Bootleg copies of "Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones" have appeared on the Internet a week before the film's premiere in cinemas, according to a report in the LA Times.
The newspaper said that at least two versions have already popped up, distributed over Internet Relay Chat (IRC), a system often used for both communications and file-swapping. Both versions appeared to have been recorded by tripod-mounted digital camcorders at private screenings of the film, which is at the center of a massive promotional campaign.
It has become fairly common for popular movies to appear in pirated versions before their release, with Star Wars Episode I suffering the same fate in 1999. But since that film's release, easily accessible file-swapping networks like Napster (news - web sites), Kazaa and Morpheus have sprung up, and sharing songs, videos and other documents around the world has become a mass-market phenomenon.
As a result of the publicity around Attack of the Clones and its vast, loyal fan base, industry observers predict that the bootleg could gain an unprecedented audience. Movie studios are more worried that such pirated films could eat into video and DVD revenues, although the image quality of bootlegs is still primitive.
Hmmm.....
The newspaper said that at least two versions have already popped up, distributed over Internet Relay Chat (IRC), a system often used for both communications and file-swapping. Both versions appeared to have been recorded by tripod-mounted digital camcorders at private screenings of the film, which is at the center of a massive promotional campaign.
It has become fairly common for popular movies to appear in pirated versions before their release, with Star Wars Episode I suffering the same fate in 1999. But since that film's release, easily accessible file-swapping networks like Napster (news - web sites), Kazaa and Morpheus have sprung up, and sharing songs, videos and other documents around the world has become a mass-market phenomenon.
As a result of the publicity around Attack of the Clones and its vast, loyal fan base, industry observers predict that the bootleg could gain an unprecedented audience. Movie studios are more worried that such pirated films could eat into video and DVD revenues, although the image quality of bootlegs is still primitive.
Hmmm.....
