EXCLUSIVE: Internet sites on their SOPA-Strike may be conducting a blackout but Hollywood studios are conducting a boycott. 
I’ve learned that Hollywood studio chiefs individually and as a group are drawing a line in the sand on the piracy issue with the Obama re-election campaign and refusing to give any more donations. The blowup came after President Obama on Saturday dashed moguls’ hopes that he would remain on the sidelines in the dispute over the U.S. House Of Representatives’ Stop Online Piracy Act and the U.S. Senate’s Protect IP Act. In a posting on the White House web site, three of the Obama administration’s top officials for Internet and intellectual property matters said that they share many of the concerns that the Internet community has about the Hollywood-supported bills. The trio said that they “will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet.” Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator Victoria Espinel, U.S. Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra, and Special Assistant to the President Howard Schmidt tried to soften the blow to Hollywood by acknowledging that that online piracy is “a serious problem that requires a serious legislative response.” 
They added that they plan to host an online event “to get more input” on the matter. But Hollywood moguls told me they “didn’t know it was going to be as over the top as it was” and took this as a declaration of war. “We just feel very let down by the administration and Obama for not supporting us,” one studio chief explained to me. “At least let him remain neutral and not go against it until we can get the legislation right. But Obama went against it. I’m personally not going to support him anymore and not give a dime anymore,” another movie mogul who’s also a well-known Obama supporter told me this week.
So far the most outspoken mogul against the Obama administration on this issue has been Rupert Murdoch who on Saturday told his new Twitter audience: “So Obama has thrown in his lot with Silicon Valley paymasters who threaten all software creators with piracy, plain thievery.” But I’ve learned that other moguls privately are having “direct and personal conversations” with Obama and his administration and the Democratic Party. Several moguls have informed Obama’s newly anointed Hollywood re-election liason to the entertainment community Nicole Avant and her husband who is helping her, Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos, that they are pulling out of major fundraisers planned over the next few days and won’t participate in any more headed by Obama and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (whom they see as in the pocket of the Internet giants like Google).
One of those events is a major January 31st fundraiser attended by First Lady Michelle Obama at the Beverly Hills home of Avant and Sarandos. There’s another LA fundraiser for the First Lady on February 1st. And both President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will be coming for more fundraisers here in coming weeks. The moguls are telling Avant and Sarandos to count them out. “Now is when all the fundraises are starting. But everyone in my position is really pissed. It’s a real conundrum,” one mogul told me.
Alarmed by the mogul boycott, Sarandos sent a personal plea to the Hollywood studio chiefs over the weekend begging them to continue supporting the Obama re-election campaign even though he knows they are disappointed with the Obama administration’s position on the piracy bills. Several moguls, in response, “sent back word saying ‘Fuck You’ basically,” one insider tells me, expressing how they feel used and abused by the President despite their campaign contributions. I’ve learned that Fox Filmed Entertainment Chairman Jim Gianopulos even sat down and wrote his good friend (and fellow Greek-American) Sarandos an articulate note over the weekend the gist of which said that he and his fellow moguls won’t give any more money if they keep getting taken for granted. One insider told me, “Jim explained that this notion that the Hollywood community will continue giving regardless of its business interests has to be taken into consideration. The message was, ‘Don’t expect Hollywood to show up and say ‘Who do I write the check to’ anymore.”
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The moguls are reminding Obama et al that, in the words of one studio chief, “God knows how much money we’ve given to Obama and the Democrats and yet they’re not supporting our interests. There’s been no greater supporters of him than we’ve been from the first day and the first fundraisers continuing until he was elected. We all were pleased. And, at its heart institutionally, Hollywood supports the Democrats. Now we need the administration to support us. This is a very important time for Hollywood. The issue at hand — piracy — is a legitimate concern. But Google and those Internet guys have been swiftboating the entertainment industry by saying we’re trying to shut down the Internet just because we don’t want them to advertise pirated movies. As for other claims, we make 24. We don’t make national security problems.”
The boycott even extends to many of the moguls’ families who also are big Obama and Democratic Party donors. The situation is serious because many moguls and/or their families comprise Obama’s top bundlers in the TV/movie/music biz. Bundlers as defined by opensecrets.org are “people with friends in high places who, after bumping against personal contribution limits, turn to those friends, associates, and, well, anyone who’s willing to give, and deliver the checks to the candidate in one big ‘bundle’.” These donors direct more money to the candidates than anyone else. As of September 2011 these 357 elite bundlers were directing at least $55,900,000 for Obama’s re-election efforts — money that has gone into the coffers of his campaign as well as the Democratic National Committee, according to opensecrets.org. That figure by now has significantly increased and will continue to do so.
Bwahahahaha… this miserable bill gets killed and The Savior gets cut off the Hollywood creep money teat… what’s not to love this week?
