Never underestimate the stupidity of the entertaiment biz.

[Jason R]

Man, oh man, I have seen it all.

I know that very few people involved with this MSCL project have been called geniuses, but Gord just got a Cease and Desist request from Universal to remove Miami Vice from his site. He has no artwork there, he has nothing from the show there. Just a place where people can tell Universal that they like the show and would buy it on DVD. He has reviewed Universal DVDs on his site, and he has shared the information he gathers with Universal. Gord is like the nicest guy I know, and it is pissing me off that Universal is threatening him.

The reason that they want it pulled? They say the fact that he has it there is generating too much email for them. Imagine I had said that when I was answering MSCL emails at BMG? Yeah, you might not have had a double charge, but you wouldn't be getting the DVDs in about 2 weeks.

The fact that fans have been given a place to share their opinions is apparently not viewed as a good thing by Universal. Why would you buy anything from Universal when they don't want to listen to their customers?

BTW, they told him to pull it because they "will never release the show." So, you might as well tell the fans that the show isn't coming out.

Jason

[Jason R]

BTW, I think I just found the motto for Dry Grass Partners, LLC.

Dry Grass Partners, LLC
Because you can never underestimate the stupidity of the entertainment industry

[Natasha (candygirl)]

BTW, they told him to pull it because they "will never release the show." So, you might as well tell the fans that the show isn't coming out.

Good to know that they appreciate all the fan support over at Universal.

[Natasha (candygirl)]

Gord just got a Cease and Desist request from Universal to remove Miami Vice from his site. He has no artwork there, he has nothing from the show there. Just a place where people can tell Universal that they like the show and would buy it on DVD.

When I initially read Jason's post, I thought that Universal is being lame. On reading it a second time, I have changed my mind. Universal is being absolutely ridiculous. I understand copyrights and all, but sheesh. First some of these companies shut down fansites for using copyrighted material. Next Universal tell Gord that they don't want people saying they want their show on DVD. Next thing you know, they will be cracking down on people even having the title of a show anywhere unauthorized. Gawd forbid that I should have a list of my favorite shows or credit an actor for appearing on a particular show. Maybe I can leave stuff like that up if I play hangman and just let people guess.

M O O _ L I G H T I N_ was a great show.

Uh, not that the above show which I shall not mention by the title is owned by Universal. Just an example.

[Thorsten]

If they don't want, that shows, movies, etc. are discussed by people, they should forbid to watch it.
Finally they should stop producing it and go away. I think they have forgotten, that people that consuming their products are paying money directly or through advertisement to them.
The "mob" is the reason, that they can do their jobs. Hey, why they don't close cinemas and TV stations?

[Jason R]

I told Gord that he should not have taken the page down. I mean, why are only the LAME-Os at Universal asking him to take something down, and why only for Miami Vice, they certainly have much worse crapola floating out there. If anything, he is collecting fan opinion and reporting it to them in a way that would reduce the number of emails they receive.

Also, look up Miami Vice DVDs on Amazon. Why is Amazon still allowed to have people sign up for stuff, to be alerted when it is released? I guess someone had better post on the Amazon page that Universal is telling Miami Vice fans to get lost.

I would like to send a cease and desist request to Universe. Cease and desist from being such idiots. Gord should put the page back up and tell Universal that he will pull it down when Amazon has done the same.

Jason

[Natasha (candygirl)]

I would like to send a cease and desist request to Universe. Cease and desist from being such idiots. Gord should put the page back up and tell Universal that he will pull it down when Amazon has done the same.

Reminds me of something my mom used to tell me: you can't make it illegal to be stupid and you can't force people to use common sense.

We do try a little bit here in America with bike helmet laws and seat belt laws, but apparently we haven't figured out a way to make a law that stops people from being idiots. Unfortunately.

And even if we did, you know all the hippies would be crying about "it's not their fault that they're stupid!"

*sigh*

[GordLacey]

Yup, I've taken the thing down and it won't return. I sent a few emails to the dude and he didn't like them. Now it's gotten to the point where he's saying everything should go through their lawyers so it can all be recorded and handled properly. Am I scared? Maybe a little. I posted a news item at the site regarding it and it's already generating a buzz (a few emails in a few minutes). The guy that emailed me said he will call me on Tuesday to speak to me about it. I hope it will all just go away.

