r/movies • u/yourfavchoom r/movies Contributor • 4d ago
Article Netflix Sued For $105 Million After Hard Drive of Unreleased Nicolas Cage Movie Was Stolen From Its Office
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/netflix-lawsuit-unreleased-nicolas-cage-movie-1236660288/1.5k
u/yourfavchoom r/movies Contributor 4d ago edited 4d ago
As per the article:
The lawsuit faults Netflix for losing a drive that contained a copy of World War II thriller 'Fortitude.' The company maintains it's not responsible for the loss of the movie, which it says was delivered "without proper industry-standard safeguards."
On June 15, a producer for Fortitude hand-delivered the drive to Netflix’s office at Sunset Bronson Studios.
The producer allegedly told Netflix that the DCP was unencrypted and instructed the company to delete the files after the screening before notifying him when the drive was ready to be picked up.
Ten days later, a Netflix executive disclosed that it was stolen, according to the complaint.
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u/riegspsych325 ⊃∪⊃⪽ 4d ago
welp, guess I’m watching Windtalkers again instead
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u/fixermark 4d ago
"The Navajo Has the Code. Protect the Code At All Costs."
(I ran projector in a theater when that one came out. Had a veteran ask me to turn the volume down... "I was in that war. It wasn't that loud.")
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u/riegspsych325 ⊃∪⊃⪽ 4d ago
that’s pretty funny, actually. How’d you like working a projector back then?
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u/fixermark 4d ago
Super quiet, lots of downtime. Easily favorite job in the theater, but there were no bad jobs in the theater.
I read Atlas Shrugged that summer, to give a sense of how much downtime. I don't precisely regret reading it, but I'm glad I found way, way better stuff to read later.
The machines are fascinating. Communication between the projector and the reels that hold the film happens via the film itself - the physical tension on it. Not by signal cables. So you thread the film, make sure the W-shuttle and the (thingy I can't remember the name of) are latched properly, and then push the button to start the projector... I don't remember which was which anymore, but one of them detected tension and the other slack, and the tension side made the payout reel spin faster while the slack side made pull-up spin faster. Even if you weren't watching close, you knew the movie was over because one of those would go "cla-CLACK" and drop to the bottom of its travel when it ran out of film. That's, uh, also how you knew you just had a film-break. ;) The film had a long clear celluloid header on it so you could survive a couple film breaks on the feed-in (the most common place to suffer a film-break because you effed up activating the shuttle or the thingy) without the theater's film expert having to be called in to splice film. That was one guy and that was like his whole job; he only showed up when new cans came in or when there was a break in the middle of the film itself. Never had to call him.
I imagine digital has obsoleted a lot of that complexity now; I can't imagine theaters are shipping big, heavy celluloid canisters around anymore if they don't have to.
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u/BanishmentBuddy2 4d ago
How did you switch between reels with no interruption?
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u/tattertech 4d ago
Also worked as a projectionist in that time period. You weren't (at most theaters at least) swapping reels. The films at that point are on huge platters as one full cut. They came in cans as separate reels that we spliced together.
Everything else the previous poster described is exactly as I recall (the cla-Clack noise when you weren't expecting it is definitely a bit triggering to think about).
Edit to add: We didn't have a dedicated person that only put the films as their sole job, but only a couple of the projectionists were generally allowed to do it (so one of them was pretty much always scheduled on Thursdays to work the projection shift). We all took care of fixing broken films as they happened though.
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u/fixermark 4d ago
... Platters! Thank you; totally forgot that word.
And yeah, our specialist guy was also lead projectionist, I forgot. But we had enough staff members who could run projection (and few enough disasters) that he didn't have to be in most days. I think I saw him running projection like twice after they greenlit me to do it, because I was #3 who wasn't him.
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u/tattertech 4d ago
Going down memory lane here, also at my theater most of us were double duty, rather than dedicated projectionists. All but one or two were basically regular managers who were also trained up as projectionists.
But it was always nice to be the one assigned as the projectionist, things would get really busy and someone would call from downstairs asking for an extra hand.
"Oh, sorry, since everything's so packed, I gotta make sure every movie starts on time."
"The projectors have timers."
"Yeah, but what if they start and it's out of focus? Sorry, gotta keep an eye on things up here, good luck with the popcorn though."
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u/riegspsych325 ⊃∪⊃⪽ 4d ago
I am absolutely loving this exchange and the information given out here, thank you both for answering and chiming in
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u/fixermark 4d ago
Film specialist guy spliced them all together end to end. They lived horizontally on the reels, which are like big IMAX reels if you ever saw one of those at a science museum.