It’s just the moguls. He’s still going to get gobs of money from Hollywood, big thinker.
I don’t know. This is clearly a Hollywood ultimatum:
DO OUR BIDDING OR ELSE!
I’d be pissed, too, if I bought and paid for a President and then they dared to think for themselves! I hope they kept their receipts so they can get a refund.
Hollywood money is irrelevant compared to the real big bucks of the tech business.
Today’s score:
Technologists – 1
Hollywood – 0
A patent on a technological invention lasts 20 years.
The copyright on a Hollywood production lasts for ever.
Who has more to gain from this legislation?
Technologists – 1
Hollywood – 0
Average Citizens – 1
Indeed. Hollywood’s revenue is utterly dwarfed by high tech’s earnings. High tech is new at the lobbying game. Expect high tech to ride the learning curve until Hollywood becomes high tech’s slave.
i don’t think hollywood money is irrelevant. but the reality is that the tech industry creates more jobs in america than the film industry does.
piracy is a huge problem. but sopa isn’t the way to solve it. the government should not have the right to shut a website down without due process.
unfortunately at the moment the entertainment industry is behind the curve when it comes to technology. you can’t fight technology. but you can use it to your advantage.
If Hollywood was forced to shut down over piracy fears, SoCal would be hit hard, but would recover in a few years. If SOPA screws up high-tech industries, it’s America that wouldn’t recover. How important is Hollywood, really? Hint: the video game industry was pulling in higher revenues as of a couple of years ago.
I think it’s funny that the media has yet again framed this as an Obama thing. If we adopt this particular set of rules, then our internet will be as censored as China’s. I could care less if Obama pleases the movie industry in Hollywood or not. If you don’t believe me look at the mess the beefed up security is at the airport. We are not all terrorists, and we are not all content pirates.
I heard this on KPFT Houston 90.1 yesterday. ook at the internet like an automobile. If someone robs a bank with a getaway car, should the authorities try to alter all cars to make them less likley to be used in robberies, or do you go after the criminals?
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A lot of people bought this President. He owes the unions big time. Hollywood may donate money, but the unions crank out the votes. He’ll still get money, but he’ll need the votes. SOP
Yeah, I mean, the Bush administrations went to WAR for the oil companies that bought them and gave them vast amounts of taxpayer money! Now there were presidents who knew where their bread was buttered – best governments money could buy!
HEY Moneybags,,,he is supposed to do what is best for all the american people..not just what is in YOUR best interest, because you have abigger checkbook!!! SEcondly what did you expect, democrats are the most sniveling, unethical, spineless people on earth. As your article states..DEMOCRATS,,,me me me…he didn’t do for me! oh really?
This comment contradicts its self. If “all” democrats were what you say they are then why is the most important democrat (Obama) standing up for not only every Americans right but every humans right to have uncensored internet? That seems like the right thing to do IMO and doesn’t seem “spineless” to me.
Oh Hollywood Moguls, you’re just jealous that your money now plays second fiddle to Internet Moguls. You guys should just do it already so we can enjoy your offspring. Geez.
This is better entertainment than what they are putting out in Hollywood. I don’t know about you but I personally can’t remember the last movie I saw at the theater. Tickets are too high as well but who wants to see the crap they put out there. Of course they are screaming because they are hurting in their pocketbook. You are 100% correct. What’s not to love about this week? hahahahahaha
In this article is a microcosm of how broke our political theatre is.
Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator??? Good God! How many hundreds of thousand dollars are we flushing down the toilet paying this twit? The “moguls” are basically whining “Hey I paid for favors , now where is mine?” We knew this is what our government had become, now here it is out in the open. And before someone tries to give Obama ,an unrecognizable waft to him of credibility, watch the tortured syntax and squirming his acolytes do,to twist him into a position to side with the public, and still have organized hold-ups in Hollywookd.
Exactly what I thought. “Hey, I paid good money for favors. Where the hell are they???”
Honestly I am a republican, and conservative…but this act alone has made me have more respect for the man. Especially with how much money he has gotten from the entertainment industry:
http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/recips.php?cycle=2008&ind=b02
Looks like around $9 Million so far btw.
Interesting post. Not many on the other side of the aisle will honestly say that.
I agree Dave. And now along with the recess appointments angering the non-union people and the Keystone XL decision angering the construction unions, he has shown some backbone. I admire that.
What this proves is that the donors expect payback. When they stop getting it, maybe we can get some money away from the reps who pay it back to be re-elected. Thx for your comment
Agreed – as a conservative – this is one thing that I would support Obama on if he’s indeed going to stand his ground.
