It looks like Hollywood is losing ground again in its annual battle against movie piracy.
According to a report by TorrentFreak, all 37 movies that have received some kind of Oscar nomination can now be illegally downloaded from pirate sites.
More than half of these appear to have been leaked by reviewers who received DVD screener copies. Although Hollywood studios had included additional security to prevent such copies from being leaked, those measures are clearly falling short.
The widespread availability of free, high-quality versions is no doubt driving movie executives crazy. Many of the more obscure films that get nominated count on receiving a boost in attendance thanks to the frenzy of publicity generated by the Oscars.
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Indeed, all eight of the Best Pictures nominees are still playing somewhere in the Bay Area: “Room,” “The Martian,” “The Revenant,” “The Big Short,” “Spotlight,” “Brooklyn,” “Bridge of Spies,” and “Mad Max: Fury Road.”
On the other hand, it seems this piracy breach could open the door to a bit of creative thinking on the part of Hollywood and the awards Academy.
Going to see all eight best picture movies would cost at least $80 or more per adult. Personally, I’d pay $20 or more to have a service that temporarily makes every nominated film available to stream for the month between the nominations and the awards ceremony.
Rather than stomping out movie piracy, which seems to be a lost cause, it might be better for filmmakers to find ways to get their films in front of people like me who are willing to pay.
