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Chinese TV Station Tried Passing Off Top Gun Footage As Training Exercises

Too Much Free Time

from the now-when-will-the-infringement-suit-hit? dept

Mon, Jan 31st 2011 10:46am — Mike Masnick
Via Gizmodo we learn of the hilarious claim that China Central Television's news broadcast recently showed some imagery purported to show Chinese military training exercises. The only problem is that some folks recognized the footage as coming from the Hollywood movie Top Gun, starring Tom Cruise. You can see the screenshots below, comparing the CCTV news footage (on the left) with the identical frame captures from Top Gun:

Of course, I can only assume that China Central Television did not have a license to show Top Gun on TV. What are the chances that someone in Hollywood decides to sue?
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Filed Under: china, top gun, training, tv footage

69 Comments

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  • identicon
    ian, 31 Jan 2011 @ 10:51am

    chinese top gun

    how do you know that TOP GUN wasn't actual made as a chinese training film???

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Dark Helmet (profile), 31 Jan 2011 @ 10:54am

    Wow...

    This story simply Takes My Breath Away....

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 31 Jan 2011 @ 10:58am

      Re: Wow...

      I think CCTV is on a Highway to a Danger(ous) Zone

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Greg G, 31 Jan 2011 @ 11:15am

        Re: Re: Wow...

        You can't HANDLE the tru... what?? ahh.. oh, sorry, wrong movie.

        [ link to this | view in chronology ]

        • icon
          Dark Helmet (profile), 31 Jan 2011 @ 11:35am

          Re: Re: Re: Wow...

          It's comments like that that make me realize You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling....

          [ link to this | view in chronology ]

          • identicon
            Greg G, 31 Jan 2011 @ 11:56am

            Re: Re: Re: Re: Wow...

            Only because the bathroom counter wasn't really sturdy enough...

            [ link to this | view in chronology ]

            • identicon
              Anonymous Coward, 31 Jan 2011 @ 12:08pm

              Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Wow...

              You don't own that plane, the tax payers do! Son, your ego is writing checks your body can't cash. You've been busted, you lost your qualifications as section leader three times, put in hack twice by me, with a history of high speed passes over five air control towers, and one admiral's daughter!

              [ link to this | view in chronology ]

            • identicon
              Jason, 31 Jan 2011 @ 12:19pm

              Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Wow...

              My evaluation of your performance was right on!

              [ link to this | view in chronology ]

          • icon
            Berenerd (profile), 31 Jan 2011 @ 12:01pm

            Re: Re: Re: Re: Wow...

            Goose went up in a GREAT BALLS OF FIRE...much like this thread...

            [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      DS, 31 Jan 2011 @ 12:54pm

      Re: Wow...

      Come on guys, we should all just lighten up.

      Let's all take our shirts off and play volleyball.

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

      • icon
        Dark Helmet (profile), 31 Jan 2011 @ 12:58pm

        Re: Re: Wow...

        "Let's all take our shirts off and play volleyball."

        This isn't Catholic School, you sonofabitch....

        [ link to this | view in chronology ]

        • icon
          cseiter (profile), 31 Jan 2011 @ 1:03pm

          Re: Re: Re: Wow...

          I went to a catholic school and I can say that there was no shirtless volleyball being played. I was also an alter boy and a Boy Scout and there was no shirtless volleyball there either. Was I that ugly of a kid that I couldn't get molested?

          [ link to this | view in chronology ]

          • icon
            Dark Helmet (profile), 31 Jan 2011 @ 1:21pm

            Re: Re: Re: Re: Wow...

            "Was I that ugly of a kid that I couldn't get molested?"

            You know what they say: If you have to ask....

            [ link to this | view in chronology ]

            • identicon
              Anonymous Coward, 31 Jan 2011 @ 1:56pm

              Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Wow...

              then you can't afford it?

              [ link to this | view in chronology ]

              • icon
                cseiter (profile), 31 Jan 2011 @ 2:06pm

                Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Wow...

                That would make sense. I can't afford the therapy, although if I won a settlement I could, but then I would have to be molested, but then I would have to be able to afford therapy...

                [ link to this | view in chronology ]

                • icon
                  Dark Helmet (profile), 31 Jan 2011 @ 2:32pm

                  Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Wow...

                  I'm now beginning to understand how the Catholic Church did such a good job confusing the shit out of everyone for so long....

                  [ link to this | view in chronology ]

        • identicon
          DS, 31 Jan 2011 @ 3:39pm

          Re: Re: Re: Wow...

