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SPOTLIGHT ON PIRACY
OVER-55s PIRATING MORE
CYBERCRIME-AS-A-SERVICE GROWS
PIRATES USE PANDEMIC TO INCREASE TRAFFIC
UK HAS “WORLD CLASS PIRACY EDUCATION”
BREXIT PIRACY: “HOPE IS 100% AS BEFORE”
DIARY DATE
HALLOWEEN COMES EARLY
THYME FOR LIONSGATE’S Q3…
…AS HITMAN LEADS THE WAY
IT’S MOOMINTIME
VDC TEES UP CHARITY CASH
FRIGHTFEST LAUNCHES 2021 EVENT ARTWORK
NETFLIX LAUNCHES VIDEO STORE
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
AT THE MOVIES
TWEET OF THE WEEK
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
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With piracy growing among consumers during the lockdown – the numbers have increased by six per cent since Coronavirus shutdown the nation in 2020 – piracy is more of a threat than ever, and the subject came under the microscope during the latest in the BASE organised Spotlight Sessions. The second of the sessions brought together experts from the area to look at the current state of the illegal download and streaming world, trends within it and areas worth highlighting. Opening the session, The Industry Trust’s senior insight and marketing manager Yasmin Nevard, outlined the current playing field. She said :”Through the Industry Trust research, we know that more than four in 10 people aged 11 plus across Great Britain pirate film, TV and sport content. This has increased by six per cent when comparing to just before the pandemic. These increases have been driven by the traditional infringers of 16 to 34-year-old males, but we have also seen significant increases in those aged 55 plus and parents continue to be a key infringing audience as well. The research also demonstrates one on four infringers are paying to access content, therefore more likely to be a victim of fraud. They’re using legitimate sources to discover this content, including Google YouTube and Facebook as well as gaining access through legitimate devices such as Amazon Firestick and Google Chromecast.”
The introduction for the piracy spotlight was followed by the Motion Picture Association’s EMEA president and md Stan McCoy, who outlined a key trend identified by Europol, one which has identified “cybercrime as a service”. A few years ago, he said, cybercrime was a bit geeky, but was now easier for new players to enter. Europol has said: “The availability of cybercrime services online as part of a crime-as-a-service business model makes cybercrime more accessible by lowering the technological expertise required to carry out these crimes.” This includes content management services that enable would-be pirates to set up pirate streaming sites; templates ready-made in Wordpress for potential pirates to buy to set up sites; infringing content libraries available to sites (one taken down by MPA and other agencies affected almost 300 pirate sites); IPTV dashboards for dodgy box services; one-stop cyberlocker set-ups enabling consumers to monetise content via cyberlockers; hosting providers that ignore DMCA takedown orders; finding tools that enable consumers to find pirated content. He continued: “Why should you care? Because piracy proliferation is absolutely essential to the business model of these cybercrime as a service operators. They need to create more criminals in order to sustain themselves. They themselves will often claim legal innocence or safe harbour. It’s very important that new legislation contains exclusion for these operators.
The MPA’s Stan McCoy also outlined the key trends in investigation. Chief among these was “know your business customer” (kybc.eu). McCoy said: “We live in a world where the top 10 sources of streaming video traffic on the entire Internet can include blatantly illegal operators such as Openload, a cyberlocker listed as a notorious market by the EU and US government. There are illegal operators among the top 10 giants of streaming traffic.” The MPA got a court order that helped reveal the host had received more than €19m to host illegal services, although there the trail went cold. “For us, no customer means no case. The question is, should they be legally required to know something? This is now front of line for EU legislators and hopefully soon UK legislators. It’s a very easy fix. This is getting support in the EU parliament.” He also noted the key trend in deterrence, saying: “Major criminal actions are increasingly impressive, in many cases multi-jurisdictional criminal actions.” He cited the UK’s own PIPCU police work, as well as Spanish and other territories. “They’re really impressive and highly deterrent actions. We need more of these and I think we’ll have more of these.”
