selective maybe they’ll put some more work into the quality of what they do produce. \*\* Don’t count on it. The first thing to go will be intelligent, adult-centered flicks. Remember, popcorn flicks for teenagers usually pull in the most bank. \*\* > [@](#): > > 1. I couldn’t give less of a shit about Bob the lighting technician or Mike the boom operator. I don’t give a fuck if they work on movies or not. There is plenty of work at Burger King. I do not owe them a living in Hollywood.\*\* And you’re usually such a “solidarity with the working man” kind of guy. I’m surprised to hear you say “let them flip burgers.” But you must remember I was responding to the OP, who was claiming that the profit costs of piracy doesn’t affect Bob or Barbara or Mike. If you’re prepared to say “screw Bob, Barbara and Mike,” fine. But it’s fallacious to claim that reductions in profits don’t impact them – it isn’t just a matter of some exec buying last year’s Gulfstream jet instead of the current model. \*\* > [@](#): > > Moreover, there is nothing preventing the studios from paying these people more for the movies they _do_ work on (and paying the actors less). The pay scales in the movie industry are absurdly flawed and that’s not my fault either. > \*\* Well, sure there is – it further erodes their profits, with no coterminous reduction in risk. At the margins, producers will look at the numbers, say “fuck it” and shift his capital into Caifornia real estate (or whatever). \*\* > [@](#): > > Let me add that I’ve never illegally downloaded any movies or even any music and I go to movies at least once a week. I’m a consumer of the product. That’s one of the things that makes these ads so obnoxious. The only people watching them are people who already paid for a ticket. Why should I be hectored for not pirating movies?\*\* I agree that they are reaching out to the wrong audience, for exactly the reasons you state. Indeed, in a sense the placement of the ads in the theatre are tantamount to an admission that pirates still pay for movie tickets. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2004, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/respectcopyright-org-kiss-my-furry-white-ass/222517/25 "2004-01-04T03:23:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Diogenes the Cynic \* > Let me add that I’ve never illegally downloaded any movies or even any music and I go to movies at least once a week. I’m a consumer of the product. That’s one of the things that makes these ads so obnoxious. The only people watching them are people who _already paid for a ticket_. Why should I be hectored for _not_ pirating movies? I find it disquieting that we’re only three days into the new year and I find myself compelled to agree with **Diogenes** … but in point of fact, the above is an excellent observation. I doubt that any would-be piraters in the audience with a camcorder are likely to be deterred by the ads, and everyone else is there to pay for the ticket and watch the show; they are preaching to the choir. - Rick ---
**Author:** ![cheddarsnax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@cheddarsnax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cheddarsnax)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2004, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/respectcopyright-org-kiss-my-furry-white-ass/222517/26 "2004-01-04T03:29:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dewey Cheatem Undhow \* > **Oh, come now Lynn. Need I really list all the crappy movies that were nevertheless enormously profitable? How much did _Independence Day_ or _Armageddon_ pull in again?** Hey, I _liked_ Independence Day! ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2004, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/respectcopyright-org-kiss-my-furry-white-ass/222517/27 "2004-01-04T05:06:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dewey Cheatem Undhow \* > \*\*Well, sure there is – it further erodes their profits, with no coterminous reduction in risk. \*\* Well, shit. Here I was thinking I was all smart and stuff, and now I have to find a dictionary. Coterminous?? Off to look that one up in my Funk & Wagnall’s. ---
**Author:** ![jmizzou](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/edb3f5/32.png) [@jmizzou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jmizzou)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2004, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/respectcopyright-org-kiss-my-furry-white-ass/222517/28 "2004-01-04T06:06:30Z")
Have no fear, [Dictionary.com](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=Coterminous) is here! > [@](#): > > con·ter·mi·nous (also co·ter·mi·nous) > > 1. Having a boundary in common; contiguous: The northern border of the United States is conterminous with the southern border of Canada. > 2. Contained in the same boundaries; coextensive: the conterminous 48 states. > 3. **Having the same scope, range of meaning, or extent in time.** Quite a nifty little word. I’ll have to remember that one. Anyway, through my vote in with the, “downloading is bad, I know downloading is bad, don’t make me watch these stupid commercials” crowd. ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2004, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/respectcopyright-org-kiss-my-furry-white-ass/222517/29 "2004-01-04T06:47:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lynn Bodoni \* > \*\*I would argue that if the movie industry was so concerned about profits, that they wouldn’t try to pawn off crap on us. \*\* The irony is these fucking commercials have made me go to a lot fewer movies than I used to. I used to be the guy that’d hang at the theater all day and pay to catch two or three flicks. Now, I only go to see the big kinda stuff like Pirates of the Caribbean and Lord of the Rings. Why? Because I don’t feel like paying 20 bucks to be bombarded with obnoxious ads. I’ll wait for the DVD, where I can fast-forward or mute the obnoxious ads. They’re like those smarmy-ass “Responsibility…the anti-drug” commercials. I don’t smoke weed, but damn if they don’t make me want to start. ---
