Techdirt. Stories filed under "avatar"

Why People Pirate: The Story Of Avatar

Timothy Geigner — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 07:52:51 PDT

When I began thinking about writing this post, I wanted to start with the opening line "Remember Avatar?" Then I stopped, shook my head, and figured that such an opening line would be ridiculous. After all, Avatar is the highest worldwide grossing movie of all time. Despite everyone on the planet apparently believing that the movie was based on something they had themselves done, the movie essentially ushered in the era of the 3D movie experience for our generation. I mean, come on, it's Avatar.

But then I thought about it a little longer. When's the last time I heard anyone talk about this groundbreaking movie? Months ago? Years ago? Wait, when did this thing come out? 2009? Is that really correct? Is anyone really thinking about this movie anymore? So, because of all those questions, I give you this:

Remember Avatar? You should, for all the reasons mentioned above, but you may see the movie mentioned again now that Fox will finally release the 3D Collector's Edition Blu-Ray of the film. It's one hell of a release window for the 3D version of the movie. And some, like Gizmodo, are pointing to story of how it happened to explain why people turn to infringment for the entertainment they want.

On April 22, 2010, [Avatar] is released on DVD. It's now August 14, 2012. In what world does it make sense for the movie that basically defibrillated the entire notion of 3D movies to take three damn years to make a wide release on 3D Blu-ray? Ours, apparently.

Here's how we got here: Panasonic got in bed with Avatar early on, promoting the film with 103 trucks with giant 3D TVs on them. That was kind of cool, actually. But then, it turned out you could only buy the 3D Blu-ray with a Panasonic 3D TV. Which turned out to cost, all things considered, about 300 damn dollars for a $30 Blu-ray, no matter how you spun it. Totally dumb, totally anti-consumer.

So, through a complicated series of exclusive contract hoops, Fox essentially set up a monetary obstacle course all the way back in late 2010. If you wanted Avatar in 3D, you had to buy a television at a price that far exceeded any added value from the movie. You know who likes obstacle courses built almost two years ago? Time-travelling hamsters, that's who. Last time I checked, there aren't a great deal of time-travelling hamsters paying for movies.

And neither were the people who wanted the 3D version of Avatar, apparently. Panasonic posted huge losses in the television space. Avatar went on to become the most pirated movie of all time. And the Gizmodo piece points the finger directly at Fox:

All of this matters. Especially right now. Demonoid just went down for the count. The RIAA and MPAA want the US to stomp on the Pirate Bay the same way. And we're just a few months removed from the Supreme Court declining to hear an appeal for a $675,000 fine levied against Joel Tenenbaum for, as a teen, downloading a few dozen songs. The subtext is clear. It's not even subtext—it's super-text. We are the assholes. It's our fault that movies are bad and the music industry can't figure out how to monetize itself. And the copyright gestapo is coming for us. That's the message, the threat, looming over every idiotic decision that pushes us closer to BitTorrent.

And in the meantime, as all of this anti-consumer-ish-ness is being dolled up in a wig and a makeup and called "a business model", fans of Avatar will finally be able to get the movie in 3D in October. Yes, a movie designed to be watched with cardboard skittles goggles on your head wasn't available across the board for three damned years. That isn't a release window. It's a message to the movie's fans:

Fox doesn't give a damn about you.

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Can You Keep Up With Everyone Suing Over How Avatar 'Stole' Its Story?

Mike Masnick — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 14:17:00 PST

Thanks to the rise of "ownership society" where intellectual property maximalists like to push the concept that you can "own" ideas, any time there's a remotely successful book, movie or TV show, we hear about lawsuits from people insisting that the idea for the story was "stolen." Of course, almost none of these have any merit whatsoever. However, when it comes to the movie Avatar, it seems like the movie didn't just break box office and overall revenue numbers -- it's breaking records with lawsuits from people trying to get a piece of the action as well. In the past we've written about multiple different lawsuits against James Cameron over where the story came from. Most of these were pretty laughable -- just people who had written stories with vague plot similarities. However, they keep coming.

Not sure why it's all happening now, but three new lawsuits have been filed from people claiming that the Avatar story was "stolen." One of the lawsuits is asking for $2.5 billion in damages. For one of the most cliched and overused plotlines around. Wow.

However, that article at THResq also notes that one of the earliest lawsuits over this was unceremoniously dumped as a judge reminded the plaintiff, Kelly Van, that "plot similarities are abstract ideas that are not protected by copyright." The court also noted that the dialogue was entirely different, and the attempt to show similarities was pretty laughable:

The examples provided by the Plaintiff fail to show any similarities that would rise to the level of being substantial. Such examples lack similarities in vocabulary and meaning, only vaguely referencing a similar abstract idea at times. For example, the dialogue, "It was all a big secret back then and up until four years ago we didn't even know that there was a science base clear on the other side of the planet, unavailable to any of us" and "There's a mobile link up at Site 26 we can work out of, way up in the mountains" share no similarities other than the general idea that a second remote science facility exists on each planet.

