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Summit Entertainment
The consensus was clear, here, when the story broke that even Chris Weitz, director of The Twilight Saga: New Moon, spoke out against the validity and necessity of charges against a young woman for piracy of the film - where the details of that alleged incident involved the woman supposedly taping the events of a birthday party without intention of pirating and selling the movie. Popular opinion cornered with Weitz, and the agreement was that the woman did not deserve to face the penalty of up to three years associated with this "crime."
According to the Sun Times, Cook County prosecutors agreed and the Chicago woman was released with all but two days of her life (spent in jail as a result of the arrest) and the memory card for her video camera (confiscated and to be withheld by the police) in hand.
Yet, not everything is intact. "She's traumatized," and "[t]his is the worst event of her life and she wants to put it behind her," said the woman's attorney to the Sun Times.
Although piracy is a serious issue (and with the law, there's an invisible line that is hard to discern in some instances), for most this was a rather no-doubt situation. Too bad she'll have the sting of an arrest on her criminal record and an attorney's bill to pay as a consequence of what most people would probably call a "simple mistake."
UPDATE: Here is film studio Summit Entertainment's official statement on the matter:
In regards to the situation with Samantha Tumpach, we applaud Muvico for upholding the zero tolerance policy on piracy when the incident occurred at their theater in Rosemont, IL. The pirating of films is a very serious issue and we all need to remain vigilant to protect the art of film and the myriad of businesses that the film industry supports. We believe that the attention that this incident has drawn, has served as a reminder to us all that any form of film piracy, or perceived piracy, will be treated with the utmost seriousness.
Summit is pleased that all charges against Ms. Tumpach have been dropped and appreciate the efforts of the police and the prosecutors in this outcome.
UPDATE: Below is the official statement of Munvico, the theater at which the young woman was apprehended (via press release).
On November 28, 2009, the Rosemont, Illinois, police arrested a Chicago woman for the illegal use of a digital recording device in the Rosemont Muvico Theater. A theater employee saw 22-year-old Samantha Tumpach operating a video camera in one of its theater auditoriums while the feature film was playing. The employee reported the activity to the theater manager, who in turn witnessed the activity himself and reported what he had observed to the police officer on duty at the theater.
The officer was instructed by his sergeant to approach Ms. Tumpach and confiscate the video camera on which she was believed to be recording the movie being shown in the theater auditorium. Upon inspecting the device, the officer found video recorded segments of the film, "The Twilight Saga: New Moon," on Ms. Tumpach's camera. Ms. Tumpach was then detained by police on suspicion that she knowingly operated a video recording device during the motion picture, which, if proven, is a crime under both federal and Illinois law.
Muvico, in compliance with the anti-piracy guidelines issued to movie theater operators nationwide by the Motion Picture Association of America, followed standard procedure by referring the matter to police. Specifically, theater managers are instructed to alert law enforcement authorities whenever they suspect prohibited activity. Theater managers do not make the determination whether a crime has been committed, and it is up to the police and prosecutors to use their discretion whether or not to press charges.
Muvico will continue to enforce the "zero-tolerance policy" adopted by the MPAA and fully supports anti-piracy laws and the motion picture industry's efforts to protect against copyright infringement. Under the law, any unauthorized audio or visual taping in a movie auditorium while the feature film is playing, regardless of the length of recording, is a federal and state offense that Muvico is compelled to report.
While Muvico stands by its action in this instance, it is happy that the judicial process has reached an appropriate result and is pleased that the charges against Ms. Tumpach have been dismissed.
According to the MPAA, illegal film piracy costs the movie industry billions of dollars each year, and illegal camcording in movie theaters is the source of over 90% of all illegally copied movies in their initial release form.
In a continuing effort to educate its guests about the illegality of film piracy, Muvico prominently places a number of posters and signs within its theaters alerting moviegoers of its "zero-tolerance" policy with respect to the camcording of films in its auditoriums.
To learn more about protecting creativity and combating piracy, please visit http://www.mpaa.org/piracy.asp.
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Comments
Pirating is a serious crime and I can't stand it when people do that stuff. Look what happened when the wrong person got ahold of Midnight Sun and leaked it...I have neighbors who pirate movies that are barely even out in theaters and it irritates me to no end!! It's just wrong. Sure, she's a fan....she doesn't seem to deserve 3 yrs, but where do you draw the line?
Tammy:
I'm pretty sure that she wasn't trying to pirate the movie. According to the evidence, it's only three minutes of footage. She was recording the people in the theater, and most of the tape is simply her talking to the camera as New Moon softly plays in the background. You can barely see a thing. Therefore, it's easy to see that she wasn't intentionally taping the movie.
Apparently, it was a birthday, and she wanted to record the partygoers in the theater for a tape. She's a young lady, and she made an honest mistake. Three years of jail is excessive, so I'm pleased to see this outcome.
You draw the line when somebody tries to make a profit out of it. When it comes to writing (academic literature) photocoping is allowed if it is for educational reasons, for yourself and/or for non-profit. Forms of film need to loosen up, with hand held cameras and youtube we're all making films of some kind. This woman showed no intent to pirate the film or use the film to make money. The reaction was too harsh and showed little imagination with regard to the situation. Lets be honest, all the fuss about "pirated" material is nothing to do with protecting 'the art of film', it's to do with money.
Has anyone tried speaking with Muvico Rosemont's "managers"? Thick as a brick. I hope they suffer something similar.
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