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China Forces Four U.S. TV Shows Off Web

'The Big Bang Theory' is among the U.S. television shows that have attracted a following in China through distribution on video websites. CBS

BEIJING—Four popular U.S. television shows that air on Chinese video websites have been taken down because of government regulations, according to China's state-run media, raising the prospect of intensified government control over videos posted online.
The four shows—"The Big Bang Theory," "The Good Wife," "NCIS" and "The Practice"—have accumulated followings in China through online video companies such as Sohu.SOHU -2.46% com Inc., Youku Tudou Inc. YOKU -1.27% and Tencent Holdings Ltd.0700.HK -3.06% The Chinese companies pay for the rights to the shows so they can stream them free of charge and earn money off advertisements.
China has strict policies governing the release of foreign movies in China's theaters and has tight censorship rules regarding what can be broadcast on television. China's video websites, by contrast, have had comparatively more freedom.
Two people familiar with the government's interaction with China's online video sites said the move indicates renewed efforts by the government to rein in the relatively freewheeling online-video sector.
One of the people said that an online-video site for the past week had been in discussions with the officials at China's State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television about what content it can post. The government has been working on rules for online video since 2009, but had been hamstrung in the past by the sheer manpower required to go through the large number of videos posted on China's biggest sites, the person said.
The agency didn't respond to requests for comment.
Sohu has exclusive rights to distribute "The Big Bang Theory," while the rights to "The Good Wife" are shared by Youku Tudou, Tencent and Sohu, according to Xinhua. It wasn't clear who holds the rights to "NCIS" and "The Practice."
CBS Corp. CBS -0.38% , whose studios produce "NCIS" and "The Good Wife," declined to comment. Spokesmen for "Big Bang Theory" studio Warner Bros. and "Practice" studio 20th Century Fox had no immediate comment. Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox are units of Time Warner Inc. TWX -0.67% and 21st Century Fox Inc., respectively. News Corp, owner of The Wall Street Journal, and 21st Century Fox FOXA -0.73% were until late June 2013 part of the same company.
Another person familiar with the matter said the new attention would likely result in a set of regulations in China dictating what content can be posted by companies online. But "I don't think the impact on the overall industry will be major," the person said.
In March the government issued new rules strengthening censorship of China's video websites, which called for companies to censor content from all videos before the videos are allowed to go up. In January it also called for posters of microfilms—high-production-value short films that have become popular—to use their real identification when putting up videos.
The blocking of the shows comes in the midst of a government crackdown on online discourse. Beginning last autumn, the government has warned and punished a number of well-known social-media commentators. It also said it would crack down on the spread of what it says are rumors and personal attacks online. Critics say the moves are aimed at quashing dissent and the discussion of sensitive topics.
Recently, the government has also begun a crackdown on pornographic content online, in an effort that has been more forceful than past campaigns.
Last week, the government said it would strip Internet portal Sina Corp. SINA -6.76% of two online-publication and -distribution licenses. A person familiar with the matter said Sina had since been working to petition the government to ensure it can keep its services, like its video site, operating.
The renewed attention on controlling the Internet has become a characteristic of the presidency of new Chinese leader Xi Jinping. In February, the Chinese Communist Party set up an Internet-security committee led by Mr. Xi and other top party officials to focus on cybersecurity and guiding public opinion online.
Many took to China's social media and the comment sections below the programs to vent their anger at the blocking of shows, which many said had relatively little inappropriate or sensitive content compared with some shows that have been affected.
" 'The Big Bang Theory' doesn't have explicit images. However, it portrays a kind of living style that is totally Western. A leader like Xi must sense the mismatch between the culture he is promoting and the culture that those videos are spreading," said an employee at a popular online-video provider.
In China "The Big Bang Theory" has become one of the most popular U.S. shows posted by Sohu, which has exclusive rights to the program in China, though other Chinese and South Korean shows are still more popular. According to Sohu's site, as of April 1, "Big Bang Theory" episodes have been viewed 1.3 billion times. By comparison the South Korean show "My Love From the Star," another of China's most popular foreign shows, has received more than two billion views on iQiyi, a video site owned by Baidu Inc.BIDU +1.98%
On Sunday many expressed anger and disappointment at the move to block the U.S. programs, while others posted links to places where the shows could be downloaded.
"Give me back Sheldon! How can you block such an innocent show? The main character doesn't even kiss his girlfriend until the seventh season," wrote a poster on Sina's Weibo social-media service, referring to a "Big Bang Theory" character.
—Yang Jie in Beijing, Shalini Ramachandran in New York and Ben Fritz in Los Angeles contributed to this article.
Write to Paul Mozur at paul.mozur@wsj.com

Source:

Megaupload, founder Kim Dotcom sued by U.S. movie studios over ‘massive’ copyright infringement

Twentieth Century Fox, Disney, Paramount, Universal Studios, Columbia Pictures and Warner Bros team to fire legal salvo at storage site that authorities claim cost the film and record industry $500 million.