Wow! You’re expressing happiness for what you perceive as a misfortune for the man holding the “veto” pen which stands between a censored and regulated internet and true net neutrality keeping the internet open and free. I for one am very happy the President decided to stand with “We The People” and NOT be bought by special interest lobbying like the republicans who tried to fast track this legislation. The multimillionaires who work for these moguls still support the President and such a stand will only make them donate even more.
You’re a hack. The bill had both bipartisan support and bipartisan opposition, and not in the “hey, we got one RINO to vote for it” sense that Obama and the complicit media uses. It was TRULY bipartisan, both for and against it. But as of this moment? The GOP is certainly more anti-SOPA than the Dems. The head of the DNC supports it. The vast majority of those who DROPPED their support for the bill recently once concerns about unintended consequences were brought to light are Republicans. Dodd (D) said Wikipedia et al “abused” their power.
The Obamalon is in a tough spot here, I am sure he would rather side with his Hollywood money cronies, but it is close to an election so he has to appear to side with the people to get votes. I think thats why he was trying to do both, put out statements saying he was against the bills and yet still have the fundraisers in Hollywood. If he was truly picking a side, the side of the people, he would sever the connection with Hollywood and not support their bill. It just aint gonna happen, they will squirm and reword and reitterate things and double speak until the moguls understand that Obama is merely trying to appear to support the people in an election cycle and not trying to be unsupportive of them (the Hollywood moguls.)
Oh, Gee whiz! Its ALL staged! For Pete’s sake! Grow UP! This is HOLLYWOOD! –Duh…designing a pretend president who actually looks like he is doing something correctly! Its SCRIPTED! How ignorant can you be? It is ALL for his re-election, and NOTHING is changed. C’MON!!! You just watched a micro-mini-movie here on this page, and they are gleeful that you bought that a fake pollie actually did something useful. Bet they get an Oscar-Meyer for that one! puleeze!
riceroni, you are so full of it. This is the one thing the President is right on. But he wants a Civilian miltiary and wants to control everything else. Internet kill switch, control freedom of the press etc. This bill is not a Republican or Democrat thing. Most of the sponsors of the bill are left wing organizations. The bill is wrong and cannot go through but pull your head out and educate yourself.
At least have the fake humility to say “…and don’t bore US,” not ME.
Anyway, this president, as are most of our senators and congressmen, is bought and paid for. The fact that he may SAY he will not sign something has been shown to be hypocrisy, ala NDAA. So, there’s something in it for him to say this, and it is DEFINITELY not a concern for the Constitution or the liberty of the American people.
This, is Deja’Vu, ‘all over again’….wasn’t it not long ago, that
David Geffen came out and called the Clinton’s ‘the world’s BEST LIARS, as he and the rest were ‘thrown under the bus’ by them? WHEN, will the Holly-woodheads realize that just because they are impressed, with their OWN sense of importance”….they ARE BEING USED TO RAISE CASH AND HOLD FUNDRAISERS FOR MORE CASH FOR THESE POLITICOS, WHO ONLY CARE ABOUT THEIR CAREERS TOO? You get used, and then you feel abused, when thrown aside, or schmoozed by some POTUS, because YOU are useful Idiots? LOL- “turnabout is fair play
as You in LaLa Land, treat Americans as such, who you want to buy your tickets, as useful idiots”. What goes around, comes around!
why are rupert murdoch and jim Gianopulos the only 2 people named in this article? both from FOX. other moguls hiding under anonymity when criticizing POTUS.
If “Hollywood” doesn’t fund President Obama’s reelection, perhaps he’ll investigate all the Union Busting they’ve been involved with these past four years.
I worked for the IATSE. Talk about stupid! Talk about wasteful! The Hollywood unions are the worst.
I agree. What a joyous cause for celebration!
it may be worth noting that dodd gets $1.5 million a year to head mpaa. each of the studios pays about 10 million a year to keep the mpaa afloat.
Have you logged into megaupload today? LOL! Idiot.
If piracy is going to be stopped it’s not going to be stopped through the internet. If you are going to stop it you will have to do something else more physical. For example for people who film movies in the theaters can be stop if film maker make it a requirement for high power infrared leds to be out putted away from the screens. This would give of a light only cameras can see. For software makers just have more updates that change the key registration functions making software deactivated. And look for the way it’s pirated and make changes to the software that stops that from working.
People who are going to steal something are not going to buy it anyway. If it’s not free they will ever get it and just live with out it. Especially if they do not need it like media and software. The only time you need media or software is for work and the business you are working for is not going to have pirated media or software. Even if there was no piracy any more it’s not going help these companies make more money because these people are not consumer.
So these ‘moguls’ can say that they are pulling out of support Obama’s re-election, yet they can’t say who they are? If you feel strongly about something, say your name.
Also, I love how they are basically supporting the removal of freedom of speech. I think a lot of people really need to read the constitution before they open their mouths. Shame on you Hollywood.
