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Piracy Movies

Mayor Shows Pirated Movie On Town Square Big Screen In Brazil (torrentfreak.com) 76

Posted by BeauHD from the well-intentioned dept.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from TorrentFreak: In Brazil, there was a [...] unbelievable display of public piracy last week that went on to make national headlines. The mayor of the municipality Acopiara, in the north-east of the country, invited citizens of the small town Trussu to join a screening of the blockbuster "Inside Out 2" at the local town square. With little more than a thousand inhabitants, many of whom have limited means, this appeared to be a kind gesture. The mayor, Anthony Almeida Neto, could use some positive marks too; he was removed from office three times on suspicion of being involved in corruption schemes, and was most recently reinstated in March. The mayor officially announced the public screening of 'Inside Out 2' via Instagram and Facebook, inviting people to join him. That worked well as a sizable crowd showed up, allowing the controversial mayor to proudly boast the event's popularity in public through his social media channels.

Taking place in an outside theater created just for this occasion, the screening was a unique opportunity for the small town's residents. There are no official movie theaters nearby, so locals would normally have to travel for several hours to see a film that's still in cinemas. Thanks to the mayor, people could see 'Inside Out 2' in their hometown instead. The mayor was pleased with the turnout too and proudly broadcasted it through a livestream on Instagram. Amidst all this joy, however, people started to notice a watermark on the film that was clearly associated with piracy. In addition, it was apparent that the copy had been sourced from pirate streaming site, Obaflix. All signs indicate that the public event wasn't authorized or licensed. Instead, it appeared to be an improvised screening of a low-quality TS release of the film, which is widely available through pirate sites. When this 'revelation' was picked up in the Brazilian press, mayor Anthony Almeida was quick to respond with assurances that he only had honest intentions.
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Mayor Shows Pirated Movie On Town Square Big Screen In Brazil More

Mayor Shows Pirated Movie On Town Square Big Screen In Brazil

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  • The News here are actually.... (Score:3, Informative)

    by tequila_j ( 1989882 ) on Thursday August 08, 2024 @09:10AM (#64690060)
    How poor and uneducated we can make people and what they have to do in order to survive.

    • Re:The News here are actually.... (Score:4, Interesting)

      by AnOnyxMouseCoward ( 3693517 ) on Thursday August 08, 2024 @10:28AM (#64690258)
      I was thinking it was "Piracy is easier than ever and makes content available to remote regions and poor people", a la Robin Hood. I'm all for it.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      >How poor and uneducated we can make people and what they have to do in order to survive.
      People can survive without Disney, let's not be dramatic.
      How would you fix this? Mandatory state education? Bring them out of their tribal villages and into the cities? Bring the "city" to them? Legal, paid-for Disney screenings?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by necro81 ( 917438 )

      How poor and uneducated we can make people and what they have to do in order to survive.

      I was going to say something more along the lines of "the street finds its own uses for things."

    • Re:The News here are actually.... (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Baron_Yam ( 643147 ) on Thursday August 08, 2024 @12:37PM (#64690566)

      There will always be variations from the mean, but we should be working to reduce them. From birth - which you had no choice in - you should have the same economic potential as anyone else. That doesn't mean you'll achieve it, but nobody should be doomed to poverty because of the circumstances of their birth.

      There are a lot of things in the way of that goal, but it should still be the goal.

      • That sounds good, but really makes no sense as a parent I work and save to give my children an advantage, and if I don't that should be punished equalizing that is simply silly, it pretty much neutralizes all natural selection criteria.

        What needs to be done is the remove major inequalities things like providing free education, providing a basic income and nutrition, healthcare etc. Allowing people who come from a poor income a reasonable, not equal, opportunity to succeed, while still rewarding successful p

      • From birth - which you had no choice in - you should have the same economic potential as anyone else. That doesn't mean you'll achieve it, but nobody should be doomed to poverty because of the circumstances of their birth.

