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Hollywood Studio Bosses Ask Obama To Help Improve Relationship With Silicon Valley... While Pressing TPP That Will Harm Silicon Valley

Politics

from the yeah,-so-that-first-bit... dept

Mon, Dec 2nd 2013 2:33pm — Mike Masnick
Just before Thanksgiving, it appears that President Obama got to spend some time with the heads of the various major film studios, during which they made two key requests:
  1. Help them improve their relationship with the tech industry.
  2. Push forward with the various maximalist copyright proposals found in the TPP (Trans Pacific Partnership) agreement.
Apparently, these studio bosses don't realize that point number two is a big part of the reason why they're having trouble with point number one. Of course, the reality is they don't want "better relationships" with Silicon Valley, they want Silicon Valley to do exactly what they want, which is to try to kill off or block innovations that challenge their legacy business models, even if they provide better services to artists and the public alike. Furthermore, pushing bogus concepts like the maximalist copyright rules that the US has been seeking in the TPP agreement -- basically as a way to backdoor in much of their legal agenda -- is hardly the way to get Silicon Valley to be more friendly with Hollywood. It's just their way of trying to screw over the very industry that keeps providing them with the innovations that they need to adapt and to provide better services to consumers.
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Filed Under: barack obama, copyright, hollywood, silicon valley, tpp

32 Comments

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Reader Comments

The First Word

“
"President Obama got to spend some time with the heads of the various major film studios"

It must have been cramped in that rectum.
—xenomancer
 ”

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  • icon
    silverscarcat (profile), 2 Dec 2013 @ 1:29pm

    Screw Hollywood!

    Who cares about them anymore? Silicon Valley should just laugh at everything Hollywood sends them and point to all the times they said "screw you, SV" and go "well, this time, we say, screw you, Hollywood".

    I know it won't happen, but it would be awesome if it did.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 2 Dec 2013 @ 2:42pm

    Hollywood Studio Bosses Ask Obama To Help Improve Relationship With Silicon Valley At Gunpoint

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      JMT (profile), 2 Dec 2013 @ 3:44pm

      Re:

      School bully asks principal to help improve relationship with the nerd he teases at lunchtime every day.

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

      • This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it
        identicon
        Anonymous Coward, 2 Dec 2013 @ 4:52pm

        Re: Re:

        School bully asks principal to help improve relationship with the nerd he teases at lunchtime every day.

        Wow, still bitter after all of these years, huh Poindexter? It seems like all of those hours staring through the vents of your gym locker left an indelible impression.

        [ link to this | view in chronology ]

        • icon
          silverscarcat (profile), 2 Dec 2013 @ 5:20pm

          Re: Re: Re:

          At least he doesn't have to work at McDonald's because no one else will hire him, unlike some people, huh?

          [ link to this | view in chronology ]

          • identicon
            Anonymous Coward, 2 Dec 2013 @ 5:46pm

            Re: Re: Re: Re:

            I'm not sure who you think you're talking about. Though I've never worked at a restaurant, I can think of worse things- like having to work in a Third World shithole because I was unemployable in a more competitive economy�.. or worse yet, as a grocery store clerk.

            [ link to this | view in chronology ]

            • icon
              silverscarcat (profile), 2 Dec 2013 @ 6:12pm

              Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:

              Even if you hadn't said you never worked at a restaurant, the rest of your reply proves that you never did.

              [ link to this | view in chronology ]

            • icon
              JMT (profile), 2 Dec 2013 @ 9:13pm

              Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:

              "I'm not sure who you think you're talking about."

              Well I'm not sure who you're talking about either, since since no part of your reply to me applies either. If you want to make nonsense claims about random people on the webz, expect the same in response.

              [ link to this | view in chronology ]

              • icon
                PaulT (profile), 3 Dec 2013 @ 1:03am

                Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:

                One of my favourite things about the trolls on this site - whining that people are accusing them of things that aren't true (or being confused with other AC trolls), yet insisting on making it impossible to identify who they actually are.

                I'm still trying to parse him comment. He thinks that people in third world countries deserve it because they're "unemployable in a more competitive economy"? WTF?

                [ link to this | view in chronology ]

            • icon
              btrussell (profile), 3 Dec 2013 @ 7:03am

              Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:

              ".. or worse yet, as a grocery store clerk."

              You shouldn't be running down jobs that depend on copyright to exist.

              [ link to this | view in chronology ]

          • identicon
            Anonymous Coward, 2 Dec 2013 @ 6:39pm

            Re: Re: Re: Re:

            Sounds like he was the bully who sued the nerd for damaging the bully's fist with his eyeball.

