The Substantially Similar Weblog

Rick McCallum, Producer of Star Wars, suggests that the movie industry will be destroyed in the next few years if we don’t take the piracy “threat” seriously.

I’m not sure who is more bombastic, McCallum, or Jack Valenti when he compared the VCR to the Boston Strangler.

I would suggest we take a “wait and see” approach. If we discover that Hollywood is no longer able to produce enough films to satisfy us, or that the Recording Industry ceases to give us the likes of Britney Spears and Celine Dion, then perhaps we should take a look at our policy and make some changes. We don’t even have to wait until the industries are totally destroyed, but before we bring out the big guns, let’s at least conclude that (1) “piracy” is having a material effect on creative output, and (2) we miss the stuff that’s no longer being created.

Until then, let’s just stick with stopping terrorists. And protecting our civil liberties, while we’re at it.