          I thought Catholic School was where they had naked swim classes...

          [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      trilobug, 31 Jan 2011 @ 1:43pm

      Re: Wow...

      Well played sir.

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Aaron T (profile), 31 Jan 2011 @ 10:56am

    wow

    Someone has watched Top Gun way way too many times.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 31 Jan 2011 @ 11:11am

    We should be able to vote the stories themselves as funny or insightful (ah, heck, toss in the "inappropriate" tag too, to make the trolls happy). This one certainly deserves the funny vote.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Jimr (profile), 31 Jan 2011 @ 11:12am

    Where will they send the Infringement Suit to? Think of all the lost revenue TOP GUN will lose now that they broad cast the final explosion scene? I guesstimate about 42 tillion dollars.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Jason, 31 Jan 2011 @ 11:20am

      Re:

      Put on yer white gloves Jimmer, that's 42 Cuh-tillion!!

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Marcus Carab (profile), 31 Jan 2011 @ 2:09pm

      Re:

      Well, let's calculate this using MPAA methodology.

      Top Gun had a budget of $15-million (Source: Wikipedia). The population of China is 1,331,460,000 (Source: World Bank) - or over 1.3 billion Top Guns that now won't be made. Simple math tells us that 1.997x10^16 or nearly twenty-quadrillion dollars has disappeared as a result of this egregious intellectual property theft.

      But that's just the beginning: Top Gun also massively boosted sales of bomber jackets and aviator glasses by around 40%. We can assume by extension that it boosted fighter jet sales approximately the same amount. The cost of an F-16 is around $15-million dollars, so add forty per cent to that and multiply by the number of bomber jackets sold every year, which we don't have a firm stat on but can guess to be around twice the world population since most people own at least two jackets. Add that to our twenty-quadrillion figure, multiply by two (the number of lenses in a pair of Aviators) and you have the truly stomach-churning sum of infinity-million dollars that were lost to this one video alone. Now consider the number of films downloaded on BitTorrent every year and it becomes clear that piracy will bring about the heat death of the universe.

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

      • icon
        fogbugzd (profile), 31 Jan 2011 @ 4:05pm

        Re: Re:

        You forgot the multiplier effect. Granted, you listed secondary and tertiary markets and included approapriately inflated estimates, but industry standard practice is to multiply everything by three to account for the secondary and tertiary effects of the secondary and tertiary effects. Otherwise it was a good effort, and you definitely could have a future in IP economic impact analysis. I particularly liked the fact that you avoided any calculation of possible benefits of the piracy. Things like reviving interest in an old movie or opening up Chinese markets just muddy up otherwise perfectly fine self-serving calculations.

        [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 31 Jan 2011 @ 11:14am

    Official PDRC announcement

    Obviously movie film "Top Gun" has stolen aircraft training film from Glorious People's Democratic Republic of China. We condemn these heinous acts of espionage by foreign movie interests and stand proud with active strong military tradition of great China and many brave soldiers who have small resemblance to foreign movie actor Tom Cruise.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Jason, 31 Jan 2011 @ 11:16am

    30 seconds

    We went like this, he went like that. I said to Dark Helmet, 'Where'd he go?' Helmet says, "Where'd who go?"

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Sean, 31 Jan 2011 @ 11:19am

    Giveaway

    I think what gave it away was when they decided to keep the audio track as well.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Martian150, 31 Jan 2011 @ 11:28am

    Top Gun at CCTV

    Oh, come on. There are fans of Top Gun at CCTV. A maverick employee was overcome by "that loving feeling."

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Wes, 31 Jan 2011 @ 11:29am

    I can't believe Top Gun stole footage from China's training exercises and and used them in the film!

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    cseiter (profile), 31 Jan 2011 @ 11:35am

    Dubbed Version

    You've lost that rov'in feerin',
    Rooro, that rov'in feerin',
    you've rost that ROV'IN feerin',
    Now it's gawn, gawn, gawn, rororo

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 31 Jan 2011 @ 11:41am

    You people who are joking about this are going to be really surprised to find out that the Chinese pilots are so good that they actually recreated that entire sequence just to show how awesome they are. They even have the exact same explosion!

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      NR, 31 Jan 2011 @ 11:44am

      Re:

      Polaroid or it didn't happen...

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Anonymous Coward, 31 Jan 2011 @ 11:51am

        Re: Re:

        The digital image of the post doesn't cut it?

