Files purporting to be advance copies of the highly anticipated Watchman movie are cropping up on file-sharing networks under the aXXo brand name -- but they appear to be fake.
One such file surfaced Wednesday on Mininova.org, posted under the name of aXXo, one of the most reliable and famous of rippers. It was taken down quickly after commenters said it wasn't what it appeared to be.
As probably the biggest blockbuster in 2009's popcorn movie crop, it's easy to see why Zack Snyder's Watchmen is a likely candidate for fakers more than a month before its March 6 release. A similar, or possibly the same, file surfaced last week on torrent-tracking site isoHunt.
"This is the first one any of us have seen," said Eric Garland of file-sharing market researcher company BigChampagne Media Measurement. "There is a lot of Watchmen material out there now, including short films and viral videos, so there is a lot out there for the fanboy community."
Using the name of aXXo, the Robin Hood of internet piracy, just adds to the allure of the file. "He's a brand," said Garland. "If you want the crowds, you put up the big name, and in this Wild West, aXXo is a mark of quality. Ask anyone who download rips, and they will usually say they'll wait for aXXo's."
Bogus torrents are commonplace, and are uploaded for a variety of reasons.
"There are people who just want you to download their spyware,"
said Garland. "There are profiteers that will post to lure wannabes, and then there are those who post just to punk someone."
A source at Mininova, who commented on condition of anonymity, said fake torrents have been posted for years, sometimes infecting downloaders with computer viruses.
Some Mininova commenters suspect the Motion Picture Association of America seeded the fake Watchmen files. A warning on the Darkside RG forum, where the legendary aXXo has been known to post for years, claims the MPAA has been posting fakes to catch pirates.
However, there is no evidence that the MPAA is behind the Watchmen fakes.
"Users always shout it's the MPAA, but to be fair nobody has any idea who's posting these fakes, let alone why," said the Mininova source.
Wired.com contacted the MPAA for clarification, but has not yet received a response from the industry group.
Photo courtesy Warner Bros.
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