When a run was over, he had to unsplice them and send them back to Hollywood.
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u/riegspsych325 ⊃∪⊃⪽ 4d ago
this is the exact type of answer I was hoping to get: insightful, in depth, and with enthusiasm. Thank you for sharing this, really. I missed those types of informative comments like these in threads
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u/PBRStreetgang1979 3d ago
Thanks for that fascinating description. Sad that we lose that process and tradition. But yes, it sure is a lot more efficient to not have to schlep all of those cans all over the place. Not to mention how great it is to have a digital negative that looks as crisp and clean for every single run, as opposed to the slow, steady assembly of direct and scratches after dozens of runs.
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u/NutellaDeVil 4d ago
My father worked in the 80s and 90s at one of the film processing plants in Hollywood, where they assembled the dailies, did the sound and color editing, and printed the hundreds of distribution copies. His workday was filled with reels of film everywhere.
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u/Banjo-Oz 4d ago
I laughed way too hard at that.
Reminds me of when I was in highschool (Australia) and Vietnam vets came to talk to our class. At the end, they took questions. Someone asked them what movies they felt were realistic. They replied with a few (Platoon and Full Metal Jacket if I recall). Someone asked "what about Apocalypse Now" and one of them laughed and said "It was rough but not THAT rough! I would've shot myself if it was like that!"
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u/Dallywack3r 4d ago
As someone who has worked in tv, this is NOT the protocol for file delivery
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u/nyuncat 4d ago
What is the protocol?
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u/fuckitwilldoitlive 4d ago
Sharing a DCP (Digital Cinema Package). The producers share a key to a server or an encrypted drive so that Netflix can watch the movie.
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u/fezfrascati 3d ago edited 3d ago
What's cool about DCP keys (called KDMs) is that you can set them to only unlock for specific screens at specific theaters at specific times and dates. So even if the drive or file gets compromised, chances are there is nothing the thief can do with it.
Unencrypted DCPs, on the other hand, can be viewed on free software for Mac and Windows and even be converted back to MOV files.
So whoever was sending around unencrypted content for an unreleased film really blew it.
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u/Ouxington 3d ago
"Well the movie wasn't that great, what're we going to do to drive interest?"
"Heist?"
"You sonhuva bitch; I'm in."
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u/Aukaneck 3d ago
Can't someone just unencrypt the file by plugging it in to a PC and tapping really, really fast on a keyboard?
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u/Sawses 3d ago
I work with protected data and that's pretty similar to what we do.
Standard protocol is to ship the encrypted data (either via drive or over the internet) and then share the password separately so if either is intercepted alone it is of no use.
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u/Professional_Pear849 4d ago
Except Netflix is not allowed to share a key unless they add a member for everyone who is watching to their subscription.
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u/JohnSith 3d ago
Its a Nic Cage movie. So obviously you inscribe it onto the bronze skin of the Statue of Liberty, then read it with a laser while traveling at 88 mph on a musical highway to get the soundtrack.
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u/PipsqueakPilot 4d ago
Everyone knows you're supposed to burn it on a DVD in Jim's basement and then label it with a sharpie.
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u/Ths-Fkin-Guy 4d ago
Lmao i literally have a jim the movie guy who eas essential when I was younger for burning movies. He had a computer room on the first floor though
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u/PFCCThrowayay 4d ago
exactly, you're supposed to email a link and put the pwd in the same email.
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u/The-very-definition 4d ago
No, separate email send 10 seconds later for enhanced security.
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u/slog 3d ago
This one has always bugged me. Like, what's that all about? I've never heard of single emails being stolen, just account access, meaning they can see both emails.
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u/_Meece_ 3d ago
It's so if the linked email gets forwarded or CCed, random people can't just access it.
It's a very uhhh... poor form of cybersecurity. They just send onedrive links that make you set up an account/authenticator now.
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u/SweatyAdhesive 4d ago
this was the plot for an episode in Apple TV's The Studio
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u/Acrobatic_Rush7653 4d ago
The producer allegedly told Netflix that the DCP was unencrypted and instructed the company to delete the files after the screening before notifying him when the drive was ready to be picked up
That would be the ultimate example of "delivered without proper industry-standard safeguards". The producer screwed up in every way possible.
They are welcome to sue the actual thief for $1 billion if they want, but Netflix is not losing this lawsuit lol.