Dude, there’s like less than 20 of them in total. Count them yourself.
What they are supporting is not about Freedom of Speech. It’s all about piracy and how a film lasts a matter of minutes in a paid IP space before it’s ripped off and pirated for free on some other sites. This is why good films are fewer and fewer, and jack asses with home video cameras and more reality tv is all the public is going to get in the future. Like it or not, movies and entertainment of quality does take a little money, as these people need to have jobs and pay their bills too. The majority of “Middle” Hollywood is reeling in lost jobs and no more funding because of the internet effect on the business and their intellectual property returning nothing for their hard work. While the internet companies will have you think “The world is coming to an end.” the actual truth is, the things they are stealing in the name of “Freedom” are coming to an end. The only free content that is meant to be free is advertising and promos. Pirates need to be tracked and billed for each illegal download. The people who deserve a little compensation (The 99% of the crews that aren’t Hollywood elite or rich) will finally get paid for their hard work.
SUPPORT THESE BILLS or the uneducated public gets low budget reality tv for the rest of their lives.
I’d rather have a free, uncensored internet over better television/movies any day. Knowledge is greater than entertainment, and if these bills pass, sure we might better TV, but what of the vast knowledge base that we have created over the years? What of the whistle blowers that call out our government’s dirty tricks, or the media’s lies? The internet will be in their hands and then we will be forced to listen to what they say because if they disagree with something, it can be wished away, legally, with the click of a button. I’m not down for that.
Actually, no. I am not for these bills as they are written, but even if you crack down on piracy through legislating the internet, that doesn’t mean that all those other things you listed will be touched. Think of it this way, just because stores can prosecute shoplifters, that doesn’t mean they can arrest picketers out on the sidewalk in front of the store.
As it is now, we have people wanting to protect ‘freedom of speech’ by saying anything goes.. don’t touch the shoplifters either. Soon there will be no store to picket. We will have an information highway and nothing to talk about because nobody will be writing books, recording music or making movies of quality because nobody will be able to afford to.
The internet needs some limited legislating for its own good, it needs to have the trash taken out occassionally. It needs to be able to shut down websites of pirates and bootleggers. Just as we prosecute shoplifters.
pfftt.. the ‘pirates’ are already violating your laws, they have no problem (technical or otherwise) violating SOPA either. SOPA however greatly burdens the entire legitimate internet (Facebook, Google, YouTube, Twitter, Wikipedia, etc…).
I with you 100%. Keep the internet open and free for everyone.
First..piracy is not the only issue here. These bills (if you read them) are so broad that they could be used at some point to really censor the content that people view online. It doesn’t only effect pirate websites. However, that is really all the news media is talking about. They make it sound as if these bills would only be used to stop illegal downloading and streaming, but they leave out the fact that websites like Facebook could be completely shut down for users posts. Without being given the opportunity to fix the problem before shutting down the site. This is opposite of what we Americans believe. Innocent until PROVEN guilty, not the other way around. There is so much more in these bills that most people dont’t know because the media doesn’t report on it. Go figure considering the media affiliations all support the bill. If Congress passes these bills, which are inadequate as is, we would be setting up our government to dictate us like in China. No thank you I say. Sit down and do it right, come up with something that is specific and reasonable. Congress should do their jobs properly and come up with a bill that effectively deals with pirating and doesn’t take away our freedoms. These tough and difficult situations are what we pay them to figure out in the BEST possible manner.
Finally! Someone nails the real issues behind these bills.
We can agree that piracy is bad. That is without question. However, you are missing the point entirely. The power of this bill is the problem with the legislation. The vagueness of SOPA and PIPA is what is so frightening. This bill allows any site to be completely shutdown based on ONE link posted by ANY USER. For example, if I posted a link to piratebay.org (actually, this in itself would be enough), by the by, this whole site, entirely, can be blocked. This can very easily lead to the shutdown of facebook, twitter, youtube, the list goes on. This bill will not stop piracy. In fact, if I know the IP address of the site, I could still access a site known to promote piracy. What this bill allows is the squandering of free speech. but Akira, you may say, surely the entertainment industry is sensible enough not to take it to far? They have tried to sue children, families, people who never meant to steal their money. They even sued to ban vcr, and the first mp3 players. This has nothing to do with the entertainment industry who is suffering because of lack of innovation, putting out the same, blockbuster cookie cutter movies over and over. The fight against SOPA has everything to do with the fight for free speech. For example, we couldn’t even have this conversation, on the bottom of this webpage.
Nonsense. Hollywood is trying to blame the Internet for their own lack of creativity and low quality products. Besides, since 1980, box office totals have steadily increased over the previous year, with the exception of 7 years. The biggest decline from the previous year was 7% and occurred between 1984 and 1985. How do they account for that? I’m pretty sure the Internet was not the boogie man back then. Make quality and people will see it. Make crappy gimmicky 3D and we skip it. It’s simple.
