FARK.com: (6893574) Hollywood regroups after losing battle over anti-piracy bills, says, "We're not the money-grubbing, desperate, clueless bad guys everybody has made us out to be"

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		Hollywood regroups after losing battle over anti-piracy bills, says, "We're not the money-grubbing, desperate, clueless bad guys everybody has made us out to be" (latimes.com)		105
		More: Obvious, Hollywood, Directors Guild of America, Malcolm McDowell, Shawn Ryan, police drama, dot com companies, Howard Bragman, Motion Picture Assn

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phlegmmo

2012-01-21 06:02:34 AM

"People need to know ... that 98% of people who work in the entertainment industry make $55,000 a year. They're not moguls and they're not walking red carpets."

"And the other 2% of us like it that way," he added.

Friskya

2012-01-21 07:05:08 AM

They aren't?

GAT_00

2012-01-21 07:46:02 AM

Good farking luck with that.

Aarontology

2012-01-21 08:36:01 AM

"We're actually far worse"

FirstNationalBastard

2012-01-21 09:00:30 AM

And Jeffrey Dahmer only had an eating disorder.

Tigger

2012-01-21 09:19:47 AM

Josef Fritzl just had a lot of love for his family.

Howie Spankowitz

2012-01-21 09:36:31 AM

"Hi, we're the 'entertainment industry,' and despite how smart we are and how much scratch our executives make, we can't figure out how to monetize our products. Would you guys mind if we just went back to the days when there were three TV stations and you couldn't make a movie with your phone? Also, does anyone have Louis CK's number? We have a few questions for him. Thanks and enjoy the latest Nic Cage film!"

TheOther

2012-01-21 09:43:49 AM

He did NOTdeny being 'evil disease-riddled whores'!

Ed Finnerty

2012-01-21 09:46:40 AM

Howie Spankowitz: "Hi, we're the 'entertainment industry,' and despite how smart we are and how much scratch our executives make, we can't figure out how to monetize our products. Would you guys mind if we just went back to the days when there were three TV stations and you couldn't make a movie with your phone? Also, does anyone have Louis CK's number? We have a few questions for him. Thanks and enjoy the latest Nic Cage film!"

Honestly. This isn't a new idea and they still completely miss it.

Radiohead does the same thing and, even though I could just give a copy to my sister (big fan), I pay for both copies. Why? Because I get the mp3s I purchased without any trouble.

Their first digital release was free with a recommended donation (something like $12 US). I happily purchased what was a fair price for a fair product.

Save it to my computer? Put it on my phone? Burn it to a CD? Doesn't matter. I got my money's worth and they got their money.

^/Purchased

jayhawk88

2012-01-21 10:05:12 AM

"You've got an opponent who has the capacity to reach millions of people with a click of a mouse and there's no fact-checker. They can say whatever they want," he said. "We need to engage in a far better education process. People need to know ... that 98% of people who work in the entertainment industry make $55,000 a year. They're not moguls and they're not walking red carpets."

This is just a great quote on so many levels. Dodd is in full War With Eurasia mode here. Painting the picture of these evil Internet companies conspiring to take food out of the Key Grip's mouth. It's really quite incredible and amazing in a way.

"The opponent", I can't get over that. We're "the opponent" Dodd. I know you know that and you don't care, but still, to be able to regularly stand in front of people/cameras and say stuff like this...it's almost like performance art.

SharkTrager

2012-01-21 10:06:22 AM

Bullshiat.

hbk72777

2012-01-21 10:07:10 AM

Hollywood, built on money from screwing actors. Look up the 3 Stooges. They hid fan mail from them so they had no idea they were successful, and thus, wouldn't ask for a raise to equate to their value (they made up a ton of money which let Hollywood finance shiatty duds at the box office)

Hell, it's still happening today

Darth Vader still ain't getting royalties because "Return of the Jedi" still isn't profitable. Of course we know they made a shiatload of money, but the way they worded the contract, well, you know how it goes.

Link (new window)

So I will continue to steal their shiat as long as I'm alive. I'm not justifying it, just fighting fire with fire.

Boondock3806

2012-01-21 10:13:41 AM

That sounds a lot like saying that they're not racist, they just don't like black people. They're not money-grubbing, they just advocate the loss of rights of millions of people and businesses in favor of making sure they get every last cent they think they're missing out on.

