BoxOffice® Pro - November 2012

GUEST
COLUMN
by Chris Ortman, Communications Director / Creative America
■ As most Boxoffice readers already know, when we watch our favorite
movies and television shows, we see only a small glimpse of a much larger
production.
What audiences don’t see are the countless creators and makers who
work behind the scenes to make the great content we all love: directors,
cinematographers, editors, makeup artists, lighting and sound technicians,
costume designers and set builders, to name a few. Their hard work and
creativity deserve to be celebrated and protected.
RAMPANT PIRACY THREATENS OUR LIVELIHOOD
More than 2 million Americans rely on the entertainment industry
for their livelihood—it’s one of the country’s biggest exports. But sadly,
content theft is jeopardizing our industry. Each year, content theft costs
U.S. workers more than $5.5 billion dollars in wages and tens of thousands
of jobs.
Criminals, many operating overseas, are stealing American movies
and TV shows, and online piracy is big business. Websites offering stolen
content generate approximately 146 million visits per day and 53 billion
visits per year, and more than 500,000 movies are illegally distributed each
day worldwide.
The economic impact of the entertainment industry is not limited to
production. Distribution and exhibition-related jobs employ many more
individuals and contribute to the economies of local communities.
THEATER OWNERS ARE DIRECTLY IMPACTED
Those who are hurt most are not the big stars you see on the red carpet.
They’re middle-class American workers—across all 50 states—who make
their living in entertainment and are not compensated when creative works
are stolen. They are the 95,000 small businesses that service the industry.
Whether it’s from counterfeit DVDs on the black market, illegal
filming with a camcorder or digital copies of films leaked online prior to
Creative America—coming to a community near you
UNITING TO FIGHT CONTENT THEFT
release, movie theater owners are acutely aware of the increasingly harmful
effects that content theft has on our industry and the nation’s economy.
By recent estimates, movie theft costs theaters $670 million in the United
States and more than $6 billion worldwide. And illegal camcording in
theaters is responsible for supplying 90 percent of newly released content
to bootleggers.
GRASSROOTS ORGANIZING TO FIGHT BACK
Creative America is a grassroots organization uniting the entertainment
community and others against content theft. It brings together actors,
directors, craft professionals, small businesses that service the industry,
theater owners and others who make a living in and care about film and
television and believe that creativity deserves to be protected.
We are supported by an unprecedented coalition of major entertainment
unions, guilds, studios, and networks, including CBS Corporation,
the Directors Guild of America, IATSE International, NBCUniversal, the
Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio
Artists (SAG-AFTRA), Sony Pictures Entertainment, Twentieth Century
Fox, Viacom, the Walt Disney Company, and Warner Bros. Entertainment.
In communities across the country, Creative America grassroots organizers
are recruiting supporters at film festivals and other industry-related
events, disseminating educational materials and informing the general
public and key stakeholders about the impacts of piracy.
From movie fans at the box office to the local businesses community to
elected leadership, our goal is to educate and raise awareness about the vital
economic impact of entertainment to every community in America—and
of the need to find solutions that protect the rights of creators and makers
to earn a living and support small businesses that are so critical to local
economies.
But we can’t do it alone. As an industry—and as communities—we
need to come together. Creative America needs your help.
Please join us and help build this movement. Visit www.creativeamerica.org
and sign up today!
WHO’S HELPING TO BUILD THIS
MOVEMENT
Creative America is a grassroots campaign
organizing in communities across the
country to give creative professionals and
small businesspeople who make a living in
entertainment a voice in the fight against
content theft. Here’s what some supporters
are saying:
“Content theft is a big problem for
hardworking independent filmmakers and
industry workers who make a living and care
about their creative work.” –Louise Runge,
production manager, Los Angeles
“In an ever-changing digital world where
the outlets for creating and distributing
creative work for a profit is in flux, it’s important
that all the information on piracy and its
effects on artists at all levels is known—and
that artists are kept informed and protected.”
–David Spaltro, producer/director/writer,
New York
“It’s critical that we all respect the arts, its
process and to protect it at all cost. Creative
America has a platform and a presence that
brings these issues to the forefront. Stop the
theft—it hurts!” –Coco Owens, entertainment
business consultant, Los Angeles
“Piracy is not a ‘big movie’ problem. It’s
a problem for all filmmakers, especially those
that have no safety nets, no savings, nothing
but hope that their single film, probably their
one chance at making a film, can become
successful.” –Adam Dick, producer, Playon
Productions, Chicago
“Stealing someone else’s idea and profiting
from it is wrong. It results in loss of revenue
for the creator and for the host venue.
I can’t think of a better way to support local
artists and filmmakers than making sure their
creative work is protected.” –Gayle J. Burris,
executive director, Anderson Paramount
Theater, Anderson, Indiana
“As a united coalition of industry leaders,
Creative America is uniquely positioned to
ensure that the hard work and dedication of
the television and film community may be
sustained so that creativity will continue to
thrive.” –Alan S. Clarke, managing partner,
The Entertainment Law Group, Atlanta
“It is urgent for our community to
combat content theft. Content theft not
only threatens all jobs, it affects production
cost, collaboration and innovation.” –Frank
Davis, assistant director, Woodland Hills,
California
“The Commission’s mission is to generate
a positive impact on business tourism and
the economy through the growth of the film,
television and still photography industry. We
are happy to work with organizations like
Creative America that also educate and support
creative professionals.” –Michelle Hillery,
director of operations and programs,
Palm Beach County Film & Television
Commission, West Palm Beach, Florida
14 BOXOFFICE PRO NOVEMBER 2012