MPAA Agrees Pirates Go To Movies

Dan Glickman, head of the Motion Picture Association of America, acknowledged on Monday that people who illegally download movies are also the people who go to movie theaters to see movies. While the MPAA and most major studios have charged for years that illegal downloading has cut into theater attendance, Glickman said to the National Press Club in Washington that the industry was working on a way to improve both the traditional film distribution model and the “anytime, anywhere enjoyment of movies that consumers clearly want today.”

Yes, all of us on the Internet already knew this, but it does my heart good to hear someone in “the industry” agree. I don’t know that there’s a model that will satisfy everyone as far as how film distribution will evolve, but I know that I use all of the methods available to me to watch movies. At Illusion it has been a real tough issue, because we pay for licensing on some of our shows and movies, and it’s frustrating to see them distributed for free on the Internet. We really just have to cling to the hope that seeing shows on the Internet will make you want to watch them again on your TV. No one really has all the answers when it comes to this issue*, but only honest dialogue will help us work toward a solution.

*Except for Dekker, but he’s not telling anyone until he’s President of the MPAA.