According to the Hollywood Reporter, Ashton Kutcher has been going around telling the public that he is going to pirate 10 minutes of his new film Killers and post it on the internet to share with fans. I agree with the article’s author; it seems like this is just a really terrible marketing ploy by Lionsgate. In an attempt to capitalize on Kutcher’s massive Twitter following, while making the actor appear rebellious, all the production company has succeeded in doing is encouraging the very thing that sucks money from their revenue. I’m not really sure how this is an effective tactic. What if production companies started promoting their films through other means of illegal activity? What if James Franco had been giving out dime bags to fans to promote Pineapple Express? I don’t think something like that would go over so well. Yet somehow, Ashton Kutcher promoting the illegal download of a film in interviews and tweets is completely acceptable. Why is there no stigma attached to the illegal downloader? Culturally, are we just accepting the fact that everyone, at some point or another, has downloaded illegally? Are we not pointing fingers because we do it too? Maybe there is this notion that you’re somehow a “sucker” for paying for music and films. Maybe no one cares that Kutcher is pirating his own film because we all know its a marketing ploy. Yet, it’s doubtful there will ever be public outrage over illegal downloading. Until the public sees illegal downloading as an act of piracy and a criminal offense, it will be difficult to curtail.
link to article:
http://thresq.hollywoodreporter.com/2010/06/why-is-ashton-kutcher-pirating-his-own-movie.html