Next during the spotlight session of piracy was Ardi Janjeva from rusi.org who outlined the work of the company alongside groups such as BASE, the Premier League and the MPA as well as public groups looking such as the IPO, at ways to take the profit out of piracy. It looked at five key questions, including how much piracy is run through organised crime networks; how criminals make money from it; what is being done to track and disrupt the financial flows; how intermediaries such as financial institutions can play a role in disrupting piracy and how the UK can improve its response to piracy by using a follow-the-money strategy. He showed how many people are paying for illegal access to pirate titles and how it is normalising piracy. The gamut of services run from smaller individuals, through to sophisticated criminal gangs not only offering services but helping others do the same. Ultimately the criminals providing piracy content have proven to be consistently capable of adapting to and capitalising on social, technological and economic changes to accumulate profit and consistently evade enforcement action. He highlighted how they’ve used the pandemic to grow their business, such as using government guidelines to encourage viewing of illegal content, before going to show the different revenue streams that pirates use, from direct payment to selling advertise and also defrauding customers. The industry needed to tell advertisers to stop funding it, to disrupt access and payment and share information among different branches. The Rusi report contains 16 recommendations, but key among these were to establish a public and private partnership to attack piracy, to get financial institutions to work harder, more stringent know your business customer requirements for service providers, more engagement with financial service stakeholders (card payment companies and the likes) and support for a wider approach from agencies.
A panel discussion ended the session, with the above names joined by Abigail Hughes, vp for Growth EMEA at Premiere Digital and Robin Boldon, director product management (anti-piracy) at OpSec Security. During this, McCoy talked about the three important elements of the fight against piracy, from education with elements such as the Get It Right initiative (“we’re doing world class education in the UK”) to enforcement of rights and the legal offer. He said: The legal offer needs to be out there in the marketplace. The good news there is, we’ve made incredible strides as an industry in doing that.” McCoy further discussed the industry’s efforts to protect the supply chain and prevent pirated copies coming out before release – he cited studies showing between 15 and 20 per cent reduction in revenues for a film that had been pirated pre-release, which, as he added, is often the difference between a film making and losing money.
During the discussion, The Raygun asked about how Brexit would effect the fight against piracy. The MPA’s Stan McCoy: “To the extent we’re depending on collaboration between criminal authorities, the hope is that will continue 100 per cent as before, there will be no relaxation in the already active collaboration between UK criminal authorities and those in continental Europe. In civil systems, there is a common heritage of EU influence there, you’ve got tools like cyber blocking in both the UK and EU. That’s all good news. Will there be some business related changes? Inevitably there will be structural changes, but I hope we won’t see any immediate Brexit-related piracy impact.” Robin Boldon echoed those comments, adding: “The legislation has changed so that European broadcast channels that played out of the UK potentially have to relocate to am EU country to conform with EU legislation. We’re playing a watching brief to see if any pirate operators we’re tracking are capitalising on that and start offering content that ceases to be available in the UK as a sales tool.” The panel concluded that it’s keeping an eye on developments such as AI pirate finding tools and how legislation may become irrelevant. Stan McCoy concluded: I think cybercrime as a service enabled by technologies such as AI and blockchain will be like cybercrime on steroids. We need to keep pace with that.” You can see more here.
The next Spotlight Session takes place just ahead of the week’s second Euro 2020 semi-final, on Wednesday July 7, with a view from the US on developments in the market there. These are really worthwhile session, and it’s well worth taking the time before you get stuck into England’s continuing football exploits. Go here for tickets.
Sticking with BASE and the organisation announced its weekly Official Film Chart update and it’s still Warner all the way, with the company still holding the top spot with Godzilla Vs Kong as well as five of the top six, with the latest addition being new Batman animated title The Long Halloween at number two. The only non-Warner title within the top six is Lionsgate’s drafting title The Hitman’s Bodyguard, while also drafting at number 10 is Universal’s Fast and Furious offshoot Hobbs & Shaw.
Lionsgate has hit the ground running with its theatrical titles since cinemas reopened as the latest lockdown eased, and the varied titles it has brought to theatres since the multiplexes flung their doors open again – ranging the tragedy of The Father through to horror with Spiral and action and laughs in the sequel to the Hitman’s Bodyguard. Those titles form the backbone of a busy Q3 in home entertainment terms, with the first two of those titles, Endangered Species and Wild Mountain Thyme, due in stores on Monday. Commenting on the slate, here’s the company’s Kirsten Sweeney. She said: “Lionsgate’s Q3 Home Ent. slate hots up for the summer! Starting the quarter strong, July will see the release of safari Thriller ENDANGERED SPECIES, the latest film from Director M.J. Bassett – who was also behind Lionsgate’s nerve-shredding ROGUE back in Q4 2020. Following a family besieged by the wildlife whilst stranded in the Amboseli National Park, the film is packed full of thrills. From Academy Award winner John Patrick Shanley WILD MOUNTAIN THYME is a lyrical and romantic Drama starring Emily Blunt and Jamie Dornan as two star-crossed lovers in rural Ireland. Following an impactful PVOD launch in April, the title will make its way to DVD on July 5. World War II Drama SIX MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT rounds out Lionsgate’s July releases. Based on a true story, the film stars an A-list British cast including Eddie Izzard, Dame Judi Dench, and Jim Broadbent.”
