I’m not sure that movie studios have the right priorities in tackling piracy, given that they sent two security guys to the cinema for four hours to make sure no one was recording a movie that we were testing to…sell to the giant Asian bootleg market? Sure.

I dunno. But the studio only gave us a digital key long enough to not-quite play the film through once and the only people in the building were me, the boss, our projectionist, and a couple of techs setting up festival business, who were, y’know, working, not holding up cell phone cameras to try to get every CGI detail in a cinema where the house lights were on the whole time.

Of course, we weren’t really monitoring the security dudes (see above about trying to get work done), so who knows what they were doing.

Regardless, I am fairly sure that the big piracy issue has to do with leaks within the industry? People make an extra copy of a screener when they are doing audience research or similar? Things have changed since a friend saw a Dhaka market-purchased copy of Home Alone that had been filmed on someone’s Sony Handicam at a public screening in the States, datestamp and MST3K-like silhouetted heads included. Mostly.

Though, really, I commend your cheapness if you’re willing to put up with something of similarly shitty quality to see a children’s movie a few days earlier than it goes into wide release.

Anyway, whatever. They didn’t really get in the way (much), and unlike last year, we have written confirmation that they don’t have to bag and tag audience members’ electronics at the main screening this year, so that’s something?

So, yeah, we’re playing Cloudy with a [em]Chance of Meatballs 2[/em] tomorrow night. By ‘we’, I mean the Ottawa International Animation Festival. Should be a chaotic blast.

Speaking of which, I gotta get out of here to buy a carload of confections to feed the hungry masses. Ah, showbusiness.
—

I have asked the adventurous and hilarious Piotr to do a blog entry or seven about his adventures biking around France for six weeks. Hopefully, the first one will be in/up soon so I can sleep in some morning.

I realised yesterday that I have known him for literally half my life. And we ain’t spring chickens, yo.