BalugaJoe

2012-01-21 10:14:39 AM

Maybe Dodd can get Mozillo to help him.

whither_apophis

2012-01-21 10:15:23 AM

Hollywood accounting is so screwed up I dare them to open their books and demonstrate how a download steals money from the studio. Movies never turn profits anyway!

DarthBrooks

2012-01-21 10:22:37 AM

MPAA's ultimate goal, of course, is to be able to fine people for not watching Adam Sandler movies.

Ed Finnerty

2012-01-21 10:23:13 AM

BalugaJoe: Maybe Dodd can get Mozillo to help him.

I'm using Mozillo Foxfire right now.

Pants full of macaroni!!

2012-01-21 10:25:03 AM

Um, yes. Yes, you are.

Bigtime.

rjakobi

2012-01-21 10:27:28 AM

So I'm guessing they heard of the angry flash mobs that were going to be forming when the Sundance Film Festival turns into an artificially-inseminated SOPA rally?

Hardy-r-r

2012-01-21 10:33:34 AM

I bet this has been posted already:

For those who need a summary of SOPA (new window)

about a 14 minute video from TED talk

UNC_Samurai

2012-01-21 10:38:09 AM

It's really hilarious, considering the movie industry in Hollywood exists because they were running away from Edison's cartel-like stranglehold on the industry in New York.

ItsMyNameYouCantHaveIt

2012-01-21 10:49:08 AM

ExperianScaresCthulhu

2012-01-21 10:56:37 AM

Boondock3806: That sounds a lot like saying that they're not racist, they just don't like black people. They're not money-grubbing, they just advocate the loss of rights of millions of people and businesses in favor of making sure they get every last cent they think they're missing out on.

well.....

thumbs.dreamstime.com

(shrug)

---------------------------------------------------------------
UNC_Samurai: It's really hilarious, considering the movie industry in Hollywood exists because they were running away from Edison's cartel-like stranglehold on the industry in New York.

Edison was an evil scumbag thieving prick himself, so..... sounds more like more-of-the-same just spread operations.

Toshiro Mifune's Letter Opener

2012-01-21 10:58:04 AM

Yeah, and Kim Jong-Il was only slightly eccentric.

Chris Dodd has everyone's collective blessing to step on Legos while barefoot.

FormlessOne

2012-01-21 10:58:17 AM

Shut up, Dodd, you cock!

Dodd said Friday that the industry would now seek a compromise version of the legislation. He acknowledged that Hollywood lost the public relations battle and blamed his Silicon Valley counterparts.

"You've got an opponent who has the capacity to reach millions of people with a click of a mouse and there's no fact-checker. They can say whatever they want," he said. "We need to engage in a far better education process. People need to know ... that 98% of people who work in the entertainment industry make $55,000 a year. They're not moguls and they're not walking red carpets."

"The mewling consumer units were more readily duped by a better PR campaign." That's pretty much what he said. He didn't say, "the people have spoken" or "we heard from the public, and so we'll look for a different way to reduce IP piracy." No, he believes, honestly, that the tech companies just had a better schtick than the movie industry when it came to manipulating the public.

What a friggin' tool.

Summer Glau's Love Slave

2012-01-21 11:01:03 AM

I wonder if we could hit the MPAA and the RIAA with RICO charges? I don't know how much the MPAA skims off the top, but the RIAA gets 60-75 cents out of every dollar, and the band who wrote and recorded the song gets less than a penny.

/Damn, it's good to be a Gangsta!

ExperianScaresCthulhu

2012-01-21 11:01:42 AM

FormlessOne: Shut up, Dodd, you cock!

Dodd said Friday that the industry would now seek a compromise version of the legislation. He acknowledged that Hollywood lost the public relations battle and blamed his Silicon Valley counterparts.

"You've got an opponent who has the capacity to reach millions of people with a click of a mouse and there's no fact-checker. They can say whatever they want," he said. "We need to engage in a far better education process. People need to know ... that 98% of people who work in the entertainment industry make $55,000 a year. They're not moguls and they're not walking red carpets."

"The mewling consumer units were more readily duped by a better PR campaign." That's pretty much what he said. He didn't say, "the people have spoken" or "we heard from the public, and so we'll look for a different way to reduce IP piracy." No, he believes, honestly, that the tech companies just had a better schtick than the movie industry when it came to manipulating the public.