Why don’t you name more of these clown so we know which studios to boycott besides Fox?
Yeah, all of those stats you googled would be worth somethign if you continue to operate under the assumption that studios make most of their money from box office rentals, which is flat out wrong. The way studios make money is off rights liscencing, premium television packaging, etc. (ie. all the revenue streams that are actually threatened by online piracy)
When you consider the fact that exhibitors suck up anywhere from 40 to 60% of those box office dollars, most flicks are lucky to break even during the theatrical window.
Beyond all that, yearly numbers better be steadily increasing because the dollar is certainly worth a helluva lot less than it was in 1980.
And as far as your content complaints, if people were actually voting with their wallet’s and skipping 3-D, production of such films would taper off, yet these seem to be the only films which regularly cross the 400 mil. threshold in ww b.o. numbers.
As far as whether or not I support some sort of anti-piracy legislation, I’d say it has to happen. Congress didn’t get behind the music industry, it collapsed, and now were forced to face the reality that a geek jumping up and down behind his macbook pro passes for a concert nowadays.
Maybe SOPA and PIPA aren’t perfect yet, but I’d rather deal with a little bit of censorship than let the film industry dissolve to the point that I have to take molly to enjoy a trip to the movie theater.
Uh, then why do many quality films bomb, and big terrible brainless spectacle makes bank? Justifying piracy by blaming quality is intelelctually bankrupt as an argument. The majority of films release have ALWAYS been mostly crap.
If you had looked carefully at the vaguely written legislation you would see it was exactly like NDAA. Which as we all know now gives the federal government (and the President in particular) vast authority to shut down ANY website on even the accusation of infringement. Technically, the way these 2 potential laws are written, the video my daughter took at Christmas of my boyfriend playing Dance Central could be considered piracy. And if said video was posted 1) the site would be temporarily & possibly permenently blocked from all ISPs, 2) Fined, 3) had income blocked & 4) potential jail time. Over a teenagers video of Christmas morning fun. Also, I, my daughter & my boyfriend would be liable for fines & possible jail time. The worst part is the ISP would have no due process in this. Just bye-bye website & maybe if you take that terrible video off we MIGHT give you web access. This does not just affect foreign piracy websites. It could block commonly used sites & search engines. Does piracy need to be addressed? Yes. But many of the US sites that share audio/video all ready self-polce and technically we have no legislative power over foreign web sites as even though they are accessible by users here in the US their businesses are not inside US jurisdition. This law would have done the same to censor the internet as the Chinese have done by blocking anything they don’t like. This needs to go back to the drawing board & find a way to restrict piracy wothout restricting access to the flow of internet information & activity.
So why don’t you explain why a movie costs the same no matter how good it is. Or why music follows the same pricing structure. Could it be price fixing by the entertainment industry? Could movie theaters be taking their marching orders by how much they must charge for a movie? I mean movies and music are not gas or milk. They are significantly different yet have the same price. Why is Congress not investigating Hollywood?
This bill is not only about Piracy, but any website the “Panel” deems to be not in their best interest. If it passes you will have some politician deciding which web sites are good or bad. That is not good. This is a bad bill that leads us squarely on a sliipery sloap.
it’s not that we don’t want to stop piracy. it’s that these bills will not stop piracy and will get rid of freedom on the internet.
they need to do a much better job of writing the bill for it to be capable of stopping piracy.
So in other words… Hollywood should stop waisting money on buying out politicians and use it to make actual good movies?
Actually, content piracy has much less to do with an unwillingness to pay for content, and much more to do with Hollywood’s antiquated distribution system Many people would be willing to pay for content that they actually want, at a time and place of their own comfort and choosing. The entertainment industry in general has continued to insist that consumers must accept whatever drivel they are willing to produce (often based on original content that the studios have stolen in the first place) and that it must be consumed in specific places under specific conditions, or not at all. Fix the distribution problem, fix the problem.
Oh shut up. Censoring the internet and putting the onus on the gov’t and ISPs to shut this down is stupid.
This bill hurts everybody but a handful of media conglomerates. I don’t care what threats come from Hollywood. Kill these bills!
You’re a fool Jim J. No one of consequence is saying that piracy isn’t a problem. What everyone with sense realizes however is that these bills are the worst way to solve that problem. Those that know how to download illegally will not be stopped *at all* by this legislation.
I personally find it hilarious that these Hollywood people are “pissed” and I am going to write in my diary tonight about how everyone was mad.
They’re cowards! They know if supporters of the President decided to boycott them and pull their money from supporting their products, they’d be in deep doo doo.