**Author:** ![fushj00mang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d26b3c/32.png) [@fushj00mang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fushj00mang)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2004, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/respectcopyright-org-kiss-my-furry-white-ass/222517/30 "2004-01-04T07:04:17Z")
Does anyone see the inconsistancy here, playing that ad (I haven’t seen it in theaters, but it was on TV before I shipped out) to a paying audience in a theatre? Um, if I was going to rip you off, do you really think I’d pay (as in the ops case) $13.50 to see it in the theatre? It is one of the finest examples of preaching to the choir that i’ve ever seen. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2004, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/respectcopyright-org-kiss-my-furry-white-ass/222517/31 "2004-01-04T07:55:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by fushj00mang \* > **Does anyone see the inconsistancy here, playing that ad (I haven’t seen it in theaters, but it was on TV before I shipped out) to a paying audience in a theatre?** [Actually, yes.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?postid=4426741#post4426741) 😉 > [@](#): > > \*\* Um, if I was going to rip you off, do you really think I’d pay (as in the ops case) $13.50 to see it in the theatre? It is one of the finest examples of preaching to the choir that i’ve ever seen. \*\* [That’s a very original observation, there.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?postid=4426976#post4426976) No offense meant, **fush**. I just couldn’t resist. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dog80](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6bbea6/32.png) [@Dog80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dog80)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2004, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/respectcopyright-org-kiss-my-furry-white-ass/222517/32 "2004-01-04T08:00:50Z")
The ads are even worse in the UK. They come from Federation Against Copyright Theft [http://www.fact-uk.org.uk/](http://www.fact-uk.org.uk/) Among other claims, they state (in the theater ad, I couldn’t find that claim on their site) that illegal copies are used to fund terrorist activities. Yeah, sure. Saddam and Osama, keep the DVD burners next to the WMD. ---
**Author:** ![Ms2001](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ms2001/32/18463_2.png) [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2004, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/respectcopyright-org-kiss-my-furry-white-ass/222517/33 "2004-01-04T11:04:04Z")
Sure, go ahead and ignore the evidence that Saddam Hussein tried to buy 1300 DVD burners from a source in Niger. Pretend the al-Qaeda operatives _didn’t_ attend video encoding seminars in Northern Iraq, escorted by the Fedayeen. Pay no attention to the plastic spindles that are clearly only useful for holding stacks of pirated DVDs, and the remote-controlled balsa stealth gliders capable of dropping bootlegs on Tel Aviv. We’ll see how you feel about copyright when your pets and neighbors are killed by nuclear anthrax, courtesy of Kazaa! If you’re not _with_ the anti-piracy lobby, you’re _against_ America, Mom, and apple pie! Er… I mean Britain, Mum, and kidney pie! ---
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2004, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/respectcopyright-org-kiss-my-furry-white-ass/222517/34 "2004-01-04T14:15:41Z")
Day after Xmas, family six and I went to see _Return of the King_. Was the second time I paid for a full-price, evening ticket to that particular film, and I got to see no less than eight minutes of commercials. Not previews for other movies, commercials. We were treated to the ‘piracy is bad’ commercial (which made me want to go pirate something AND write some open source code) and the pot commercial with the little kid in the pool (which prompted me to shout ‘In the bathroom!’ when the commercial’s narrator sayd ‘getting stoned.’) and several other commercials for things such as coke, cars and XM radio. It was bad enough when they started the advertising slide shows before the previews. Now it’s **very, very** loud commercials. It’s a wonder I go to the movies at all anymore. One of my ‘tricks’ though, is if I’m going to see a movie I know won’t be crowded, is to show up at the theatre at the scheduled start of the movie, buy my ticket, and when they say ‘That movie started 5 minutes ago.’, I know it’s safe to enter - the commercials are usually over by then. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2004, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/respectcopyright-org-kiss-my-furry-white-ass/222517/35 "2004-01-04T17:43:38Z")
Century Theatres have given me one more reason to always go there. So far, they have yet to add any commericals and it appears that they will continue to do so. ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2004, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/respectcopyright-org-kiss-my-furry-white-ass/222517/36 "2004-01-04T18:41:57Z")
I’ll worry about it as soon as the industry stops frisking critics, resumes sending out DVDs to Oscar judges (way to screw little movies, Jack Valenti you witless industry whore!), stops putting red dots all over the damn screen every fifteen friggin’ seconds, and otherwise ceases its constant efforts to dumb down cinema until all of its aesthetic and cultural value is lost. Hey, MPAA? Retract the R rating you gave Whale Rider, stop doing your absolute best to crush little movies, and start showing a little respect for me, and I promise you I’ll double the (already lamentably large) number of movie tickets I buy. You scratch my back, I’ll lavish you with the profits you’re lookin’ for. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2004, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/respectcopyright-org-kiss-my-furry-white-ass/222517/37 "2004-01-04T19:25:21Z")
Wait…_Whale Rider_ was an R movie?! (I saw it on DVD, so didn’t really notice the rating). For WHAT? ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2004, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/respectcopyright-org-kiss-my-furry-white-ass/222517/38 "2004-01-04T19:38:49Z")
It isn’t R rated. It’s PG-13. I just checked. And I just watched the DVD. It’s definitely PG-13. ---
**Author:** ![Neidhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Neidhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neidhart)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2004, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/respectcopyright-org-kiss-my-furry-white-ass/222517/39 "2004-01-04T20:10:24Z")
The currently running Levi’s one, with the guy chasing the car in the bullring, is so unbearable I have to leave the room when it’s playing. LOUD, hideous screeching “music”, no dialogue. The thing seems aimed at testosterone-poisoned 18-year-olds with IQs of 40. ---
**Author:** ![Thylacine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thylacine/32/1143_2.png) [@Thylacine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thylacine)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2004, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/respectcopyright-org-kiss-my-furry-white-ass/222517/40 "2004-01-04T22:41:43Z")
I am wondering if they apply the same rules about ads in movie theatres as they do (here at least) on TV. I once read a response to the common complaint that ads are too loud on TV that there is a maximum allowable volume that TV shows generally reserve the use of for loud things, screams, explosions, gun shots and so on, TV ads use that volume for dialogue and music as they need nowhere louder to go. I haven’t been to a cinema for years, seems I am missing little. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/respectcopyright-org-kiss-my-furry-white-ass/222517.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/respectcopyright-org-kiss-my-furry-white-ass/222517.md?page=3)