        "Dude, I am not going to let my child compete fairly with your child. I will ensure that my child wins. My child is more important than your child. I do care if your child suffers, but I care about my child more and I will not allow an even playing field."

        Good luck solving THAT issue.

    • I worked for a local community non profit when I was younger, and we tried to have a canned food drive screening where we showed a movie and people could drop off food donations for local hungry. We reached out to Disney to find out how much it would cost to license and do legally. They told us; everyone could individually buy the movie we wanted to show and watch them at home, there was no amount of money we could pay them to get permission for a single group showing. Eventually the event was just cancele

  • I feel terrible for the poor MPAA (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Rosco P. Coltrane ( 209368 ) on Thursday August 08, 2024 @09:12AM (#64690070)

    I know it's piracy. I know the dude is sketchy.
    I know.
    But strangely, all can think of is: good for the poor citizens of this town.

    • Mayor should have owned it. (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      I think he should have made this an intentional political position --- standing up for the rights of the poor people --- and claiming eminent domain over this pirated copy of the film that his citizens can't pay for.

        He'd be a hero in the torrenting and anti-copyright fringe communities; and be seen as a robin-hood figure.

    • He gave them a means to do something that the market failed to provide for, in addition to just providing some goodwill toward his own people. He honestly deserves a medal. In reality however, he'll probably need to be reinstated a fourth time....

  • Dude. ... a TS? Really? (Score:5, Funny)

    by ZERO1ZERO ( 948669 ) on Thursday August 08, 2024 @09:14AM (#64690076)
    I'm not dissappointed about the mayor playing a pirate movie. Who cares about that ?

    But come on man, don't do it with a TS.. At least wait for the digital rips to come out. This just gives piracy a bad name. Maybe that was the idea. /big brain thinking/

    • Exactly. I avoid cams myself. The industry has gotten much better at moving movies (that were not on streaming services to begin with) from big screen to on-demand quickly, to capitalize on the hype/advertising, so usually the wait is in weeks rather than months.

  • he was removed from office three times on suspicion of being involved in corruption schemes...was quick to respond with assurances that he only had honest intentions.

    After 3 accusations one should learn to double-check. He's either a crime addict or a rock-head.

    • It could be that the voters have rocks in their heads. He gets removed from office, and they vote him right back in.

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by _merlin ( 160982 )

        Possibly literal tribalism. You'd be shocked how many Ilocano still convince themselves that Ferdinand Marcos was a decent guy who had to make some tough decisions to get the country through a tough period only to be smeared by his rivals.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by Tablizer ( 95088 )

        I can see the pleasure in giving the finger to Hollywood copyright cops.

    • thats enough about Trump - how about that guy in Brazil?

    • He's either a crime addict or a rock-head.

      Or he's wildly popular with the people but not so much with Brazil's "deep state" (as the Republicans like to call it).

  • whoa, big deal (Score:4)

    by unami ( 1042872 ) on Thursday August 08, 2024 @09:24AM (#64690104)
    Is there any reason for this to be a news item, other than being planted by an industry that has learned nothing over the last decades? This happens every day in hundreds of different places around the world. Will happen even more as streaming services get more and more expensive. The music industry has learned from their mistakes, but the movie industry seems destined to repeat them. The only unfortunate thing here is, that the mayor didn't get a good copy to show to his voters.

    • Re:whoa, big deal (Score:4)

      by omnichad ( 1198475 ) on Thursday August 08, 2024 @10:12AM (#64690212) Homepage

      I think it's pretty interesting. This sort of thing happens all the time with a projector connected to a DVD or Blu-Ray player and people are just unaware of the licensing requirements for a public showing.

      The only reason anybody noticed (and what makes it so newsworthy) is because of how blatant it was. Playing a watermarked rip of a movie still in theaters is going to draw attention. And because a public figure did it, the headlines traveled a bit further.