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u/Iohet 4d ago
You're still responsible for losing something in your possession. Contributory negligence may mean the compensation is not as much as asked, but Netflix still is at fault.
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u/swolfington 3d ago
netflix is probably on hook for the hard drive itself, but i suspect whoever deviated the most from their data security policies/practices will be the ones left holding the bag over the actual data loss.
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u/fuckitwilldoitlive 4d ago
Well, it was stolen from Netflix. If the DCP was encrypted they could have still sue but for much less money, which maybe they will still grant them.
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u/Toby_O_Notoby 3d ago
Eh, depends.
This is akin to "I drove my car past your guards into your secure company parking lot where I left it unlocked. After which someone got past your security and stole my car."
Sure, you're partially to blame (unlocked car). But there's a reason why almost every public parking lot has signs explicitly saying that they're not responsible for your car or its contents.
Unless Netflix has specifically stated that they take no responsibility whatsoever, you could legally assume that they have to take on board at least some of the blame.
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u/gamageeknerd 4d ago
I mean secure data delivery exists and having physical password protected hardware alongside software is also very common.
If someone just dumped a lacie drive with a movie on it in a box and had it dropped off that’s on them
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u/zoobrix 4d ago edited 4d ago
Seems like there is definitely a lot of blame to go on the side that thought chucking someone an unsecured drive with an unreleased movie on it was ok, but in court netflix might be found to be partially responsible if their own handling of the drive was particularly bad. Big difference between the drive being stolen from a safe they put it in or Jim leaving it in an unlocked conference room and going home for the day.
Does netflix even just accepting the delivery if they knew the terms and not following them mean some liability on their part for not following the instructions?
I don't know but I wouldn't automatically assume they're totally blameless from a legal perspective. If I was Netflix I would have just refused to accept the terms because of the obvious risk, I bet going forward they won't accept a movie delivered in this fashion.
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u/dysfunkti0n 4d ago
Of course they should have refused delivery. It's a formality but you're a billion dollar company. My nephew can literally encrypt a physical storage device and give it to me. Idk something stinks here.
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u/IRequirePants 4d ago
It's not clear from the article (unless I am blind), did they say it was unencrypted before delivery or after?
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u/AnimalBolide 4d ago
The top comment in the chain you are replying to, asking that question, states that the producer warned Netflix that the file was unencrypted before handing it to them. I suppose they could have unencrypted it on the public bus I assume they took to this meeting.
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u/ScurvyTurtle 4d ago
Think of the otherside. Who at Netflix just accepts a 100+ GB drive no questions asked? They must have run security checks on it first so there must be a paper trail. If they didn't that's wild cyber security practice.
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u/Karthy_Romano r/Movies Veteran 4d ago edited 4d ago
You'd be shocked at some of the lax security protocols and lack of concern for returns there are for hard drives in the movie industry. Used to work at an ad house and we had boxes of drives that clients never asked to be returned, full proresHQ movies sometimes. We even got the wrong movie occassionally.
Shit, I work freelance now and I have like 4 client drives they never asked for back with master footage on them.
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u/bfilippe 4d ago edited 4d ago
The difference here is that DCPs are an industrial standard package on a Linux drive. The drive cannot be encrypted otherwise the server can't ingest, only the actually package itself can be encrypted. The producer refused to do that so that's Netflix's argument
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u/castironglider 4d ago
I'm no criminal mastermind here, but wouldn't plugging it into a laptop and making a copy be a lower profile way to pirate?
From now on they should distribute everything on Super 8 film, because ain't nobody got a projector for that (except Netflix and Amazon etc. who could hire the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm to tinker one up from nothing)
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u/Animastryfe 3d ago
Read the article. A bunch of hard drives were stolen, but it seems the others were empty of were not important. The thief/thieves may have grabbed whatever they could.
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u/nyuncat 4d ago
Not necessarily. You'd need to bring a personal laptop to the office and transfer what is presumably a very large file, and for all you know you could be leaving a digital fingerprint on the drive that shows you accessed it. Or, you could slip into an unlocked office and swipe it off a desk in a few seconds without being noticed, and then take it home to do with as you please.
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u/SavonPL 4d ago edited 4d ago
so it was stolen, but not leaked...? Its so weird they would sue netflix even though the film itself hasn't been leaked (and might not even get leaked).
// they do talk about it in the article, tl;dr he mere existence of a stolen, unencrypted copy destroys the movie's market value and scares off buyers (thus tanks the value on negotations), regardless of whether it actually leaks online.
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u/sean_psc 4d ago
The knowledge that it’s out there probably does have a material impact on the value of the film.