        [ link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Anonymous Coward, 31 Jan 2011 @ 12:04pm

        Re: Re:

        I don't care if you believe it. I have a bunker that a few women and I will stay in so that we can repopulate the west once China destroys us. I'm just trying to help with a warning buddy.

        [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    MAC, 31 Jan 2011 @ 11:42am

    Communist plot...

    Obviously, slipping chinese training video into popular western movie is communist plot to take over the world.
    Subliminal messages have been seen, will activate in 2012...

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Fushta, 31 Jan 2011 @ 12:10pm

    OK, one of two things happened:
    1) The Chinese use Top Gun movie clips to train their pilots, so it just looks like they are the same clips,
    or more realistically,
    2) the Chinese use the same special effects team that Top Gun used.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Chris ODonnell (profile), 31 Jan 2011 @ 12:12pm

    How long until the MPAA files a copyright claim against the Chinese military?

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 31 Jan 2011 @ 12:16pm

    The movie used Grumman F-14s for the "good guys" and Northrop F-5s for the "bad guys".

    Some F-5s were sold many years ago to the Taiwanese government, but certainly never to China.

    Who knows? Maybe China and Taiwan are at war and engaging in dogfights, but keeping it a secret from the rest of the world.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Robert Ring (profile), 31 Jan 2011 @ 12:28pm

    So this means Tom Cruise is a Commie, right?

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    flyfish, 31 Jan 2011 @ 12:28pm

    Last week called, they want their news back

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Marcus Carab (profile), 31 Jan 2011 @ 2:35pm

      Re:

      weird because last week just called me too and said don't listen to that flyfish guy, he's an asshole

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Anonymous Coward, 31 Jan 2011 @ 8:11pm

        Re: Re:

        According to techdirt copying is or least leads to innovation. Clearly, CCTV is a very innovative chinese company or at least well on their way.

        [ link to this | view in chronology ]

        • identicon
          Jason, 1 Feb 2011 @ 6:30am

          Re: Re: Re:

          *According to Techdirt copying is necessary for innovation.

          There, fixed that for ya. Simple p->q |= q->p thing, ya dig?

          [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    NullOp, 31 Jan 2011 @ 12:29pm

    Caught!

    This all reminds me of the 60's when everything was claimed to be a Russian invention. And the "Caught Red Handed" Award goes to.....who do you think? Geez....

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Prashanth (profile), 31 Jan 2011 @ 12:34pm

    Does anyone remember the Iranian missile photo fiasco from a few years ago? One of the four missiles appears to have failed, so it was pasted over with one of the other missiles (with an identical smoke cloud). This kind of reminds me of that, but on a somewhat larger scale.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Overcast (profile), 31 Jan 2011 @ 1:18pm

    haha, too funny how "governments" really don't have a clue much past your typical forum troll.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    HarryMonmouth, 31 Jan 2011 @ 2:26pm

    Training?

    Could the simple explanation be that they are training their military to use bit torrent.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Paul Hobbs (profile), 31 Jan 2011 @ 3:41pm

    Let's focus on the real issue

    I think that with all the amusing banter going on in this thread, we have lost sight of what is really important. Because the CCTV (is there something ironic in the acronym of China's state-controlled TV broadcaster?) used the footage of Top Gun without authorisation (which I admit is an assumption), poor struggling actors like Tom Cruise are being denied their dues - how is Tom expected to survive if people keep watching/using his films without paying for the privilege?

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    URGthrash, 31 Jan 2011 @ 8:17pm

    thats funny, what strikes me as so funny that a Chinese training video would feature only American aircraft, top gun only showed 2 aircraft , the f-14, and the f-5a talon , both are not Chinese aircraft ( even thou im sure half the parts where made in china ;) )

    goes to show ya , how the press will force feed garbage to those willing to watch

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    dave (profile), 1 Feb 2011 @ 9:22am

    tom FTW

    ...and after successfully suing and winning his case, China is shut down for copyright infringement.

    and that, children, is how Tom Cruise single-handedly defeated china.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    TheEndoftheInterwebs, 11 Feb 2011 @ 6:44am

    Chinese caught "sampling" Top Gun

    China once again shows that anything cool they do is "borrowed". Almost makes you want to pre-emptively nuke them, i mean send the MPAA after them (same thing??)

    If you want to read more, check out http://www.theendoftheinterwebs.com/2011/02/chinese-military-caught-sampling.html

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]


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