An annual tradition has returned to Hollywood, and we’re not talking about the awards season. We’re talking about the screeners that get sent to Oscar voters, and every year, they wind up in the hands of their children, friends, associates, neighbors, and eventually on the web.
As much as the industry works to fight it, it seems they can’t solve the problem in their own backyard as once again, awards season screeners have been leaked. If you know where to look, you can find “Lady Bird,” “Call Me By Your Name,” “I, Tonya,” and “Last Flag Flying,” and even Louis C.K.‘s “I Love You, Daddy” (The Orchard sent out screeners to voters just as allegations against the comedian were hitting the press — oops).
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The group taking responsibility for the leak, Hive-CM8, has attempted to rationalize their actions, writing, “We are especially sharing this for the people who cant [sic] visit the cinema due to illness, or because it is a limited release that doesn’t make it to their country.” The issue of distribution problems and the increasingly archaic window system of movie releases is valid, but simply pirating movies doesn’t really open up a discussion on the issue, so much as entrench both sides further.
Even more, Hive-CM8 is asking for copies of “Downsizing,” “Hostiles” and “Phantom Thread” because they are “collectors,” but strangely, promise they won’t pirate them. But they write in their release notes, “Don´t forget watching a screener is not like the real thing, you should still all go to the cinema and support the producers.” Again, the logic around all this is faulty, to say the least.
So, we’ll see what other screeners wind up online, but these surely won’t be the last. However, one thing the group promises is that they won’t upload “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.” [Variety/Torrent Freak]