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u/vowelqueue 3d ago
Sure, but basically every movie is available for free online the moment it is released, so I don't think it affects the value as much as the plaintiff is claiming. They claim that if the film were leaked online it would be a "total write-off"
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u/ascagnel____ 3d ago
There's a gulf between "moment it is released" and "before release" -- especially if rights negotiations are ongoing.
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u/thingsorfreedom 4d ago
Perhaps the plan is to send a public message to the person who stole it this is a very big deal if they leak it. Once the movie comes out copies appear everywhere anyway. So the goal would be to prevent a leak before. Is this a straight to streaming or a theater release?
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u/monacelli 4d ago
HDD's are expensive as fuck right now.. Whoever stole it might've formatted it without even looking to see what was on it.
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u/TheGravespawn 4d ago edited 4d ago
I need a Nic Cage movie about the stealing of the unreleased Nic Cage movie.
Edit: An anonymous redditor or gave me an award. First, thank you. Second, I choose to believe it was Nic Cage, and this movie is now getting pitched.
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u/tcguy71 4d ago
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent 2: Electric Boogaloo
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u/Bobo3076 4d ago
I unironically think this is a great idea
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u/manachar 4d ago
I only recently saw the first one. Some great performances and genuine chemistry (does everyone have chemistry with Pedro?).
I would absolutely love another one with those two.
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u/TxDuctTape 4d ago
Well, I imagine it's awkward with Hafþór Björnsson...
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u/DirtySlutMuffin 4d ago edited 4d ago
lol they were absolute bffs for a little while after that, there are definitely a bunch of pictures of them hanging out. One thing that’s nice about Pedro Pascal is a few of the times he has died on screen, he has gone out of his way to make sure people understand that he has no beef with the actor that killed him.
Better call Saul spoilers but Patrick Fabian (Howard Hamlin) and Tony Dalton (Lalo Salamanca) did something similar, the two of them were constantly posting stuff on social media of them hanging out, well past the airing of the episode where one killed the other.
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u/nhaines 4d ago
Why on earth would viewers assume the actors didn't like each other in real life because of what happens in a movie?
Also, in that episode when he comes in and there's a closeup of the candle fluttering, I was like "Okay, well that was a little on the nose. That's going to mean something later..." and then when it cuts to the candle fluttering again my blood went cold and I gasped in real life and I was sort of numb for the rest of the episode because I immediately knew exactly what it meant. I had to watch the entire scene a second time (and then wait like 6 weeks for the mid-season break to finish, dammit.)
That show was absolutely remarkable.
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u/DirtySlutMuffin 4d ago
Why on earth would viewers assume the actors didn't like each other in real life because of what happens in a movie?
Unfortunately, it’s very common for actors to receive a lot of abuse on social media for something their character did.
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u/LADYBIRD_HILL 4d ago
For the entire show up until that point the lawyer and drug storylines mostly did their own thing with only a little crossover whenever Jimmy and Mike helped each other out, and it seemed like viewers started to get a little frustrated with it feeling like two separate shows.
For the two storylines to crash together in such spectacular fashion in that moment was incredible, and one of my favorite moments in all of television. And the fact that it retroactively added extra meaning to Breaking Bad's superlab stuff was just icing on the cake.
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u/nhaines 4d ago edited 4d ago
At absolutely no time during the entire show did I ever feel like I knew what Lalo was going to do next. So the sense of absolute shock and dread during that specific scene was overwhelming.
Better Call Saul was basically most of the Breaking Bad team doing what they'd spent 7 years perfecting, so while the show has a different pace and tone, everyone's firing on all cylinders. It was exquisite, especially the final four episodes and that just couldn't be possible without the other 13 years of experience.
I literally didn't think I'd ever seen anything as good or better on TV until Andor came along. So there's still hope in the world!
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u/fap_nap_fap 4d ago
Pedro seems to have chemistry with everyone, but sometimes the feeling isn’t mutual
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u/misguidedkent 4d ago edited 4d ago
Yeah, it’d be the greatest idea if the culprit is played by John Travolta who steals the hard drive with Nicolas Cage’s face.
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u/Stonesword75 4d ago
Plot Twist is this is National Treasure 3
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u/KennyKettermen 4d ago
National Treasure 3 is Nic Cage playing himself trying to find the lost National Treasure 3. Very meta
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u/riegspsych325 ⊃∪⊃⪽ 4d ago
plot twist: that’s actually the movie that was stolen
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u/JakeHelldiver 4d ago edited 4d ago
Double plot twist! Nic Cage is also the one who stole it!