      For that matter, a laptop connected to the projector could play a rental even while it's still in theaters for about $20 USD. Not sure if there's an equivalent local provider offering this. It still wouldn't be licensed for a group showing but few would have noticed and it definitely wouldn't have made headlines.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by GoJays ( 1793832 )

        For that matter, a laptop connected to the projector could play a rental even while it's still in theaters for about $20 USD. .

        Monthly minimum wage in Brazil is $218 USD. $20USD for a single movie is almost 10% of an individuals monthly income... Piracy still seems like a better option, or just going without the Disney movie.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Targon ( 17348 )

          You know there's a difference between people without money doing this stuff, and a mayor doing it, not just to watch, but to then do it out in public, right? If people are that poor, then an official request to allow it should have been made, and who knows, they may have gotten a legal right to do the one or two time screening. Ignorance of the law doesn't give someone the right to break it, but it might reduce the penalties.

    • Is there any reason for this to be a news item, other than being planted by an industry that has learned nothing over the last decades?

      Sure! A lot of public officials are getting in trouble for breaking the law, and this fits into that category of news item.

      A guilty pleasure of mine is watching court cams, and a judge made an excellent point as to why this matters. He was sentencing a repeat offender who ran from the police due to having multiple warrants for contempt of court and no-shows at hearings. He's employed as a security guard at a casino.

      Judge: "So what happens if someone needs to be kicked out of the casino or breaks the law. Do

    • I doubt it's an RIAA plant. They would look for a much less sympathetic story. Usually they would highlight somebody making millions running a piracy site.

  • The horror! (Score:4, Insightful)

    by The-Ixian ( 168184 ) on Thursday August 08, 2024 @09:31AM (#64690114)

    I don't think that this is going to generate the outrage that the movie distributors think it will...

  • Damn you! (Score:4, Funny)

    by PPH ( 736903 ) on Thursday August 08, 2024 @09:50AM (#64690156)

    With little more than a thousand inhabitants, many of whom have limited means,

    That's a little over a thousand potential customers who could have coughed up $12 per ticket. Plus $30 each for the popcorn, soft drink and assorted candy.

    Won't someone please think of the movie industry executives?

  • I wonder what for example Netflixâ(TM) T&Cs say about this. I can stream two streams in my home. I suppose I can put a TV in the garden and watch with my neighbours. Does Netflix (or anyone else) say anything about the size of my garden and the number of neighbours I can invite? I suppose Iâ(TM)m not allowed to charge, and not allowed to sell beers for money at the same time?

  • Hear me out: Pirating is easier than ever. Heck you don't even need to download anymore, there are sites that are dedicated to allowing you to watch pirated movies directly from your browser. ... and yet successful outcomes still keep happening. Look no farther than the deadpool wolverine movie. Smashing record after record in raking in money. It's already on those sites, but people are truly willing to pay money IF you give the audience what they want.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by HiThere ( 15173 )

      It should be allowed, but not commercially. (And probably not for political gain, but try to prove that.)

      OTOH, copyright should not apply unless there is a believable guarantee that the work will be released into public domain when the copyright expires.

  • Here's the line, folks. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by nightflameauto ( 6607976 ) on Thursday August 08, 2024 @10:13AM (#64690220)

    The way I read this, it seems to be attempting to make us outraged that someone pirated a movie. As a human, rather than a monster, I have a hard time reading this story and being outraged over the actions of the mayor, or the citizens watching, yet there's a distinct vibe of, "Look at how horrible these awful pirates are," about it.

    On the other side of the line, where those of us that still have a tiny touch of that nasty humanity virus that the current powers would like stamped out in the name of profit, I see a very poor part of the world being given a, albeit lackluster from our point of view, evening of fun, gathering, enjoyment, and a momentary pause of the bleakness of their existence. To me, that's an uplifting moment, and certainly not a reason to be outraged.

    This story is a case study for the world we live in. On the one hand, there's a lot of people that aren't all that well off. And when they have a moment that brings them together and gives them just a tiny little bit of relief, the story we get is that it's horrible and should be stopped because, "Hey, pirates! THEY ARE STEALING OUR PROFITS!" If ever there was an example of the difference between being "human" and being whatever it is the media and their owners want us to be, this story is it.