Several major U.S. studios filed a copyright infringement lawsuit on Monday against the file-sharing website Megaupload and its ebullient founder, Kim Dotcom.
Megaupload, which U.S. authorities shuttered in 2012, facilitated a “massive copyright infringement of movies and television shows,” according to a statement issued by the Motion Picture Association of America on Monday.
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit, all MPAA members, are Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp, Disney Enterprises Inc, Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios Productions, Columbia Pictures and Warner Bros Entertainment Inc.
“Megaupload wasn’t a cloud storage service at all, it was an unlawful hub for mass distribution,” Steven Fabrizio, an attorney for the MPAA, said in the statement.
U.S. authorities allege Megaupload cost film studios and record companies more than $500 million and generated more than $175 million by encouraging paying users to store and share copyrighted material, such as movies and TV shows.
Federal prosecutors in Virginia shut down one of the world's largest file-sharing sites, Megaupload.com, and charged its founder and others with violating piracy laws.  ASSOCIATED PRESSFederal prosecutors in Virginia shut down one of the world's largest file-sharing sites, Megaupload.com, and charged its founder and others with violating piracy laws.
Dotcom says Megaupload was merely an online warehouse and should not be held accountable if stored content was obtained illegally.
Monday’s lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, said Dotcom and other defendants “profited handsomely” by providing thousands of copyrighted works over the Internet to millions of Megaupload users without authorization or license.
Movies whose copyrights Megaupload infringed, according to the lawsuit, include Avatar, Forrest Gump and Transformers, according to the lawsuit.
Commenting on Twitter on Monday, Dotcom said U.S. authorities “probably demanded” that the studios file the lawsuit “because they initiated this ... Hollywood science fiction script of a case. Embarrassing.”
Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom arrives at the New Zealand Court of Appeals in Wellington in Sept. 2012.  MARK COOTE/REUTERSMegaupload founder Kim Dotcom arrives at the New Zealand Court of Appeals in Wellington in Sept. 2012.
The lawsuit is seeking unspecified damages as well as attorney’s fees. It claims the studios are entitled to Megaupload’s profits and up to $150,000 per infringement.
The lawsuit comes as Dotcom is fighting a bid by U.S. authorities to extradite him from New Zealand to face online piracy charges over the now-closed website. He is also known as Kim Schmitz and Kim Tim Jim Vestor, according to the lawsuit.
Dotcom’s U.S. attorney Ira Rothken said that Monday’s suit was a way for the country’s film industry to go after Megaupload if the U.S. Department of Justice fails to extradite Dotcom and his colleagues to the United States from New Zealand. An extradition hearing is scheduled for July.
“The MPAA is suddenly realizing that we’re a few months away from the extradition hearing, and once Kim Dotcom and the others prevail in the extradition hearing they’ll have more resources and more assets,” Rothken told Reuters.
“The MPAA wants to have cover if the Department of Justice fails in the extradition and the criminal case.”
He predicted that the judge in the civil suit would likely stay the case pending the extradition hearing, adding that Megaupload will also seek access to evidence stored on its servers housed in Virginia to defend against the suit. Dotcom has been denied access to that evidence for the extradition hearing.
Meanwhile, the legal storm has not stopped Dotcom, a German national with New Zealand residency, from delving into politics, launching a party last month to contest New Zealand’s general election in September.

Source:

www.nydailynews.com

7 TV shows that would make great movies


CLEVELAND, Ohio – There are reasons "Veronica Mars" works as a television showand a movie, but it has nothing to do with mainstream popularity.
"Veronica Mars" was not a ratings success. But it was a smart, well-written series with an attractive female lead that showed flashes movie star potential. Kristen Bell has gotten several chances to establish herself on the big screen, finally living up to her potential in "Frozen," even if that was just her voice.
Bell now returns to the role she was born to play in "Veronica Mars," a show with a loyal enough fan base to build a successful Kickstarter campaign last year that will likely translate into a solid box office.
Obviously, not all recent TV show have the potential to be a movie. Look at "Sex and the City," whose film adaptations never quite hit the mark.
However, there are some currently on TV that, like "Veronica Mars," would make the transition to the big screen seem relatively easy. Here are seven that make sense:

"How I Met Your Mother"
First, there's the cast. Alyson Hannigan, Josh Radnor and, especially, Jason Segel have all had solid success in the movie world. Second, if there's one main criticism of "How I Met Your Mother," it's that the show has dragged on too long. Still, the concept is brilliant and would certainly work in a rom-com film format. I imagine it would look something like Radnor's previous film projects ("Happythankyoumoreplease;" "Liberal Arts"), which had some very endearing moments. Surround him with the cast of "HIMYM" and it's a winning formula.

"The Walking Dead"
"The Walking Dead's" pacing has been a bit slow as of late, but a commenter recently suggested the current season reminds him of the film adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's"The Road." I enjoyed that film (minus those annoying flashbacks with Charlize Theron's character). Of course, Frank Darabont would have to direct.

"Scandal"
It's such an over-the-top thrill ride. I can't help but think fans would flock to theaters to see a film version. I'm not saying it would win any Academy Awards, but "Scandal" would benefit from the same kind of audience that enjoys Tyler Perry's work. Only, Shonda Rhimes characters seem slightly more realistic... slightly.
What TV show would you like to see as a movie? Tell us in the comments section.



"House of Cards"
Netflix's hit original series does have a cinematic vibe to it. It doesn't hurt that lead actor Kevin Spacey is a two-time Academy Award winter who can handle just about any type of storyline.

"Vikings"
The success of the History channel's "Vikings" has been a big surprise. The show's style and vibe would certainly fit in with recent films that have hit theaters recently like "Pompeii" and "300: Rise of an Empire." "Vikings" already has the proper lead in Travis Fimmel, who will star in 2016's "Warcraft."

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"Sons of Anarchy"

The biker tale that draws influence from Shakespeare's "Hamlet" is a great TV show and maybe the only one on this list that might work even better as a movie. It would have been quite easy to see Jax (Charlie Hunnam) riding into town to seize control of his late father's crew now run by the uncle-like figure that ultimately murdered Jax's papa. When "SOA" wraps its television run after next season, I wouldn't mind seeing a movie sequel, prequel or spinoff in the works.

"True Detective"

Well, this one is pretty obvious. The show's first season, which just wrapped, starred two of Hollywood's best film actors in Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson. Watching "True Detective" each week was invigorating. Still, I don't think anyone would argue against a film version.

Source: www.cleveland.com





















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