Piracy fail: Twitter user gets free movie tix for failed attempt to download a torrent

The twit that got Amanda a free movie ticket.

(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET)

Ever since the end of the original Napster, it's been a known fact that music labels and movie studios watch and monitor what Internet users download. What's less known is how closely they are doing that.

According to TorrentFreak, Twitter user Amanda Music got a nice surprise Monday when Miramax contacted her to offer two free tickets to the film "Adventureland."

It all started Sunday with her twit that read, "Ugh WHY IS ADVENTURELAND NOT ON TORRENTS YET?." Apparently, she was looking to download a pirated copy (recorded by a camcorder inside a movie theater) of the newly released movie, but she failed to find a torrent for it.

(Credit: TorrentFreak.com)

Soon after writing the twit, Amanda Music got a message saying, "Cmon Amanda, don't do it. #adventureland #fbi," to which she replied jokingly, "Okay I won't, JUST FOR YOU."

Then, to her surprise, Amanda Music got a message from MiramaxFilms that said, "Thanks Amanda. In return, I have a free Fandango card for 2 tix if you're interested in 'Adventureland.' Just DM us for the code."

In the end, Amanda Music did get one ticket (instead of two) and she said she would go see the movie today. She told TorrentFreak that she "couldn't find a working 'Adventureland' torrent anyway."

While this seems like a good business practice and nobody was harmed, it is kinda scary to know how closely we're being watched. If a company can reach us to give a reward, it may very well be able to do the same when it wants something else.

Maybe it's not a good idea to tell the whole world everything you are up to.

[robertorosco]

Maybe she went with her own camcorder to get the job done. lol

[Dleon84]

LMAO @ robertorosco... that's awesome dude.

[ddhboy]

I remember there was a time when people didn't post evidence of their illegal activities on the internet for the world to see.

[ducttape36]

scary how closely were being watched? more like scary how much of ourselves we are broadcasting...

[MadLyb]

Exactly, I can remember when we cancelled mail and papers and programmed lights when we were away from home and now people Tweet and Facebook it to the world.

Add in the fact that everything you say on the web will still be around after you are dead and it is insane to wander the web in this manner.

I did a consult gig where a mid-size company wanted to integrate a Google, Yahoo and MSN search on an applicants name and capture the data to the application record and this is just the tip of the iceberg.

[nickh2]

Great. So when she turns up at the theater, MPAA goons will be waiting to bust whoever sits in seat 36G.

[karpenterskids]

People are soooo stupid nowadays...who in their right minds would broadcast something like that?


"Just got finished robbing a bank...I may be off Twitter for a couple of hours"

"7th Avenue is a great place to go get drugs"

"Just hired a prostitute to stop by my place tonight...wanna come join? ;)"


Having said that, though, Miramax did a good thing by offering her tickets to see the movie for free...they've already gotten more publicity (along with Adventureland) than a $10 movie ticket would've cost, anyways.

[ngodong]

Hey I live on a 7th ave and it's NOT a great place to get drugs! :)

[ducttape36]

another privacy fail! Dong Ngo just told us where he lives!

[Magicland]

Got to hand it to Miramax. They could have gone all MPAA on her, and the end result would have been more folks determined to not pay to see Adventureland. Instead, they managed to turn it into a positive. By giving away a single movie ticket, they've generated tons of goodwill, gotten a lot of free advertising, and maybe even some folks will think twice before downloading the torrent rather than seeing the movie. In a world where one's entertainment dollars are limited, and entertainment choices are virtually limitless, folks often choose to go with those viewed in a favorable light, rather than those whose enterprises are seen as abusive or domineering.

[krushgroove]

I just had a look at this chick's blog.

With little gems like,

"omg! haha i love it"
"**** ITS AN ELEPHANT AND ITS BOUNCING. <3333"
"he?s yummy"
"Kitty with a cast. Ohnoez. :( OMG POOR KITTY!"

is there any doubt she doesn't have a brain?

[jumpjetta]

Uh, there's a good chance she's 11 years old. All of my 12 year old daughter's friends tend to write like this... though a little better.

[monkeyfun14]

Maybe I could be wrong is there chances this was staged?

[dell1980]

Not scary it's common sense, if someone is posting things on the web it's there for everyone to see including large companies, and law enforcement.

[Tenibac2]

Maybe Amanda should stop stealing movies?

[Willie Winkie]

The idea that digital information (or any information for that matter) can be stolen is an artificial construct of corporate America. I knowledge and info had been bottled up so it could be controlled over say, the last 10,000 years, you be paying for the privilege of striking a match. The human mind creates knowledge. That's what humans do. And you can't keep that kind of "lightning" in a bottle. It CAN and WILL be shared.

[tdruth]

@Willie Winkie - You've misunderstood the history and constructs of intellectual property. If every useful invention or creative expression could be replicated and exploited without restriction then it's doubtful that our society would enjoy most of the comforts of modern society - the match you mention likely would have never been invented. Patents, as abused as they may be, enable inventors to earn a return on their investment of time and resources to create something useful. If inventors were not guaranteed such a monopoly, there would be no incentive to make such a substantial investment. Why should risk my time and money to I create something when I can wait for someone else to do it and still have the same opportunity to exploit it?

Willie, you may be willing to spend years of your life and buckets of money inventing something to give away to the world but I assure you, society as a whole is not so benevolent. After all, nothing in the law *requires* you to protect your creations - if your notion is true then such well-intentioned inventors would have donated their creative riches to the public domain.

While IP scholars will debate whether the Constitution ever intended to protect non-useful arts (i.e., music, film, photos, etc) in the form of copyrights, they are here to stay, and there are legitimate reasons for them, much like patents. If there were no financial incentive to create, these artists would not be able to pursue their craft very long, even if they wanted to do it for free.

[catnett]

Can we PLEASE declare a permanent moratorium on the use of the word 'fail' in CNET news stories? Thanks in advance...

[mailhacker]

http://codewidgets.blogspot.com/2009/04/impressions-piracy-gets-its-due.html