Hollywood is not as much about movie making as it is money making. The old saying that you only need to "follow the money" to understand Hollywood has never been truer than it is today. Consequently there is no length to which Hollywood will not go to protect their investments. Hollywood movies feed a large basin with rich caviar and the partakers say their investment must be protected at all cost.

It was reported today by Reuters press that "Los Angeles is installing a network of surveillance cameras intended to catch street hawkers selling counterfeit pirated copies of Hollywood movies on DVD.

The MPAA contributed $186,000 to help pay for the surveillance system which was unveiled Tuesday by Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton.

The MPAA claims that illegal copying of movies on video and DVD costs the industry $3.5 billion annually in lost revenues. Whether that is calculated from lost ticket sales or lost DVD/Tape rentals/sales is never made clear. The Hollywood trade uninions claim that the real loss from pirating is their jobs. Commercials have been produced where the union members who make sets and costumes claim that pirated copies reduce the revenue so much that they are the first to see their their jobs go. The brass, they say, stay employed. Please don't be a pirate and hurt us! We are working stiffs, like you!

"The Hollywood movie making industry is the lifeblood of this city," Chief Bratton told reporters as if rehersing for a melodramatic role in a B movie. "If it goes, we go. It's that clear."

Reuters reported that the LA surveillance plan calls for 10 cameras to be installed on buildings in Los Angeles' downtown fashion district. That is,police say, where sellers of counterfeit goods can target tourists and other potential buyers.

Four cameras are already installed there with six more scheduled in a matter of weeks.

Sounding more plot than a plan the cameras beam pictures to a police precinct where they are monitored by an officer who can dispatch a posse of police to the location.

The cops claim that they typically confiscate "thousands of illegal DVDs" every week in the fashion district. Since the surveillance already started the word also got out and only 191 copies were confiscated this last weekend.

Capt. Andrew Smith, the commanding officer for the fashion district, acknowledged sellers could pack up and ship off to another street, but he added sharply that the plan as is would deprive them of a market filled with "thousands of shoppers."

He said the LAPD hoped to expand the system should it prove successful. So, there you have one more blow to the ol' pirate play. We my all be in the movies one day. Be sure to get a good publicists if you plan on being in the retail side of a business you don't control or own.

Posted by Dale Cripps, June 1, 2005 11:36 AM