It's an interesting discussion...
Phil Spector was found guilty today. Vikram Jayanti made a wonderful documentary about Spector for BBC2 - The Agony & The Ecstasy of Phil Spector - that ran a week on the BBC2 website then was pulled down after a week. Spector gave Jayanti access to and allowed the use of all kinds of materials that Spector holds the rights to and this makes the doc truly one of a kind. The interview with Vikram took place right before and/or during the first trial. Great stuff. So much so that the film won an award for Best Single Documentary at the 35th annual Broadcasting Press Guild Awards in the UK just a couple of weeks ago.
The film is not scheduled to play in America... and I have no idea whether it ever will. It seems likely that Spector will allow it to play here after the legal battle is completely over, but this conviction, which will be appealed, may keep it out of view for years to come. The film actually leans towards Spector's argument that he could not have had his hand on the trigger when Ms. Clarkson was shot. But who knows what kind of spin writers and potential jurors might take on the film.
So a few hours ago, I look on the MCN front page and Ray Pride had stumbled upon the documentary, in full, on a major streaming website.
After a bit of investigation... and after excitedly preparing an entry about the film here on The Hot Blog, I pulled the link down and dumped my planned entry.
Obviously, this is frustrating. It's a great film. It should be seen. I have no idea whether it is not being shown because Spector set the rule or because there is a US deal still pending or whatever. Still, the moral issue is the moral issue. I don't have the legal right to see or distribute the film and clearly, neither does the person who posted it to the web... in good conscience, solely interested in sharing similar materials with others who are interested.
It frustrates me in these situations that we don't even have the right to pay for access to content, like this, which is so valuable to those with an interest. I would surely pay for access via BBC's website or buy a DVD of this film. But no.
Of course, the next step is to question whether watching a region coded DVD on a region-free player is morally valid.
Sigh...
Read the complete post at http://www.mcnblogs.com/thehotblog/archives/2009/04/piracy_news.html