MAVERICK ENTERTAINMENT ABUSES CAPTIVE AUDIENCE
by Thomas M. Sipos. [January 21,
2005]
[HollywoodInvestigator.com]
A big downside of DVDs is that anal-retentive distributors can now force
viewers to sit through stuff they could previously fast-forward past on
VHS. Try fast-forwarding past the FBI Warning or ego-inflated producer's
logo, and you'll get that Stop sign in the corner of your TV screen, robbing
a bit of your time (something no studio suit would tolerate).
But Carlita's
Secret takes this obnoxious practice to new depths. Released
by Maverick Entertainment,
this film begins with the usual non-fast-forwardable FBI Warning and production
logos, but then follows what looks like a five and
a half minute promotional short film!
I can't comment on the short
film, because I didn't pay attention to it. I spent the first minute
of it trying the fast-forward and Menu buttons, figuring at some point
rationality would resume (which I define as a company serving me, the consumer). When that didn't work, I switched channels, coming back only after the
short had ended. I refuse to be part of a captive audience.
The feature film itself, Carlita's
Secret, was okay. A low-budget, shot-on-video crime drama. No worse, quality wise, than many low-budget horror films.
But then things worsened. After the film ended, I fast-forwarded past the end credits, planning to
return to the menu to see if there were any special features. I should
have paid attention to the menu the first time, because there
was no menu at film's end. Instead, the
same short film began playing once again, refusing to be fast-fowarded
through. Apparently, I must sit through this promo piece every time
I try to get to the menu.
I wish manufacturers would
release a DVD player giving consumers the power to crack these codes, so
that we control what we watch, when we choose to watch it. I'm not
suggesting anything to allow us to make illegal copies; just the right
to use the copies we already paid for in whatever
manner we choose. A right we already have under the Copyright Statute's First Sale
Doctrine.
Of course, the studios will
scream that even this would violate their copyrights (when really, it's
the studios that are violating our rights as guaranteed by the First
Sale Doctrine). Really, fast-forwarding is no different than
flipping past pages in a book. Imagine the public outrage if publishers
could force readers to read every page, in order. (Not an idle danger,
what with ebooks on the horizon).
Maverick
Entertainment's product uses other sleazy marketing tactics. The DVD cover for Senorita
Justice falsely implies Desperate
Housewives star Eva Longoria stars in this shot-on-video, crime
drama. Actually, Longoria only occupies about 5 minutes of screen
time,
and even that is mostly just reaction shots; she has very little dialogue.
(Maverick's
website promotes Senorita
Justice as one of theirs, but Amazon says the DVD is distributed by
Lionsgate, so maybe Maverick only produced this one).
In fairness,
this isn't an unusually obnoxious practice. It's long been
common
practice among distributors that when a bit player in a film rises to stardom,
that film is re-released with the bit player given star billing, so as
to delude the public as to the size of that big player's actual role.
On a final note, while these
films aren't masterpieces, they're serviceable entertainment, if you care
for low-budget crime drama.
But Maverick should show
greater respect for DVD consumers, by allowing us to see what we wish,
when we wish.
Copyright © 2005 by HollywoodInvestigator.com
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