FBI to investigate Hugh Jackman film “Wolverine” leaked online

In news sure to crumple his Oscar-night Tux, the BBC are reporting that a preview copy of the upcoming Hugh Jackman movie, ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine,’ has been illegally leaked online, and the FBI are now on the case.

With its official release not due until May 1st, the grainy, unfinished bootleg hit fileshare sites sometime on Wednesday, and has already been copied more than 200,000 times. 20th Century Fox immediately called the authorities, and they got the file blocked. “Such theft undermines the enormous efforts of the filmmakers and actors and, above all, hurts fans of the film.” says Fox’s latest release on the matter. “The source of the leak and any subsequent postings will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

The studio also made it clear that, in common with all current movies, Wolverine was forensically marked, so they can now trace the person who is to blame. A brief caption at the start of the bootleg reads, “Rising Sun Pictures,” which is an Australian CGI company that worked on the film, but there is no cause to believe they had any role in the theft.

Numerous reviews of the unfinished movie have emerged online, but Fox was quick to praise  fans of the film, whose response to the leak has been universal chastisement. The Federation Against Copyright Theft also reports that such leaks are now rare as security measures with pre-release movies were tightened severely following other escapes. These days, technical staff only receive small parts of a film, and these cannot be burned to a disc. “No-one wants to see their hard work released illegally – Piracy is not a fun thing.” FACT spokesman, Eddy Leviten, explained to the press.

In 2007, the horror film “Hostel, Part II” saw its box office and other revenues shredded by just such a leak. “You could buy it for a quarter in Mexico City,” says the film’s director, Eli Roth. “As a result, in a lot of countries where the piracy was bad, they just didn’t even release it.”

The bottom-line is, filesharing’s easy. But what would we do if it was our income at stake?