What a friggin' tool.

And he's always, always been this way. I'm glad the scales have fallen from eyes of the last Democrats who would have defended him at all cost because he was a Democrat.... like back in the days when he still held a position, but before even his own couldn't take it anymore.

Hoboclown

2012-01-21 11:09:44 AM

"We need to engage in a far better education process. People need to know ... that 98% of people who work in the entertainment industry make $55,000 a year. They're not moguls and they're not walking red carpets."

You know, this would have been a great response if the arguments against SOPA and PIPA were "piracy is awesome and we want to keep doing it". Unfortunately for Dodd the arguments against SOPA and PIPA are about censorship and free speech.

miscreant

2012-01-21 11:11:03 AM

Ed Finnerty: Radiohead does the same thing and, even though I could just give a copy to my sister (big fan), I pay for both copies. Why? Because I get the mp3s I purchased without any trouble.

Sorry, but I hate it when people use this as an example. Radiohead was only able to do that because they already had a huge loyal following who would pay for the music.

A much better example, though Farkers will hate it, is Justin Beiber. His career came about through releasing his videos on YouTube.

I've never watched his videos though, so I don't know if he ever did any cover songs. If he did, that would probably be illegal under SOPA/PIPA.

OmniView

2012-01-21 11:12:29 AM

Protect your property better. Better encryption. Issue licenses like software companies do. They need to figure it out for themselves and stop trying to penalize the whole world for the acts of a few.

Most importantly stop thinking that if 100 people illegally download your song or movie that it translates into 100 lost sales. Some people may have, for instance, Shoop by Salt-N-Peppa on their ipod. Would they pay a nickle for that honor? Hell no. Would I pay for a machine that puts me into their video and allows me to Shoop Salt-N-Peppa? Oh hell yeah brother.

Shoop (new window)

Marcus Aurelius

2012-01-21 11:14:34 AM

No law will ever stop digital "piracy". And there's no proof that even if you could stop it, that the people doing it would fork over one dime for the same content. Additional legislation will only increase corporations' power over the general public, which is ALWAYS a bad thing.

dalbuc

2012-01-21 11:15:18 AM

The reason this got to the point this is that it did move beyond piracy. I'd love a bill that said pirates got a 10,000 volt shock when they tried to download stuff. Sadly the bill didn't just threaten them but also people who don't pirate stuff and don't support that practice. It was so broad it was insane. You'd love to be able to stop the pirates but until there is a good way to do it technically they're gonna have to rely on people's conscience and guilt which isn't gonna get them too far.

/Seriously, if you like something why would you NOT pay someone for it?
//Spare the the "trying it out" line

Man On Fire

2012-01-21 11:24:19 AM

you have an entire method of crooked accounting named after you Hollywood. go fark yourself.

Jim_Callahan

2012-01-21 11:26:47 AM

The trick is to keep adding words until one isn't true, so that you can say the entire phrase isn't true and be technically correct (i.e. the best kind of correct). No, we're not money-grubbing, desperate, clueless bad guys, not at all, man. We're not even slightly clueless.

BalugaJoe

2012-01-21 11:28:55 AM

UNC_Samurai: It's really hilarious, considering the movie industry in Hollywood exists because they were running away from Edison's cartel-like stranglehold on the industry in New York.

This is so true. They had the patent for the camera and the film. That is why they moved to California. To get away from the lawyers.

LesserEvil

2012-01-21 11:30:27 AM

Man On Fire: you have an entire method of crooked accounting named after you Hollywood. go fark yourself.

THIS.

farm5.static.flickr.com

It's Hollywood execs that screw crew members out of their fair share, not "dirty pirates" who wouldn't spend a dime watching your crappy shovelware movies, at any rate.

quickdraw

2012-01-21 11:33:01 AM

BalugaJoe: UNC_Samurai: It's really hilarious, considering the movie industry in Hollywood exists because they were running away from Edison's cartel-like stranglehold on the industry in New York.

This is so true. They had the patent for the camera and the film. That is why they moved to California. To get away from the lawyers.

