Filmmaking can be a cut throat business, and those who work in it can sometimes be less than ethical in their march to the top. Every industry has its transgressors, but the film industry often seems to have more than its fair share. In fact, I’ve been inspired to create a 7 deadly sins list for the industry in which so many of us work.
Here are my picks for the 7 Ultimate Deadly Sins of Filmmaking:
- Film piracy.
After Covid-19, there’s no bigger issue in the industry today than film piracy. Technology has made it easier than ever to pirate and share copyrighted works. It’s no longer like that episode of Seinfeld, where Jerry gets talked into making a copy of a film with a video camera while sitting in a theater. Now bootleg copies can originate at the studios or the vendors they use. As they’re easily shared, the copies spread worldwide very quickly. Needless to say, piracy costs the studios a lot of money. The casts and crews of films are also impacted, as the loss of revenue affects future residuals. It’s a lose-lose situation.
- Social media sharing.
There’s a reason nearly all productions require non-disclosure agreements today and that reason is social media sharing. I worked on dozens of projects in the pre-social media era and don’t ever remember being asked to sign…
