A selection of top movies leaked on the Internet this week – some of which are not even yet available in cinemas. Included in those was a copy of The Hateful Eight by Quentin Tarantino.
According to a report in The Hollywood Reporter, the leak was tracer to the owner of the “DVD screener”, Andrew Kosove, who is the co-CEO of Alcon Entertainment.
The story claims that Kosove received a “screener” copy for awards consideration, though the delivery was signed by an assistant. The copy was traced to Kosove by way of an embedded watermark when it was uploaded onto pirate websites.
Kosove says that he has never seen the DVD and that “it’s never touched his hands”. He is apparently working with the FBI and has kicked off an internal investigation into where the leak occurred.
Unfortunately, Tarantino’s movie was downloaded several hundred thousands times after it was uploaded this week. Whoever is behind the release has also attempted to remove the watermark on the copy.
It’s not uncommon for screener copies of movies to leak onto torrent websites before the awards ceremonies, as the companies behind new films distribute copies to for awards consideration even when the said movies haven’t yet been released publicly.
It’s not yet certain what will happen to Kosove, although The Hollwood Reporter reports that he’s working to resolve the chain of possession of the DVD since it arrived at the company.
SOURCE: Hollywood Reporter.
Larry Banks is a keen follower of technology and finance. He has worked for a variety of online publications, writing about a diverse range of topics including mobile networks, patents, and Internet video delivery technologies.