            [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 2 Dec 2013 @ 3:03pm

    They can start by not being Luddites.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 2 Dec 2013 @ 3:13pm

    Of course, the reality is that Hollywood doesn't want "better relationships" with Silicon Valley, they want Silicon Valley to assist in killing off or blocking innovations that challenge the legacy business models, even if Silicon Valley provides better services to artists and the public alike.


    FTFY (as i read it, that sentence, in its original form littered with 'they', was just bothering me)

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      jupiterkansas (profile), 2 Dec 2013 @ 4:27pm

      Re:

      No, they just want Silicon Valley to give them a big chunk of the billions they're raking in. That's Hollywoods new business model.

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 2 Dec 2013 @ 3:17pm

    Marching Orders

    "Just before Thanksgiving, it appears that President Obama got to spend some time with the heads of the various major film studios..."

    I guess even the President has to meet with his bosses at least every once in a while.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Chris Brand, 2 Dec 2013 @ 3:40pm

    Of course they want "better relationships"

    Remember that in Hollywood, good relationships are ones where the other person does what you want, and ideally pays you for the privilege...

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 2 Dec 2013 @ 3:41pm

    Nothing like a slap in the face

    **AA to Elected Politician.

    Hey, that guy over there seems to have a problem with our business arrangement. We would like you to talk to him (an artist/tech/low level grunt) and get things worked out.

    What's the arrangement?

    We slap him in the face and he gives us 3/4 of his net revenue, which we take out of his profits over the rest of his life.

    So what's the problem?

    He's not happy about being slapped or having to pay us for the privilege of being slapped.

    Well perhaps you should change your business model and provide a service that your customers or users want?

    SLAP... Bring in the next elected official, this one was defective and seemed to still have some of those pesky "morals" we keep hearing about... I thought we had eradicated that condition in politicians through selective in-breeding years ago, but apparently a few still get through the system without being totally crushed...

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Zakida Paul (profile), 2 Dec 2013 @ 4:01pm

    They only want to improve the relationship on their terms and to their benefit only.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 2 Dec 2013 @ 4:28pm

    since the interwebs are such a cruch for them maybe we should all just not pay our internet bill and tv bills for a couple of weeks.

    hah like people could do without their tv shows for that long, let alone their interwebs too

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 2 Dec 2013 @ 5:09pm

    Obama speaks to Hollywood...

    ... While production runs away from Hollywood at breakneck pace as studios take advantage of generous tax rebates from foreign governments to the tune of 60% of labor costs. If the subject did come up at all, I'm sure he was asked to make sure no loose talk of WTO-signatory "countervailing duties" ever gets beyond the angry-blogger stage.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      PaulT (profile), 3 Dec 2013 @ 1:11am

      Re: Obama speaks to Hollywood...

      "While production runs away from Hollywood at breakneck pace as studios take advantage of generous tax rebates from foreign governments to the tune of 60% of labor costs"

      Erm, foreign tax rebates have been a large part of film production for decades. Plus, no matter where the production takes place, "Hollywood" will still get the overall revenue from any production they make. So, I'm not sure what the point is.

      Maybe you're thinking of foreign & independent productions, but again "Hollywood" have done a very good job of keeping them out of most cinema distribution and are happily attacking any platform they'd use to get an advantage over "piracy".

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Rapnel (profile), 2 Dec 2013 @ 6:16pm

    Just ...

    Fuck Hollywood.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 2 Dec 2013 @ 7:08pm

    Angry much?

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 3 Dec 2013 @ 3:12am

    everyone knows that whatever the entertainment industries want, they will get. all they have to do is keep throwing money at the right people and they will get it. the fact that every other industry has to accommodate what they want, even to the point of total collapse, is irrelevant to them! when you have a government that is continuously on a particular side, the inevitable will happen at some point. what silicon guys know is that regardless of what the entertainment industries say, it is all bullshit! they lie like fuck, get what they want, then do exactly the opposite to what was agreed!

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    quawonk, 3 Dec 2013 @ 4:36am

    "Improve Relationship With" = buy off or bully and threaten, whichever works.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    xenomancer (profile), 3 Dec 2013 @ 7:05am

    "President Obama got to spend some time with the heads of the various major film studios"

    It must have been cramped in that rectum.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    the Conscious Catholic, 3 Dec 2013 @ 9:59am

    Alright hollywood want a better relation with SV?

    Stop being so damn scared of innovation, do want to know WHY the video game industry is so much better than you? They actually INNOVATE.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 3 Dec 2013 @ 7:52pm

    United States is fascist.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]


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