You Americans and your "sue everyone" attitude

Gord

[kenickie]

My word... it just goes to prove... huge companies are EVIL....
Things like this really piss me off. Be it tv or music or anything, corporations are EVIL. This is a quote that I posted on Dubstars official site after they split up (becouse of the pressure put upon them by their record company). The quote is by a member of the band Kenickie (my fave of all time, and my nick on many sites)...
Marie du-Santiago of kenickie said "he record industry is full of idiots who would rather skin your mother than give you the time of day". Another member of the band went on to say that they met some really horrible people in the music industry and that, of the people they met only a small handfull could be trusted as friends, and that as long as you know who are your friends and who are not then you're ok.
That's just the music industry. My two favorite bands of all time have split up becouse their record companies lost interest and made it as hard as possible for them to carry on. EVIL.
Not quite the same as the music industry, but it just goes to show that huge companies do not give a s**t about us, the consumers. If they can make a quick buck then that's fine... how many DVD's have you bought lately only to find a "collectors" edition around the corner and then a "gold" edition after that. I am really close to going off and living in a wood somewhere with no amenities. I really feel that things are out of control, and that if we're all not careful the sci-fi horror stories may come true. (Resident evil anyone??)
There I feel cleansed (Just)...

[Natasha (candygirl)]

If they can make a quick buck then that's fine... how many DVD's have you bought lately only to find a "collectors" edition around the corner and then a "gold" edition after that.

FYI for those of you who don't have my level of OCD, the Lord of the Rings trilogy has already been released on DVD, but they are also releasing a super duper special 4-disc edition in November. That's the kind of crap that irks me. Not everyone can afford to buy 100s of DVDs and if they knew that another DVD with more features would be available, they would have saved their $20 and saited to put it towards buying the latest and greatest version. Because what the heck do you do with two copies of the same DVD? (ebay!)

And no, I'm not talking about myself in the third person. It just annoys me when they are so obviously just trying to make another buck.

[tuatara]

actually, though the multiple releases of DVDs thing ticks me off a lot, the lord of the rings situation is not the same kind of thing. the 2-disc version that was just released is the theatrical, "as the director intended" cut of the film plus a few extras. however, it was announced a long time ago that there would be 4 and 5-disc versions coming out in november with a longer, "special alternate extended" cut of the film and tons of extra stuff. in fact, it mentions this on the packaging for the current release. there's also an offer for a rebate if you buy both versions. i don't think it's really so much about making more money in this case as it is about giving audiences more options (not everyone is going to want a $35, 220 minute long cut of the movie). i just wish more releases were as genuinely considerate of the audience as this one, with releasing one version of a movie one month, and then another 6 months later....

[Natasha (candygirl)]

Okay I retract my previous statement regarding Lord of the Rings. Apparently my OCD is not as severe as I thought.

Like I said, I wasn't talking about me - otherwise I would have already bought the first DVD and read the info on the packaging.

Thanks for clearing that up!

[GordLacey]

Another cool thing with the LOTR releases is NONE of the material is duplicated. You get a different cut of the movie AND different extras. Very cool if you ask me.

Columbia TriStar also announced the SE of "Black Hawk Down" before the current version was released. Jason and I spoke with Charlie DeLazurika (the DVD producer for BHD) and he said the SE is going to be his best DVD ever. I'll pick that one up for sure.

Gord

[kenickie]

I know, the LOTR set is different and there are always people out there in the entertainment industry who will always put fans and artistic merit first... but the way the most of the industry is run sickens me.. it is dark and disturbing. I do believe I even saw an interview of the wonderfull marvellous Claire Danes saying more or less the same thing. She said that she finds alot of movie/tv companies worrying in that they never employ people becouse they are good actors... there's always an ulteria motive. It is soooo hard for genuinly artistic, talented people to keep their music/film/series/book the way they meant it to be without some evil corporate bigwig coming along and tampering with it to make it more "commercially viable" or, as in most cases, to make more money.
God I'm going on alot lately, it's just something close to my heart.

Someone call me a therapist before I loose it altogether!!

[kenickie]

I know, the LOTR set is different and there are always people out there in the entertainment industry who will always put fans and artistic merit first... but the way the most of the industry is run sickens me.. it is dark and disturbing. I do believe I even saw an interview of the wonderfull marvellous Claire Danes saying more or less the same thing. She said that she finds alot of movie/tv companies worrying in that they never employ people becouse they are good actors... there's always an ulteria motive. It is soooo hard for genuinly artistic, talented people to keep their music/film/series/book the way they meant it to be without some evil corporate bigwig coming along and tampering with it to make it more "commercially viable" or, as in most cases, to make more money.
God I'm going on alot lately, it's just something close to my heart.

Someone call me a therapist before I loose it altogether!!