plus 3, Notorious Montreal movie pirate sent to jail - Toronto Star

Notorious Montreal movie pirate sent to jail - Toronto Star
Mel Gibson’s Viking Movie Rumored to be His Last - E Canada Now
Watch The Runaways Movie Cherry Bomb Live Video - Gather.com
MPAA boss Glickman says goodbye to Hollywood as he leaves movie-ratings outfit - Washington Examiner

Notorious Montreal movie pirate sent to jail - Toronto Star

Posted: 16 Mar 2010 03:21 PM PDT

MONTREAL—A Canadian man who drew international attention as a prolific producer of illegally copied movies was slapped with a two-and-a-half-month jail sentence Tuesday.

His involvement in piracy was so pervasive that, since his arrest, illegal uploads from Canada are said to have nosedived.

In a landmark decision, Geremi Adam will also be forced to perform 100 hours of community service, and has been given a two-year suspended sentence with a number of conditions.

Prosecutors heralded it as the first time someone has received a jail term in Canada for such a crime.

"I think it's a strong message that if you try to do what Mr. Adam did, you'll face the consequences of that and you'll go to jail," said Crown prosecutor Josee Belanger.

Belanger said the Adam sentence, handed down by Quebec court Judge Suzanne Coupal, appears to be Canada's toughest ever for camcording.

In two previous movie piracy cases, one in Montreal and one in Calgary, the accused were handed fines or probationary sentences. They were also both banned from movie theatres for a period of time.

Among the conditions placed on Adam, he is also banned from going to the movies or carrying recording equipment outside his home or place of work.

The 27-year-old was labelled in 2006 by the FBI to be among the most prolific movie pirates in North America — and one of the best at producing high-quality products.

He pleaded guilty to two counts, under the Copyright Act, for distributing copies of the Hollywood films "Invincible" and "How to Eat Fried Worms" on the Internet under the alias maVen in 2006.

He was nabbed again in 2008 while recording the movie "Street Kings" at another movie theatre, and was charged a third time, this time under the Criminal Code.

The police investigation showed that the movies were then distributed for a fee by an online network.

During his sentencing hearing, the court heard Adam only recorded the movies for notoriety and not really for monetary gain.

Adam's lawyer described him as a self-taught computer whiz who had a troubled childhood and limited education.

"He was interested to show that he was able to do something and it's clear that money was not the object of the infraction," said Richard Brouillard, Adam's lawyer.

But his reputation on the Internet, and among authorities on both sides of the border, made him a key target.

With the nine weeks Adam has served on an unrelated charge, he only has about a week left to serve. He is already in custody pending an attempted break-in charge.

The maximum sentence he could have received for piracy under the Copyright Act was six months in jail and a $25,000 fine.

The Conservatives introduced tougher camcording laws in June 2007 — after most of Adam's infractions took place.

The new law makes recording a movie without permission a crime punishable by two years in jail, and taping a film for future sale or rental now carries a maximum five-year jail term.

Canada had been considered a hotbed of illegal film reproduction, which had been an irritant in relations with the U.S.

Movie industry figures blamed Canada for between 20 and 70 per cent of global camcords and Hollywood huffed that Montreal alone was responsible for up to a quarter of the world figure.

Even the governor of California, former action-movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger, referred to the country's reputation during a visit to Canada.

But in an interview with The Canadian Press last summer, the RCMP said the number of complaints had dropped drastically — to almost nil.

The Motion Picture Association of America didn't return a phone call seeking comment, but one film distributor says there has been noticeable change.

"Since the arrest of Mr. Adam, there's almost no more complaints filed with the RCMP," said Brigitte Melancon, vice-president at Alliance Vivafilm.

"We have to think (new laws) have been a deterrent, it's a good thing."

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Mel Gibson’s Viking Movie Rumored to be His Last - E Canada Now

Posted: 16 Mar 2010 06:56 PM PDT

Mel Gibson is working with screenwriter William Monahan, of Edge of Darkness, on a Viking epic. The movie, which currently has no title, will be set in the 9th Century. Gibson is well known for Apocalypto and The Passion of Christ, films made with the native tongue of the time. The new Viking movie may be done in old Nordic.

In a recent LA Times interview Gibson spoke of his fascination with the Vikings, dating it back to his childhood studies of the English language. "It was the first movie I ever thought about making," Gibson said. "I saw it in my mind back when I was teenager. Seriously, it's the first movie I wanted to make. And I think it will be the last film I direct. It's the thing I have been going toward, in a way, since I was young, and I think when it's done I may be finished."

Leonardo DiCaprio will star in the film, though his character has yet to be revealed. DiCaprio's interest in starring in a Viking production was the spark that brought the two actors together. Gibson has no plans at this time to star in the film but that could change.

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Watch The Runaways Movie Cherry Bomb Live Video - Gather.com

Posted: 12 Mar 2010 08:20 AM PST

With all the excitement surrounding the upcoming movie the Runaways, a new generation of fans are getting turned on to the sounds of the 70's all female rock group. Here is a live video, which was shot in Japan, from 1977 of the girls throwing it down live on stage - raw and uncut like rock n roll is meant to be played.