That’s fine with me, if Obama stands his ground here and does the right thing, his donations from Internet folks will increase. These asshats don’t realize it’s not a stand FOR piracy – it’s a stand AGAINST censorship of the Internet.
and exactly who will the Hollywood elites vote for? Obama. So don’t waste our time with this gibberish.
This jibberish is important. There is a line between supporting a party or an individual you share idealogy with and the statements made here.
It is illegal to give money with the understanding that you are getting something favorable in return.
It is bribery before and blackmale after the fact.
The reason for not revealing the names behind he quotes is called incrimination.
“Blackmale”? RACIST!
The most shocking thing about this is the openness with which the hollywood “moguls” are flaunting their bribery and vote-buying.
It used to be that this was all hush-hush, and done behind closed doors, but these guys are screaming from the rooftops, “I spent a lot of money buying your votes and now that you won’t pass this bill, I’m going to give my money to one of the other guys who will honor my bribery.”
Gosh, now the moguls know how the average American voter feels.
This average voter feels relief that the Obaman administration is opposed to these crappy bills.
I’m assuming that’s what you mean.
The average American voter knows full well that the only reason Obama came out against these bills is because he saw which way the political winds were blowing. The vast majority of American voters saw through the benign title of the bill to see it for what is was: A massive attempt at control of the Internet. Censorship writ large. The Obama campaign knew that they would lose TONS of political support by supporting SOPA. Way more than they would lose by opposing it. His opposition was a calculated move and it will pay off politically. Besides, the loss of a few million from Hollywood will not matter against all the money coming in from the Soros machine, and from a handful of wealthy Arab states.
I’m pretty sure the average American agrees with the President on this one. Also, don’t believe the media hype about supporters being disappointed because I’m one who is as firmly in support of this President as I was the day I voted for him in 2008.
I thought buying off politicians was illegal. Hollywood stops donations because they did not pass legislation for all of us?
F*%$ You Hollywood!
Ok, so let me get this straight….
Hollywood Executives: (to president) You’re not representing our special interest inspite of what the American people want, and so we’re gonna blackmail you by withdrawing all of the bribes we normally give to your re-election campaign! We’ll put that money in a candidate who will do whatever we want when we bribe him to do it!
Why are the American people not enraged that people have been buying legislation from our elected officials up to this point?
We are.
In Washington they call that lobbying LOL.
Another case of special interests attempting to buy legislation
Hey “Hollywood Moguls” ..Get out of our free country you freedom hating terrorists!! Take your trashy movies and music with you!
Tech trumps filmed entertainment exponentially. The studios are a croissant on Google’s breakfast buffet. Yes. Their money is good. But they are not seeing the internet or technology clearly and never have. That is their problem. Movies will endure. The studios will skim the cream and distribute thje best of it all. And they need to figure out piracy issues that match the scale of the technology. Their mean little solutions take too much and don’t acknowledge the scope the importance of the internet’s strengths. They can’t make a “net” deal with the internet. Great that the president is leaning for common sense and the wealthier, more relevant tech side on this. Wikipedia(and the rest of it) matters more than any of Rupert’s ^^%$ or objectives, of course.
Best comment up here. here’s another way of looking at this — the President has an obligation to act in the best economic interest of the country. entertainment is CONTRACTING. no more overall deals. no more producer gross points. massive and permanent reduction in development spend. only 6 major studios and two of the only mid-majors just merged. LA unemployment is one of the highest rates in the country. it’s not changing, ever. meanwhile tech is booming. EXPANDING. it has been recession proof. it is responsible for more IPO capital raised last three years than any other industry. it is creating jobs and will for decades to come. SF real estate and rents just go up up up. look, there will always be art films and a few blockbusters on IMAX, but the in betweens are done — tech is the new Entertainment. Amazon is more than three times the size of Time Warner. It can buy it whenever it wants, not break a sweat, and establish digital as the permanent form of distribution forever. It’s coming. Think about it — the President did.
Nice reference.
As I remember it, Time Warner was bought by a tech company… And we all saw how that really worked out.
Keep smoking that pipe, gentlemen.
Good for Obama for standing strong against these thugs! The internet must remain free!
Uh..>Thugs?
They’re trying to stop people from pirating their movies…
…by eliminating other’s First Amendment rights. I’m not talking about the pirates, I’m talking about the collateral damage to everyone’s free speech.
The problems with both Protect IP and SOPA are the process for complaining about infringement, which any person can make claims with impunity and regardless of validity to shut down any web site they don’t agree with. It’s fairly common to see copyright complaints made by those who don’t own the copyright just to try to censor a site…that’s why You Tube and others require a DMCA form that is electronically signed UNDER PENALTY OF PERJURY. SOPA does no such thing and is wide open to many forms of abuse by “copyright” owners.
Constitutionally protected free speech is limited everywhere. Its not an umbrella by which anything is covered. The internet is no different.
