Sony Pictures has withdrawn the above trailer...er, I mean has asked youtube to take it down due to copyright violation. The following blog post was written before the trailer was taken down. We stand by the blog post.
You can view a non-shaky (you'll know what we mean by non-shaky after you read the blog post) version of the trailer at the following link: http://www.buzzfeed.com/gavon/official-trailer-for-the-girl-with-the-dragon-tat
What is true? Can we trust anything? Or, lighten up - it's just a movie.
The above "bootlegged - leaked" trailer is for the David Fincher directed The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (it's the so called "American version" since there is a wonderfully done Swedish original, Man som hatar kvinnor, directed by Niels Arden Oplev and starring Noomi Repace (love her!) and Michael Nyqvist). Here is the situation...it is said that this is a special European only released trailer. Someone in a theater audience using a consumer video camera secretly and illegally shot this copy and then posted it on youtube. Wow, we're getting a sneak peak here in America! I am such a special person to have found it!
But, hold on. It does have the image movement that is consistent with someone shooting a theater movie screen (floating image in hand held style) to create a bootleg copy. However the movement is really smooth and the image quality really good. And, where are the normal ambient sounds that is typical of "bootlegged" videos (coughing by someone in the audience, poor sound quality of the camera microphone, the clicks of camera microphone as the operator moves the camera, etc.). It's all so clean. Plus, as The Hollywood Reporter points out, "the trailer is preceded by an MPAA red-band, advising that the preview has been approved by the MPAA for mature audiences. But why would theaters in Europe be showing an MPAA advisory that is aimed at U.S. moviegoers?"
Conclusion: Sony Pictures is creating an advance buzz by making us believe we are getting an illegal sneak peak! When in fact it is just a well designed fake. It's not illegal and "bootlegged" but, in fact, their own work product. We aren't special people for finding it on the web. We aren't really special for having this advance knowledge of a film we are all excitingly anticipating. Darn, I'm not special. Damn you Sony! (I do think the trailer is pretty cool.)
One last comment...it seems a little foolish for Sony to have done this (assuming they did fake this) because film piracy/bootlegging/illegal file sharing is a big problem for the film business. Using it as a promotional ploy seems to undercut the seriousness of the problem. Maybe we shouldn't take the FBI warnings we all see on DVDs so seriously.
Speaking of DVDs...PBS Video will release These Amazing Shadows on DVD in the fall. We are currently putting together the DVD extras. Next week Paul and I will go into a studio to record the directors commentary. If you want your name or a special someone casually mentioned by me or Paul during the commentary please send us $100 c/o of Gravitas Docufilms (only kidding). Our DVD extras will have many surprises including portions of the interviews left on the cutting room floor of John Waters and Christopher Nolan, bloopers and a wonderful 25 minute piece on film preservation entitled, Lost Forever.
