A "workprint" (unfinished footage, edited together in the general sequence it will appear in the final release) of the summer blockbuster with Hugh Jackman, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, has been released all over the Web. Since the incomplete movie hit the Web, over 75,000 copies have been downloaded and redistributed. The film was set for release May 1st.
The 20th-Century Fox movie opens with a Rising Sun Visuals title card, but bears neither timecodes nor watermarks from any controlling studio. Green screens and wires attached to the actors are visible in the X-Men Origins: Wolverine workprint release that can be found and downloaded online. Reviewers note the movie "looks awful" without the special effects, and the general consensus is that "...you're still going to have to go see it in the theater to fully experience the full movie." Rising Sun is a visual effects company from Australia which is also involved in the Terminator: Salvation movie. Who released the workprint, or how it was done, is unknown.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine was set to be a summer blockbuster contending with others, such as the aforementioned Terminator, as well as the Star Trek, relaunch. There is no word as to whether or not this Web-release will affect any of the plans, however both Terminator and Star Trek have already started work on sequels.
© C Harris Lynn, 2009
A rambling melange of pop-culture.
2 comments:
The FBI is looking into the affair, which some have redubbed "Wolverine-Gate" for no good reason; the whole "-gate" thing was old the very first time it was used in the early 1990s...
Spokespeople for Fox said the film is "forensically" marked, and so the leak should be traceable back to the source. They plan to prosecute the offender to the fullest extent of the law.
47-year old Bronx resident, Gilberto Sanchez, has been arrested for suspicion of piracy.
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