One persons rights cannot encroach upon another persons rights; so for example, you have the right to protest wal-mart… but not on wal-mart’s property because they have a right to run a business. Thats why picketers are always out near the road in front of a business.
One person’s right to free speech cannot take away another persons right to make a living. Thats why even on the internet there has to be legislation and restrictions on content. The constitutionally protected free speech cannot protect people that slander other people, rip people off, pirate movies, etc. etc. So there has to be limits to what the internet can have available in its vast archive of pages. The pirates and bootleggers have to be stopped and legislation is needed for that.
No one says that pirates and bootleggers need to be stopped, and there is already existing legislation for that. It may not be effective, but it exists. This bill is like making it illegal to look at what the stuff the guy is selling out of the back of his van. Google, you tube, facebook, etc have every right to tell you where you might find something of interest. They are not breaking any law or infringing on another’s right to do so. The only ones who are infringing on “Hollywood’s rights” are the people who steal the movie and ones who download them. This bill does nothing to either of those two parties, but does infringe upon our right to information.
We have a right to any piece of information on the web, but until we download stolen goods, we have committed no crime. And lets not forget the violation of the right to due process.
Is Digital theft a problem? Absolutely, and one that needs be addressed.
Is PIPA and SOPA a good start? Absolutely not! There is already legislation on the books that were a good start, lets work on targeting the criminals and not everyday Americans.
You stated “One person’s right to free speech cannot take away another persons right to make a living.”
The same can be said, that one person’s right to make a living cannot take away everyone else’s right to due process, and freedom of speech.
No one says that pirates and bootleggers need to be stopped, and there is already existing legislation for that.
Should read “No one says that pirates and bootleggers DON’T need to be stopped, but there is already existing legislation for that.”
What the bill does is essentially allow the federal government the ability to take down sites with no due process. Is the lack of due process and lack of recourse that makes it censorship.
Go to China. Ask Hu why he blocks sites that criticize the Chinese government. “Because these sites threaten the social harmony of our culture and can destabilize our country.”
Go to Iran. Ask Ahmadinejad why he blocks sites that criticize him, or Islam. “Because these sites are a corrupting influence on the morals of our children, and are sacrilegious.”
Now come back home. Ask any rep or sen in favor of SOPA/PIPA why they want the ability to block sites. “To make sure content creators can monetize their works and extract royalties.”
Ask any person on the street to rank national stability, morality of the youth, and royalty payments as most important to the well being of a nation. Royalties are probably going to be the LEAST important. So if we pass this bill and then go crying that Iran is blocking the internet they will come back and say “hey you do it to, but at least we’ve got reason worth censoring over.”
This one has some strange bedfellows and alliances shaping up. I detest Obama, but agree with him that this SOPA bill is awful in the unfettered power it grants. I have NO sympathy for Hollywood. These jerks have it so that it is a major financial decision to see a movie. These same guys don’t want me to back up my ebooks
I don’t care how many dollars a politician spends on a campaign, If the canidate is for SOPA, I vote them out! You can’t buy an Ad that will make me like SOPA.
funny,
that’s what I just said to my Senators and Congresswoman if they DON’T support SOPA
Yes we want legislation and rules that will help fight piracy, BUT these are half thought-reactionary bills to a very serious problem. HOLLYWOOD leading the charge in a digital conversation? Um, no. Ask the record business (If you can still find anyone who works in it) about how to best handle this situation.
Get people in the room who understand how the internet works and finds ways to a workable solution.
Kodak recently filed for bankruptcy because the refused to jump seriously into the digital age. They fought for their film cash cow as long as they could. Eventually nature took its course and now they are toast. Big Media is in the same boat. They are fighting with all their might to stop the evolution of technology. They illegally bribe libs and even are proud to go public with their misdeeds in an attempt to stop natural evolution. Libs are in their pocket and they know it. They also know libs will never prosecute them for their public bribery.
What Big Media is refusing to do (just as with CDs and VCRs) is go with the times. For them it is easier and cheaper to pay off a slimy lib like the Joker. How typically liberal.
Hey, wouldn’t it be great to create a business model that worked and allowed for innovative new practices like Spotify and Netflix to combat piracy instead of trying to legislate censorship?
No? Well how about giving content creators what’s due? Oh wait, you still want to screw them over?
Great job
We don’t need the Hollywood studios to make great movies.
Hollywood is based on technology that, after many decades, is finally facing real competition, and they are too greedy and stupid to handle it well. The people pissed off by Obama’s rejection of SOPA are not “content creators”, they are the distributors and rent collectors. I’m willing to bet in a few years, movies will start getting made and distributed without the intervention of centralized studios, and as a result the actual content creators (writers, directors, actors, and all the crew) will get to split the proceeds among themselves. The “content creators” will get more money and still be able to sell content at a lower cost.