    For the love of humanity, let's just stop treating each other like shit. And, stop tolerating the media telling us to treat each other like shit. It doesn't seem like that's asking too much.

    • The way I read this, it seems to be attempting to make us outraged that someone pirated a movie. As a human, rather than a monster, I have a hard time reading this story and being outraged over the actions of the mayor, or the citizens watching, yet there's a distinct vibe of, "Look at how horrible these awful pirates are," about it.

      MPAA should run an opposing candidate for mayor in the next election and see what the citizens think of them. My bet is on the incumbent.

    • For the love of humanity, let's just stop treating each other like shit.

      "Why? I don't want to deal with you at all. Your existence is an inconvenience. If I interact with you at all, it is to get you out of my way."

      I am uncertain how you expect to get past that.

  • Who cares? (Score:4)

    by Hoi Polloi ( 522990 ) on Thursday August 08, 2024 @10:18AM (#64690230) Journal

    A tiny town in nowhere Brazil shows a pirated movie outside. Woopy doopy doo. This is considered news? What next? Someone uses expired coupons in New Guinea?

    • The news is not that some random Brasilians watched a pirated movie. But the town mayor showing a pirated movie as an official event sponsored by the town.

  • "Releasing it only to cinemas first protects out income stream."

    Er... quite apparently... no it doesn't.

  • He is the WORST pirate I've ever heard of.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      But you have heard of him.

  • As the tourism folks say, "It's more fun in the Philippines!"

  • Although Brazile is a member of the Berne Convention, copyright enforcement needs improvement. In general, I guess you could say it's Lassaise Faire when it comes to this kind of mass broadcast of Disney IP. Since I don't support Disney or any of its properties or works anymore, and since they spread their rat feces on everything; they can try and go after this mayor on their dime.

  • This is rampant in many countries in LatAm (Score:4, Informative)

    by williamyf ( 227051 ) on Thursday August 08, 2024 @10:52AM (#64690310)

    In my country (venezuela), state run media, and regional private channels, air pirated content galore, sometimes, even with the Piracy Scene group watermarks readily visible.

    Here is one, of many examples:

    https://www.elnacional.com/ent... [elnacional.com]

    Ditto in Cuba.

    It has happened in other places around LatAm as well...

    Yes, I am ashamed, but then again "no se tapa el sol con un dedo"

    • Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • Yes, I am ashamed, but then again "no se tapa el sol con un dedo"

      Why should you be ashamed? If licensing wasn't so 'awkward', I am certain that this situation would not arise or be extremely rare.

  • A film was seen by people who couldn't afford to see it. Think of all the harm to our profits!?

  • In all actuality, the entire village ought to be sued! They ought to pay millions of €€€ in compensation to Disney. Then they'll know not to pirate Disney movies!

    Make the poor poorer, and the rich richer! That's the righteous order of this world!

    Oh... wait... why is everybody angry with me all of a sudden?

  • "removed from office three times on suspicion of being involved in corruption schemes, and was most recently reinstated"

    Color me shocked. SHOCKED.

  • Normal (Score:4, Insightful)

    by nospam007 ( 722110 ) * on Thursday August 08, 2024 @02:58PM (#64690986)

    Showing a BOUGHT DVD at your kid's birthday party IS PIRACY!

    • Showing a BOUGHT DVD at your kid's birthday party IS PIRACY Now is that just some stupid fear mongering or fact? In your home? How many kids?

    • Actually, I came to post that what the mayor did wasn't just piracy, it was also an unlicensed public showing...

      Even if he had bought a disc, it would still be illegal to have a public showing of it like that, since it would violate the license. Yep, that is the law, at least in the USA, and probably most places.

      When you "buy" a DVD/Bluray/CD/download/cable TV feed/etc, you are not buying the media or the content, but a license to use it in a prescribed way. And that is typically for home/private use onl

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