It goes on like this busting every single claim of copying. I imagine most of the other lawsuits will face the same result. It's really too bad that courts haven't done much in the way of awarding attorneys fees on lots of these kinds of lawsuits. There were similar lawsuits around Harry Potter, the Davinci Code and even Hannah Montana, and they're such a huge waste of time. Wouldn't it be nice if people finally realized that just because you had a story idea, it doesn't mean that no one else came up with something similar?

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Yet Another Person Sues, Claiming James Cameron Copied The Idea For Avatar

Mike Masnick — Fri, 21 May 2010 05:57:32 PDT

People really have an incredible ability to assume that only they could possibly have a very common idea. Lots of people have pointed out that James Cameron's Avatar seems similar to all sorts of stories. In fact, the site io9 put together a giant list of books and movies that some claimed were copied by Cameron. And, of course, we've already mentioned two separate lawsuits. Well, now we can add a third one to the list, and it has just as much a chance to succeed as the others. In this case, it's made even more ridiculous by the fact that the book in question was written after Cameron was already working on Avatar.

In most of the cases with these types of lawsuits, it seems like those suing are really just filing what they likely know is a bogus lawsuit to get publicity for their book/movie/etc. (which is why we're not naming the book in this case). But, it does highlight an important point that we've discussed plenty of times in the past: lots of people have ideas that are similar. Ideas, by themselves, are neither unique nor protectable. It's the execution or (within the copyright realm) the expression that is unique. Yet, too many people overvalue the idea and assume that only they could possibly have had it. The idea behind the story of Avatar is pretty simplistic and common, really. It's been done plenty of times before. The reason the movie is getting so much attention is because of the execution.

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Avatar Blu-Ray Customers Not Enjoying Their DRM-Crippled Discs

Karl Bode — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 00:32:00 PDT

The film studios apparently should have spent as much time making sure their DVD new release DRM actually works with popular Blu-Ray players as they did on their new 28 day new release delay scheme. Avatar, which of course Netflix and Redbox users now won't be able to rent for a month, was released on DVD last Friday. While the title's hype and box office success easily translated to disc sales records, AdamR writes in to note that some customers were rewarded for their purchase by finding out the disc wouldn't play on many Blu-Ray players. While some users are able to fix the problem if they can manage to download new firmware that plays nice with the new Avatar DRM, new firmware for players like the Samsung BD-UP5000 doesn't (and may not ever) exist. It's almost as if the studios are trying to perfect the art of annoyance when it comes to Blu-Ray -- something that has helped contribute to the platform's less-than-anticipated adoption rates. While DVDs have always been loaded with unskippable crap (that ironically pirates don't have to deal with) newer Blu-Ray DVDs seem to enjoy taking this to an entirely new level -- with even more unskippable previews, promotions and warnings downloaded to your player via broadband. Somehow the studios continue to believe that layers of seemingly-endless annoyances (DRM, delaying new releases, unskippable "features" -- none of which pirates experience) are actually going to help keep piracy at bay and physical media relevant forever.

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Avatar Sees Theater Attendance Bump After DVD Release

Mike Masnick — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 11:20:00 PDT

Earlier this year, we noted that with Avatar still being popular in theaters, it looked as though the DVD release would occur while the movie was still available in a bunch of theaters, and wondered what if it would actually boost sales at the box office. For years, of course, movie theaters owners have whined that they can't possibly compete against home theaters, and have boycotted movies that tried to do a "day and date" release, where they offer the DVDs at the same time the movie is in the theater. This seems to ignore the fact that the theatrical experience is about the social experience of going out -- which is not the same as staying in to watch a movie at home (no matter how good your home theater system is). But most theater owners don't seem to believe this, and insist that if DVDs are out at the same time as the movie is in the theater, it will harm box office sales.

Avatar seems to suggest that's not true.

btrussell points us to the news of the record-breaking sales of Avatar DVDs this weekend. His point, in submitting it, is noting that the sales were so strong even though the movie has been widely downloadable and widely downloaded for months. So, despite the claims that file sharing is destroying the DVD market, it looks like people are still quite willing to buy.