The Runaways two most notable members were the guitarists Joan Jett and Lita Ford, who both would go on to achieve greater popularity as solo artists in the 1980's. Both continue to play live to this day. Lita Ford just came out of retirement after almost 15 years away from the music business and Joan Jett has been playing non stop since her Runaway days.

After the Runaways, singer Cherie Currie tried her hand at a short solo career, but then left the music business.

Drummer Sandy West continued to play music on and off before passing away of lung cancer a few years ago on Oct. 21, 2006. I particularly remember this night very well as I happened to be backstage with Joan Jett in Cleveland when she got the call that Sandy had passed away. Joan put on a slamming set that night in memory of Sandy. If you browse through my pictures, there are a few pictures from that night in my photo gallery.

Bass player Vickie Fox left the music business afterh the Runaways. She held down various jobs in the promotion field and is currently an attorney in the motion picture and television arena, representing actors, writers, directors, authors and producers.

The Runaways are set to be documented in the upcoming movie bearing the name of the band. The movie will star Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning, Stella Maeve, Scout Taylor-Compton. Kristen plays Joan Jett. Dakota plays Cherie Curie. Scout plays Lita Ford and Stella plays Sandy West.

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MPAA boss Glickman says goodbye to Hollywood as he leaves movie-ratings outfit - Washington Examiner

Posted: 16 Mar 2010 05:20 AM PDT

LAS VEGAS — Dan Glickman spent his Hollywood years aiming to improve the ratings system that tells Americans what to expect in a movie — and fighting pirates.

Glickman, the outgoing chairman of the Motion Picture Association of America, inherited a tough job from longtime predecessor Jack Valenti to defend Hollywood against counterfeiters distributing illegal copies of movies, first on videotape and DVD, now on the Internet.

For studios, "the protection of their content is the No. 1 issue. Without question, it's piracy," Glickman said in an interview at ShoWest, a convention for theater owners, as he prepares to take a new job April 1 as head of Refugees International.

"But it's broader than just piracy. It's how to protect content in this digital world, particularly on the Internet. The Internet is ubiquitous. Kids can access it. It's all available in their homes, and they feel it's theirs. Our job has been to try to educate people that in fact it's not theirs, unless there's some form or system for paying for it. At the same time, it's our responsibility to provide it in ways that are easily accessible and at reasonable prices."

As Internet speeds increase to the point where huge movie files can be downloaded easily, Hollywood has scrambled to avoid the sort of free sharing of songs that bulldozed the music industry.

As the key studio lobbyist in Washington, D.C., Glickman has been the point man on movie piracy since taking over the MPAA job in 2004 from Valenti, who had overseen the association for 38 years and implemented the ratings system that has been in place since the late 1960s. Valenti died in 2007.

While piracy has been the main financial threat facing studios, Glickman recalled a word of advice from Valenti about the job's most important aspect.

"I remember Jack talked to me about this, and he was right. When I took this job, he said, `the preservation of the ratings system is as key as anything else you'll do. You've got to make sure it's on the level, serves the public, and it's fair and transparent,'" Glickman said.

As during Valenti's tenure, the ratings system continued to draw criticism under Glickman, detractors saying it was too puritanical about sex and overly permissive about violence. The system judges movies by content, assigning them ratings of G, PG, PG-13, R or NC-17 to help parents determine what films might be appropriate for children to see.

Kirby Dick's 2006 documentary "This Film Is Not Yet Rated" took the MPAA to task on sex and violence and also said the ratings system was stacked in favor of deep-pocketed studio films and against independent filmmakers whose movies might get slapped with restrictive NC-17 ratings arbitrarily. The film also characterized the ratings system as secretive and lacking consistent standards.

"The criticism that came from that movie, some of it was legitimate, some of it wasn't. We've done some things to try to improve the openness of the system, particularly on how we relate to independent film. We've really opened the doors to that movement and been much more, I think, constructive in the dialogue between them and the MPAA on their ratings and advertising issues," Glickman said.

"I'm really big on the importance of documentary movies, because I think they can have an impact, and I think that movie had some impact on us, quite truthfully."

Glickman, 65, is a former congressman and served as U.S. agriculture secretary under President Bill Clinton. As president of Refugees International, Glickman will oversee the nonprofit group's efforts to provide humanitarian aid for people displaced by crises around the world.

A successor has not yet been chosen at MPAA, but Glickman's new job will be a big change from his Hollywood gig, which took him to such swanky events as the Cannes Film Festival and the Academy Awards.

"I wouldn't say I got addicted to it, but I would say it was a hell of a lot of fun," Glickman said. "I thought to myself, boy, my parents wouldn't believe this. This kid from Kansas — my dad was in the scrap-iron business — and here I'm walking down the red carpet, and I'm commenting on issues like what's the best movie or who's a talented actor or actress."

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