Carrying on with Lionsgate’s Q3 sate and into August, Kirsten Sweeney continued: "August sees the Home Ent release of two Thrillers: ANTEBELLUM and SPIRAL: FROM THE BOOK OF SAW. From the Producer of GET OUT and US, ANTEBELLUM is a twisty Thriller starring Janelle Monáe as a famous Author caught at the centre of a sinister mystery. SPIRAL: FROM THE BOOK OF SAW is a brand-new story in the famed Horror franchise. Starring Hollywood heavyweights Chris Rock and Samuel L .Jackson, SPIRAL unravels the identity of a mysterious serial killer whilst delivering the fiendish traps fans have come to expect of the franchise. August will also see the Home Ent. release of THE FATHER, the highly acclaimed Drama from writer/director Florian Zeller. The film stars Anthony Hopkins in his BAFTA and Academy Award-winning role as Anthony, a fiercely independent man facing the reality of his changing circumstances, and the changing dynamic he has with his daughter Anne (Olivia Colman). Rounding out the quarter will be the Home Ent. release of star-studded Action Comedy THE HITMANS’S WIFE’S BODYGUARD. Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson and Salma Hayek all reprise their roles from the hilarious 2017 hit, here joined by Antonio Banderas and Morgan Freeman. Full of witty one liners and impressive action set-pieces, we’re certain that this film will be a firm favourite with Home Ent. consumers.”
Monday releases in store and Acorn presents the first fruits of a deal with sister company Shudder, which will see the company bringing physical releases of big titles from the horror streaming service to the market here in the UK. The first fruits of the deal see The Dark And The Wicked arriving in stores on Monday, with more of the excellent horror films signed exclusively to the service appearing as tangible titles. The company’s Helen Squire said: “The new output deal with our sister company Shudder gives us a fantastic opportunity to bring their high quality horror movies from SVOD to retail. Our strategy for 2021 is to release all titles as digital download and keep but also to release the best of the best of them on Blu-ray and DVD. We have a busy release schedule throughout Q3 and Q4 of this year already and Monday sees the launch of the first of our physical releases in the shape of The Dark and the Wicked - Bryan Bertino's critically acclaimed supernatural possession movie. The rest of year will see the full gamut of the horror genres from monster movies to slashers and comedy and we look forward to sharing more news on these in the coming weeks.”
Arriving in cinemas next week ahead of a digital release at the end of the month from indie distributor Blue Finch Film Releasing is Tove, Finland’s foreign language Academy Award entry. The biopic looks at Moomins creator Tove Jansson. As the company’s Fatima Hayward said: “We’re thrilled to be bringing Finland’s Academy Award Submission, Tove to cinemas now they are open after the lockdown. This captivating story about the iconic Moomins creator Tove Jansson deserves to be seen on the big screen. We have had some great marketing opportunities with the Moomins organisation and Birds Eye View’s Reclaim The Frame, and the film has a number of angles that will help it to click with key audiences.”
Among the ongoing misery of the pandemic, it’s nice to have a feelgood story to promote and so to VDC, which held its annual golf day recently, as scores of people from the industry joined the company’s Ashwin Bedi and colleagues, with both former and current industry executives out in force, both for the golfing day and the evening’s entertainment. What’s more, it raised cash for a good cause. Here’s a report from Bedi himself, he said: “The day was a great success with 94 golfers and over 100 people for dinner. It was a lovely day, we managed to be blessed with some good weather and an evening of fun with raffle and auction raising over £15,000 for Cancer Research and Guys Cancer hospital which takes us to over £300,000 donated since we started 12 years ago in memory of my mother who I lost due to cancer. The website for more information is www.sudeshbedi.com It was great to see our industry friends take part and to be in a normal social environment after so long. Good to meet up, have a laugh and a few beers.”