But a more interesting point is the impact on the box office. Last weekend, April 16 - 18th, Avatar averaged $2,006 at the box office per theater. On April 22nd, the DVD was released. This past weekend (April 23 - 25th)? Avatar averaged $2,257 at the box office per theater. That's an increase of 12.5% over the week. That doesn't seem to fit with the theater owners' claims, now, does it?

Admittedly, a bunch of theaters stopped showing the movie this past week, probably falsely believing that with the DVD out, it would harm sales. But... the week before, a bunch of theaters added Avatar back into their lineup. If we go back two weeks, we have a much more apples to apples comparison. The weekend of April 9 - 11, Avatar showed in 454 theaters, with an average take of $1,860 per theater for a grand total of $844,651. Yet, again, this past weekend, when the movie was showing in fewer theaters, 421, it brought in both a higher average take per theater at $2,257 and a higher grand total at $950,000. So if we compare those two weeks, with fewer theaters, there was a bump of 21.3% in box office sales after the DVD was released

As we predicted, it sure looks like the DVD release while the movie was still in the theaters actually may have driven more people to the theater, rather than taken them away from the theater.

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James Cameron: Innovation Trumps Any Piracy Threat

Mike Masnick — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 06:50:00 PDT

Nearly a year ago, Techdirt reader Parker Mason had submitted a story to us, suggesting that the amazing visuals and 3D + IMAX aspect of Avatar was a perfect example of adding value to movies that would give people a real reason to go to the theater. I actually kept that story open in a tab for months, intending to write it up, and I never got around to it -- and, to be honest, I wasn't entirely convinced that Avatar would really get a huge reception. Don't I look foolish? Yes, Avatar obviously has been a blockbuster of blockbuster proportions -- in part because of exactly those points. People want that greater experience and I was certainly among those who ponied up for the full 3D IMAX version (and not the fake IMAX version either -- thanks to a friend who reminded me of that bit of deception).

It looks like James Cameron recognizes all this as well. Nastybutler77 was the first of a bunch of you to point to Cameron's claim that innovation trumps "piracy," which he made onstage at CTIA:

"In film we have definitely felt threatened by piracy," he said. "We saw the music industry crash and burn in its efforts to stop it. But with G4 (I think he meant 4G wireless) and Moore's Law, you can't fight it...."

"The music industry saw it coming, they tried to stop it, and they got rolled over," he said. "Then they started suing everybody. And now it is what it is."

Instead, Cameron said he has tried to innovate to give movie goers a reason to go to theater. And in creating a rich, "reinvigorated cinema experience," Cameron said he discovered that people are willing to pay money to experience the same content in different ways. Not only are they willing to pay $10 or more to see Avatar on the big screen in 3D, but they also will pay to own the DVD and to take it with them on their phone or portable device.

"People are discriminating about the experience," he said. "They want to own it, have it on a iPhone when they want it, and they want the social experience of going to the cinema. These are really different experiences. And I think they can all co-exist in the same eco-system."

Indeed. It's great that he's recognizing this. The other interesting point he made was that they're going to release the Avatar DVD while the film is still showing in the theaters -- in part because the show is still doing well in the theaters. Of course, many theaters have complained about how they don't want shorter release windows (or, horror of horrors, the idea of releasing a movie in the theater and on DVD at the same time). However, it will be interesting to see whether the DVD release, while the movie is still in some theaters, leads to at least a little bump in box office sales for the movie, as people who watch it on DVD decide they want to see it on the big screen.

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And Here Come The Lawsuits From People Who Claim James Cameron Ripped Them Off With Avatar

Mike Masnick — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:13:00 PST

I saw Avatar with a friend who didn't know much about the movie heading in, and asked me what it was about -- so I gave her the succinct summary I'd heard from a few others as well: "It's Dances With Wolves with blue people." Of course, while many people have made similar statements, it's also been popular to compare the movie to Pocohantas. However, that was just the start. A little while ago, the site io9 put together an amazing look at the many, many, many different movies/books/stories/artwork that Avatar has been accused of "ripping off."

And, of course, with such a list, you'd have to expect lawsuits -- and they're starting up. A guy in China sued for $146 million, claiming that his online novel was the inspiration. That suit was quickly dismissed. But fear not, now some restaurant owner is claiming that his unmade screenplay was the real inspiration and has sued James Cameron and Twentieth Century Fox.

Or, perhaps, this is a classical story that's been told hundreds of times before in various formats.

As with almost every lawsuit like this, it will almost certainly get dismissed quickly. However, this happens all the time with blockbuster books and movies (just look at how many times JK Rowling has been accused of "ripping off" Harry Potter, or Dan Brown accused of "ripping off" The Da Vinci Code). At some point there should be sanctions against these sorts of bogus lawsuits. In many cases, it seems clear that the people suing see it more as a publicity stunt to get press attention for their book or movie or whatever (hence the reason we're not naming the individuals or their works in this post). In the meantime, though, is anyone taking bets on who's next to sue?

