THE EDITOR, Sir:
MOVIE PIRACY is unacceptable, especially when being distributed for resale to the open market. It may be argued that nothing is wrong if you download it to watch by yourself or with your friends - most likely you wouldn't have gone to the cinema to watch it anyway. But distribution is a true travesty, as revenue is being stolen.
But how is Palace Amusement so sure their loss in revenue is due to piracy? I've been a movie fan for years and they have always complained about movie attendance. It always depends on the season. Right now, there aren't many good movies out and at $410 a ticket, few people are willing to give away money to sit through 90 minutes of rubbish.
Indications are that this summer is going to be a big blockbuster. In fact, it has started already. But the movies few people attend are those they have little interest in. Movies like Matrix, Star Wars, Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings were all available bootleg before the movies came to theatre, yet the theatres were still packed.
So my question to Palace Amusement is, how do you quantify your loss in patronage and further how do you tie that quantification to bootlegging?
I am, etc.,
KEVIN JACKSON
kevinjackson61@hotmail.com
