Underground Internet file-swapping circles were buzzing Wednesday
with rumors that a copy of “The Matrix Reloaded” had been released
online, a day before its theatrical opening date.
Information posted on several widely read hacker sites described a
two-CD release of the Warner Bros. film by a group that had earlier
claimed to have posted the “X-Men” sequel, “X2.” The news sparked a
frenzy of activity in Internet Relay Chat (IRC) channels and other
forums dedicated to movie swapping.
Some individuals claimed in chat sessions that they had seen
copies of the movie, a sequel to the blockbuster “The Matrix,” as early
as Wednesday morning. CNET News.com could not confirm the complete
accuracy of the information. However, still shots that appeared to be taken from the movie had been posted online.
A one-minute sample file obtained by CNET News.com also appeared
to be genuine. The video file was of medium quality, providing
watchable but somewhat blurry resolution at full-screen size, but had a
dark picture that occasionally made it difficult to make out details.
Tom Temple, director of worldwide Internet enforcement for the
Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), said he had no
information indicating that the movie had been released early online.
“We have seen a lot of files named ‘Matrix,’” Temple said. “We have not seen that one actually was (the sequel).”
The prerelease online of big-budget movies has become a growing
concern for Hollywood studios, even if to date the trend has shown
little sign of undermining box office revenue. The MPAA, in tandem with
the Recording Industry Association of America, has sued file-swapping
companies whose software provides potential access to pirated films to
millions of people at a time.
In their very early stages of online release, movies are
rarely available to the everyday Net dweller as a file on Kazaa or
Morpheus, however. Shadowy groups with names like ESOTERiC and Centropy
have networks of people, often spread across the globe, that
participate in gaining access to an early screening of the movie,
copying it directly or with a video recorder, processing it, and
putting it on private sites.
Over the course of hours or days, these files typically find their way into more public file-swapping networks such as Kazaa.
Most big movies do find their way onto the Net before their theatrical release, or within hours of it. The last “Star Wars” movie trickled into file-swapping circles more than a week before it was scheduled to open in theaters last summer.
The Matrix Reloaded is slated to open Thursday in the United States.
Source: CNET News.com
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