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88-Year Old Man Caught Taping Avatar With A Camcorder

Mike Masnick — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 10:23:00 PST

There's this impression out there, among some, that copyright infringement is just something that the young do. The truth is, of course, that plenty of people infringe on copyrights all the time, for perfectly natural reasons (even some of the strongest copyright supporters do it as well). And the reasons they do it is because they don't even realize they're infringing. Our natural inclination to share something we like outweighs an arcane set of laws that still haven't been shown to actually encourage greater creation of quality content. Case in point: an 88-year-old man in Australia wanted to go see the movie Avatar with his wife -- but she was unable to make it to the theater. So the guy brought along his camcorder (and his walking stick) to record the movie and share it with his wife, so they could experience it together. Now, for any compassionate human being, this is a tale of sweetness. What a thoughtful thing this guy wanted to do for his wife.

But the industry doesn't see it that way. To them, it's still "piracy" and a problem. To be honest, if the movie industry stopped with its silly "windowing" concept, this wouldn't have been a problem at all. The studio easily could have released Avatar on DVD at the same time as the movie came out. Tons of people would have still gone to see it in the theater (it's the type of movie that many people very much wanted to see in the theater -- especially where there were 3D or IMAX options). Hell, if they had made it an option to buy the DVD on the way out (perhaps giving a discount if you had a ticket stub), I'm sure plenty more people would have shelled out for the DVD, as well. And, the 88-year-old man in Australia could have simply bought or rented the DVD and shared the whole experience with his wife.

Instead, the studio forbids that sort of thing, and so the thoughtful husband becomes a criminal. Thankfully, while the police were called, it appears they chose not to arrest the man. They just deleted the film from his video camera, and then let him stay for the rest of the film.

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A Look At The Data Center That Crunched Avatar

Mike Masnick — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 18:18:02 PST

You don't often get to see the details of a massive data center. The companies that run them tend to keep things pretty quiet, as they view the datacenter as a competitive advantage. Thus, what happens in Google's datacenters remains mostly a mystery. And yet, it seems that the folks at Weta Digital, famous for providing the computing horsepower behind major Hollywood blockbusters like Lord of the Rings and now Avatar are apparently willing to open up a bit and provide some details about its setup. What struck me as interesting wasn't so much the hardware specifics, but how they had to switch from the industry standard cooling system of raised floors and air-cooling, because the machines were too close together to get the necessary bandwidth. So, instead, they went with water-cooled racks. Water-cooled data centers have been increasingly common over the past few years (and were typical with many old mainframes), but they're still a technology that not all data center operators are comfortable with, and which many still think create more problems than they solve. So it's always interesting to see another one in action.

At the same time, as neat as it is to read about Weta Digital's massive computing power (which apparently represents one of the 200 largest "super computers") in the world, I'm still left wondering if the trend -- even for amazing movie effects -- isn't moving away from such massive data centers. We're seeing more and more what can be done on the cheap. And, no, it doesn't come close to matching the stunning effects found in the blockbuster movies that Weta works on, but it does have all the symptoms of a classic innovator's dilemma scenario, where the new stuff isn't "as good" as the old stuff, but is improving at a faster rate, and quickly reaching a point where it's "good enough" at significantly lower price points.

Given the regular discussions around here concerning movie budgets, where do people think the technology is headed for movie special effects? Will it always be run in giant datacenters, or is there a place for making high quality (even blockbuster-type) films on cheaper hardware?

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DRM To The Disaster Again... May Prevent 3D Showing Of Avatar In Some Theaters

Mike Masnick — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 01:42:52 PST

There's obvious been a lot of talk about James Cameron's new epic movie Avatar. One of the interesting things about the movie is that, yet again, it's showing why Hollywood probably isn't in as much trouble due to "piracy" as studio bosses keep insisting. Avatar is designed to be the type of movie you absolutely want to go see in the theater, with amazing special effects, and an incredible 3D setup, like none you've ever seen before, and certainly one that you can't replicate at your house, no matter how cool your home theater system might be. And yet... it seems that they've still decided to lock the movie up with DRM, and rather than helping things, that DRM is fouling stuff up. Some theaters in Germany have discovered that the DRM is preventing them from showing the film in some theaters. So, here they are, with a movie that, by its very nature, is resistant to any problem from "piracy" (if anything, pirated copies might make people more interested in seeing the amazing effects), and they still try to DRM it up, and all that does is make it harder to see the special effects. So, what good does DRM do again?

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