FrightFest is on its way. The organisers of the horror festival that traditionally holds the biggest event on its annual calendar in London’s Leicester Square over the August Bank Holiday weekend are putting the final touches to the line-up for this year’s physical event after moving to online events during the height of the pandemic. And while the full programme is yet to be unveiled – expect a first announcement due in next week’s newsletter – the countdown is beginning in earnest this week with the reveal of the new logo for this year’s event. It was created, as ever, by industry favourite Graham Humphreys, who has a track record with the industry dating right back to the likes of the notorious video sleeve for The Evil Dead. Humphreys said: “We have a happy monster this year. Though how happy a monster should be in a horror film festival raised the question, what would make the monster happy? Last year’s event was not ‘live’. This year, with a return to the social interaction that makes the festival such an important event in the annual calendar, it’s as if we have bypassed 2020 in a time machine, full throttle, into 2021. To celebrate - a bottle of champagne! Although the monster would probably prefer a full-blooded vintage…” You can see it at www.frightfest.co.uk,
Netflix has been out and about this weekend to mark the first of three parts of Fear Street, landing on three successive Fridays. Fear Street 1994 launched on Friday and the svod operator opened three pop-up video stores in London, Brighton and Newcastle to mark the occasion. The stores, all branded as Shadyside Video, featured loads of retro-themed goodies, with giveaways, photo booths and a distinctive retro video feel. They’ll be open for the next two weekends for the launch of Part 2: 1978 and Part 3: 1666. Netflix worked with local artists in each of the three locations to offer up visual art and posters. London artist Alice Bloomfield said: “As a big fan of anything horror and also an avid childhood reader of all the R.L. Stine books, this is such a dream collaboration. It’s been really cool to be a part of Netflix’s first horror trilogy and I’ve loved encapsulating all the many details of the second volume of the trilogy, Fear Street Part 2: 1978 throughout my poster.” Brighton’s Pippa Toole said: “R.L. Stine gave me my first taste of horror when I was younger and I am a huge fan of old movie posters, so working on this project has been an absolute dream come true. I grew up in the 90s, and remember the aesthetic very well, so it was super exciting to revisit that era with the Fear Street artwork. It’s been a real treat to be involved in a project that pays homage to such an iconic time period. I remember going to video stores when I was younger, and I cannot wait to see the pop-up recreate that experience.” And Newcastle’s Cori Henderson added: “Collaborating with Netflix on such an exciting project has been a dream come true. The Fear Street trilogy has everything I love; it's retro, witchy, and has all the gory vibes of the classic slasher movies I was obsessed with growing up. It was such a treat to explore the more grim themes of the 1600s in my artwork, but also to draw inspiration from the bright vintage VHS covers of the 1990s.”
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“I don’t think it’s going to last. Streaming is great, but everybody is chasing it for financial reasons, and I don’t think the financial support is there to hold up the industry the way that it is. It’s one thing if it was only Netflix, but now every company has streaming. People are not going to subscribe to that many. Are studios really going to give up billion-dollar movies just to support their streaming service? Financially, I don’t think it makes sense. I see theatrical coming back, and both should exist and will exist. People like to go to the movies. It’s not because they couldn’t see movies at home. We’ve always been able to watch movies at home. It’s nothing new. I think it’s totally coming back.”
Wonder Woman 1984 director Patty Jenkins on why she doesn’t think day and date streaming strategy has a long-term future…
AT THE MOVIES
Patty Jenkins, mentioned just above, is, of course, also working on a new Star Wars film, about which precious little is known, except its title Rogue Squadron. Now a writer has been revealed, and Matthew Robinson, who’s come a long way since working with Ricky Gervais on The Invention of Lying, is now penning the first draft of the eagerly awaited title…
Dwayne Johnson, much loved in these parts for his all round nice guy real-life persona and his ceaseless working schedule meaning constant film and casting news from the great man resulting in plenty of coverage here… This week’s news sees him succumbing to the inevitable and announcing plans for a Christmas movie. Working with some of his regular cohorts, including producing partner Hiram Garcia, he’s developing a Christmas film for Amazon entitled Red One. The script is being penned by Fast and Furious writer Chris Morgan, with a planned 2023 airing on Amazon Prime. What’s more, the online giant and the former WWE giant are planning to make it something of a franchise, complete with more films and all kind of merchandise…
We at The Raygun love a good film title and we’re absolutely blown away by Cocaine Bear, the name fo the film based on an outlandish true story that pretty much is as the title suggests. Phil Lord and Chris Miller, ever sharp comic spotters, are producing the film based on a 1985 incident, while Elizabeth Banks will direct. Now it seems as if the likes of Keri Russell, Ray Liotta and Alden Ehrenreich, with showing due to begin this summer and the Coen Brothers-esque tale set to be released by Universal…
TWEET OF THE WEEK
Follow us on www.twitter.com/theraygun…
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
We are so excited about this…
The Dark and The Wicked…
Red letter day…
Big red trailer…
THE OBLIGATORY GDPR BIT
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