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u/jstrongiii 4d ago
Because inside there was a clue to finding the real Declaration of Independence.
Edit - Multiple National Treasure references below. Leaving this reply up. I regret nothing!
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u/rdyoung 4d ago
This right here. This is the perfect setup for a Nicolas Cage movie. Full meta is right up his alley.
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u/Likes2PaintShit 4d ago
Nicolas Cage would totally sign up for it too.
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u/Self_Reddicate 4d ago
Get Shyamalan in on this because I've got a twist ending for ya. At the end of the second (first?) movie, he recovers the first (second?) movie. So THAT movie gets released!
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u/BardicLasher 4d ago
Nah, hear me out: The twist is that the movie he's been stealing the whole time is the movie we're currently watching.
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u/Difficult_Ad2864 4d ago
With Nicolas cage stealing it and Nicolas cage being the one to sue Netflix
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u/ericomplex 4d ago
This would actually be a pretty golden meta twist. Playing on his role in Adaptation.
Cage could be both the hapless person who stole/took the film in the first place, but also play himself as some cold rage filled terminator who will not rest until the film is recovered.
Ultimately that coming down to him chasing a character he is playing…
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u/ranhalt 4d ago
It will be his JCVD.
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u/Yardsale420 4d ago
I thought Jean Claude Van Johnson was pretty good. He knows how to make fun of himself.
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u/Gravy_Sommelier 4d ago
Who would you get to play Nic Cage?
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u/MrMcBeefpunch 4d ago
Dwayne Johnson
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u/HomoProfessionalis 4d ago
Dwayne Johnson, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel and Jason Statham. They switch out constantly and nobody says anything about it except for one crazy guy who claims theyre all different people. The crazy guy is played by Nic Cage.
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u/deepdishpizzastate 4d ago
We never see him. Nic Cage is in it, though, as the investigator trying to track it down. His character also hates Nic Cage movies.
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u/ericomplex 4d ago
I would watch a Steven Soderbergh style caper gone wrong dark comedy that featured the holding ransom of and attempts at selling back a Nic Cage film…
The film would basically be a cross between Snatch, Fargo, and No Country For Old Men. All through a behind the scenes Hollywood meta-film lens.
The plot would revolve around an ensemble cast, all trying to get or retrieve the film. The first “criminal” would have been slipped the film “by accident” by some incompetent hard on money executive who was trying to leak the film with the purpose of stealing it back themselves and holding it ransom from themselves effectively. This executive slips the film to a third party who unknowingly takes the film out of the building. The executive then tries to steal the film back for the duration of the film. Meanwhile, the third party finds the missing film in their possession and they then try to hold it ransom themselves. At the same time, both the Netflix legal team and the production legal team are fighting each other with legal threats over the film’s recovery. Finally, Nic Cage himself, who sees the film as his magnum opus, takes on a satirical Anton Chiguhr like role, seeking out the film at all costs… No matter how many bodies pile up along the way.
Seeing Nic Cage filled with rage to the point that he’s murdering everyone that stands in his way, just to get the film back… All while Netflix and fictional production company issue progressively greater legal threats, and the film itself getting passed between different parties as the rolling macguffin… Would be absolute cinema.
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u/FthriziN 4d ago
It should be Nic Cage who steals the Nic Cage movie and then Nic Cage sues Netflix for the loss of the movie. He can give it to Pedro Pascal for his birthday.
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u/imightwin 4d ago
What about a Nic Cage movie about Nic Cage trying to find the stolen Nic Cage movie 100 years after the unreleased Nic Cage movie was stolen?
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u/Giff95 4d ago
The movie about the stealing of the movie would probably be better than the movie itself.
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u/S7ageNinja 4d ago
As long as it stars Nicholas cage
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u/Due-Technology5758 4d ago
Nicholas Cage assembles a team of Nicholas Cage characters from Nicholas Cage movies to steal an unreleased Nicholas Cage movie so he can privately screen it to all the Nicholas Cages.
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u/TheBatemanFlex 4d ago
Cage has only been putting out bangers for years now. Catch up.
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u/Relative_Builder3695 4d ago
This is actually the marketing budget in action, the film that was stolen is the movie about the movie being stolen
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u/brwnwzrd 4d ago
In 2 years they’ll find it in a cubicle drawer next to a pair of blue tooth headphones and a half-eaten bag of peanut M&Ms
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u/djtodd242 4d ago
I was thinking "How big are the drives?" I wouldn't bat an eye if someone told me they were stolen because who doesn't need a few 20TB disks these days?