This. If it was truly about protecting creative content, the bills would also provide for better distribution of royalties between the true creators and the distributors of that content. Instead, the bills are a huge giveaway to no one but the distributors. It’s an even more egregious example of Washington doing all it can to protect and enrich those in the 1%.
Damn Obama, won’t stay bought!
As far as I’m concerned, Hollywood can stick it! This is a republic and not a country where you can wave money around and make things go your way. We have two branches of congress and none of them were set up to give advantage to groups without money. I hope Obama stays by his guns and holds fast, otherwise this will come back to bite him in November.
Obama got down on his knees for Wall Street, I expect with enough pressure from his corporate buddies in Hollywood that he’ll change his tune on this issue too.
Wahhh. We expected favors because we thought we bought you Waahh
Tough shit Hollywood. You churn out trash anyway.
Hollywood can do what they want, if SOPA passes, I can surely say the boycott against all of Hollywood will begin. No movie or music sales, no theater sales, nothing, nada, zilch. Hollywood does not own this country the people do, laws are all ready in place for copyright protection but the government and the police are so lazy in doing their job they want someone else to do it for them. Dodd, Riaa, Mpaa you can all go to H! Like the way I express my freedom of speech the 1st Amendment.
Whoops. These same jokers don’t want me to back up any of my movies, music, ebooks,etc. Respect my fair use rights, and I may respect your positions. Basically the DCMA make the exercise of fair use illegal. This SOPA legislation is the same heavy handed pile of festering boil pus.
Good for Obama for standing up to these thugs. The internet must remain free!
I think the solution is to come up with a better bill and better technology. Google and Bing should figure out how artists and their distributors can make money without killing off free speech.
Florida’s Rubio was on his knees servicing the big studios and corporate money until, gee, today, when he realized his continuing support for these odious bills would puncture his facade of favoring less government, more freedom and respect for our constitution. Just vote to dump these hucksters and clean house.
Well I think it is about time we start boycotting Hollywood and not allow these elitists to get their say. Let them start feeling the pain.
I agree. They still need our money more than we need them. The entertainment industry does not supply essential services and we can do without them for a time. Just stay away from the movie theater, don’t buy CDs, DVDs, Books, etc. If you want to entertain yourself there’s always the library.
But hurry and check out all your favorite books TODAY, before the ghost of Steve Jobs causes them to disintegrate and forces you to purchase an iPad to read…
Boycotting them won’t be tough to do. What’s next on Hollywood’s agenda? The remake of “Ernest Goes to Camp – in 3-d!!” Aww shucks… I, like REALLY needed to see that.
‘I’ve learned that other moguls privately are having “direct and personal conversations” with Obama and his administration and the Democratic Party.’
Look how easily both Democrats and Republicans can be bought. Perhaps the “scorned” media moguls should invest the money they would have donated toward innovation.
HA! Obama turning. Obama not keeping his word. Hey Hollywood welcome to REALITY! The reality of the majority of Americans have been experiencing for the last 3 years. HOPE and CHANGE. Average gas price the day Obama elected $1.96. Today $4.25. Over 2 million jobs lost and not be reinstated.
Hey next time Media Mogusl – this is what happens when you don’t VET a presidential candiate?
Obama has never released his college or medical records!! We didn’t know really anything about this man, other, than the one he provided. The media failed because they were in love and romantic over Obama and the Democrats to right all the wrongs of history.
You voted the party line. Well, I guess elections have consequences. As Obama said “We won.”
So are you saying that you are in favor in SOPA or that elected officials should do exactly what the big donors ask them to? Either way, you are wrong.
HA HA, the real problem with Obama is people who think like you. If Obama let the bill pass and your favorite websites are gone and your internet experience sucks…Blame Obama for siding with the money people who ordained The Chosen One to overtake our country and diminish our rigts. If Obama signs the bill then, although he is standing for the people, the discussion gets changed to his birth certificate, medical records, all of which were never an issue with a white President. The man can never win with people like you and I’m glad he’s stopped trying.
I agree with Don Urber. Why even bother to discuss this with right wing teabaggers!! No matter what the issue, they will be against it. Just look at the record of the 77 new teabag freshman in Congress who OBSTRUCT any and every bill presented by the Dems. These racist clowns have NOT introduced any job creating bills since going to Congress. Not a one and they are the ones who ran on the fact they would create jobs. Just a bunch of puppets. AS the lipless Mitch McConnell said their main job is to see the Pres. is not re-elected no matter what the cost to the American people and boy have they proven that. It will be an Obama landslide in Nov. Look at the crazies you have running. OMG
Gee, maybe Caribou Barbie will get into the race. That idiot. Although she is the best comedy act since Rick Perry another idiot