They didn't run far enough.

macadamnut

2012-01-21 11:36:44 AM

I feel for Chris Dodd. He has to make all those mortgage payments somehow.

yves0010

2012-01-21 11:38:28 AM

miscreant: Ed Finnerty: Radiohead does the same thing and, even though I could just give a copy to my sister (big fan), I pay for both copies. Why? Because I get the mp3s I purchased without any trouble.

Sorry, but I hate it when people use this as an example. Radiohead was only able to do that because they already had a huge loyal following who would pay for the music.

A much better example, though Farkers will hate it, is Justin Beiber. His career came about through releasing his videos on YouTube.

I've never watched his videos though, so I don't know if he ever did any cover songs. If he did, that would probably be illegal under SOPA/PIPA.

Wierd Al doesnt mind songs being downloaded and regually uploads his own songs on his website. He even made a really funny sarcastic song about the topic called "Dont Download This Song." Its a great song to go listen to and laugh at.

SilentStrider

2012-01-21 11:44:48 AM

Toshiro Mifune's Letter Opener: Yeah, and Kim Jong-Il was only slightly eccentric.

Chris Dodd has everyone's collective blessing to step on Legos while barefoot.

Harsh, but deserved.

cherryl taggart

2012-01-21 11:53:02 AM

I remember reading about the industry's hissy fits over tape recorders and the old 'Is it live or is it Memorex' ads. Same with stopping VHS recorders and DVRs. You'd think they would learn from the friggin past. Yes, we want to access on our terms, and if we like, the vast majority of us will upgrade to the commercially produced product.

And Dodd, you old loud-mouth, remind your puppet masters they can always take some of your compensation and theirs to pay the 98% in the industry better. Then, maybe the unions won't keep calling strikes, and we can get some real creativity going.

ChewbaccaJones

2012-01-21 12:11:01 PM

Really? Then Explain "Battleship"

turbidum

2012-01-21 12:13:25 PM

UNC_Samurai: It's really hilarious, considering the movie industry in Hollywood exists because they were running away from Edison's cartel-like stranglehold on the industry in New York.

Really? Are you sure that it wasn't because you can film year-round in California, whereas you have shiat weather in New England?

/beautiful seasons, but shiat weather for the most part.

Xaneidolon

2012-01-21 12:18:38 PM

Advice: due process is still important.

Other advice: scope your next attempt so it cannot be leveraged to achieve other draconian results.

Penultimate advice: figure out a business model that allows timeshifting and device shifting without penalty. People will pay for value.

Last advice: People hate inveterate assholery.

LDM90

2012-01-21 12:25:16 PM

Did anyone notice how the money to artists has just been pouring in since they shut down Megaupload?

/seen on twitter

hubiestubert

2012-01-21 12:28:50 PM

phlegmmo: "People need to know ... that 98% of people who work in the entertainment industry make $55,000 a year. They're not moguls and they're not walking red carpets."

"And the other 2% of us like it that way," he added.

The whole point of the industry is to capitalize on the intellectual property of others, and then market it to folks. For that, they take a hefty cut. The problem is that the industry realizes that their middleman status in distribution now is under fire. Like with video tape, like with DVDs, anytime that there is a medium where the consumer can NOT go into a theater, then things are hinky for them. Television, cable, VCRs, DVD, streaming to your computer, all of these changes to the market scare the bejeebus out of folks, and the advances in technology that put power into the hand of the folks who actually create films to distribute their own product is not met with anything like a welcome.

ongbok

2012-01-21 12:39:03 PM

yves0010: Wierd Al doesnt mind songs being downloaded and regually uploads his own songs on his website. He even made a really funny sarcastic song about the topic called "Dont Download This Song." Its a great song to go listen to and laugh at.

static.tvfanatic.com

abhorrent1

2012-01-21 12:42:58 PM

rjakobi

2012-01-21 12:46:28 PM

Summer Glau's Love Slave: I wonder if we could hit the MPAA and the RIAA with RICO charges? I don't know how much the MPAA skims off the top, but the RIAA gets 60-75 cents out of every dollar, and the band who wrote and recorded the song gets less than a penny.

/Damn, it's good to be a Gangsta!

If that punishes them for putting out that Rico Suave song years ago, I am all for it.

Drakuun

2012-01-21 12:47:40 PM

Dodd's lobbyists are just angry they didn't get all the fabulous power / wealth they wanted when they signed up with him to distribute their message.

Now they know how the artists that sign with them feel.

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