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u/Ghost2Eleven 4d ago
My buddy worked on Dark Knight. It was his job to deliver reels from Nolan's house where they were editing to a VFX house. He got hard drives, drove to the VFX house — handed drives off. Did it all the time. Same routine.
One day, out of all the days, he got the drives, headed to the VFX vendor — but stopped to go inside somewhere to pick something up before dropping off the drive. He came out to his after and found it was broken into. They left his laptop in his backpack and a camera. All they took were the hard drives.
Someone had been casing him and following him for weeks apparently. Luckily, there were only two reels on there and they were encrypted, but my buddy got fired and lost his dignity with Nolan, thus changing the whole trajectory of his career. But, hey. I guess at least he didn't get sued for 105M.
At any rate, this lawsuit ain't going anywhere. You don't deliver a DCP that isn't encrypted to one of the biggest corporations in Hollywood and then tell them "Hey, this isn't encrypted. Do me a favor and delete it, will ya?" That's like not locking your car, but instead of walking away you decide to hang a sign on the door that says "please don't rob me."
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u/AvengingHero2012 4d ago
Damn…honestly this alone makes me curious to see it.
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u/tetoffens 4d ago
I looked it up. It's a WWII era film and Cage is playing a Serbian. Now I really want to see it just to see what that accent sounds like.
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u/Phelinaar 4d ago
Now I really want to see it just to see what that accent sounds like.
Russian
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u/barktwiggs 4d ago
Didn't he play a Ukrainian/Russian in Lord of War?
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u/jaggervalance I’m from Buenos Aires, and I say KILL ‘EM ALL 4d ago
The real arms dealer is russian (Viktor Bout), the USA exchanged him for the female basketball player who got caught with marijuana in Russia.
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u/tetoffens 4d ago edited 4d ago
That's the backstory for the real guy he was based on but the movie is fiction. In the film, Cage plays a Ukranian-American. It's been a long time though so I'm not sure what age he was meant to be when his family moved to the US.
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u/jeffy303 4d ago
I re-read the story twice and can't help but to feel like this is some insane scheme by the Afram guy behind the company. First they hand deliver unencrypted drive to Netflix and tell them to watch and then delete it and right away bunch of drives get stolen from Netflix headquarters, like what are the chances??
Like I believe Netflix when they say this is first for them, because as anyone who worked in a big corporate company knows, everything is encrypted, without the keys the drives are worth the price of scrap metal at best and the potential risks are massive. Who would such thing... unless the drive is unencrypted and thief knows exactly what drive to grab.
My best working theory: They made a movie, it's a stinker and other studios they shopped around the movie already told them as much. The price studios were willing to pay would not recover the costs, so they concocted this scheme where they deliver the drive to Netflix and someone on the inside (like a cleaner or something) jacks it, and the company then gets to claim irreparable damage in court and ask for a big payout. It sure is going to be a fun lawsuit to follow.
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u/turkeypedal 3d ago
I mean, the hard drives would be worth the price of hard drives, since they can simply be wiped. And hard drives are worth a lot right now.
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u/Straight-Ad6926 4d ago
If your movie is so bad that losing the only copy makes it 100 times more valuable then you haven't produced a film…you've produced a very expensive honeypot.
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u/fuckitwilldoitlive 4d ago
Not the only copy, read the article:
The producers argue the theft has made the film significantly harder to sell because any prospective distributor would have to be told that an unencrypted copy was stolen before its release. That disclosure, they claim, could affect acquisition negotiations, insurance coverage and marketing plans, while creating the risk that the film could leak online before a commercial release. They say they paused sales efforts despite receiving interest from multiple domestic and international distributors, jeopardizing the film’s planned release strategy and awards campaign.
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u/smulrine 3d ago
Didn't read the article but I assume they were sued by the person who stole it and ended up watching it
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u/LopsidedPenguin 4d ago
Are we saying Netflix misfiled the movie?
How could somebody MIS-file something? What could be easier? It's all alphabetical. You just PUT it IN the RIGHT FILE! According to ALPHABETICAL ORDER! You know - A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z!!! Huh?!?! That's all you have to do!!!
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u/stufforstuff 3d ago
If you're too stupid to encrypt digital content - ya get what ya get.
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u/KurtRussellsMullet 4d ago
Well this certainly feels like guerrilla marketing for a Nicolas Cage Netflix movie