EXCLUSIVE: Internet sites on their SOPA-Strike may be conducting a blackout but Hollywood studios are conducting a boycott.
I’ve learned that Hollywood studio chiefs individually and as a group are drawing a line in the sand on the piracy issue with the Obama re-election campaign and refusing to give any more donations. The blowup came after President Obama on Saturday dashed moguls’ hopes that he would remain on the sidelines in the dispute over the U.S. House Of Representatives’ Stop Online Piracy Act and the U.S. Senate’s Protect IP Act. In a posting on the White House web site, three of the Obama administration’s top officials for Internet and intellectual property matters said that they share many of the concerns that the Internet community has about the Hollywood-supported bills. The trio said that they “will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet.” Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator Victoria Espinel, U.S. Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra, and Special Assistant to the President Howard Schmidt tried to soften the blow to Hollywood by acknowledging that that online piracy is “a serious problem that requires a serious legislative response.”
They added that they plan to host an online event “to get more input” on the matter. But Hollywood moguls told me they “didn’t know it was going to be as over the top as it was” and took this as a declaration of war. “We just feel very let down by the administration and Obama for not supporting us,” one studio chief explained to me. “At least let him remain neutral and not go against it until we can get the legislation right. But Obama went against it. I’m personally not going to support him anymore and not give a dime anymore,” another movie mogul who’s also a well-known Obama supporter told me this week.
So far the most outspoken mogul against the Obama administration on this issue has been Rupert Murdoch who on Saturday told his new Twitter audience: “So Obama has thrown in his lot with Silicon Valley paymasters who threaten all software creators with piracy, plain thievery.” But I’ve learned that other moguls privately are having “direct and personal conversations” with Obama and his administration and the Democratic Party. Several moguls have informed Obama’s newly anointed Hollywood re-election liason to the entertainment community Nicole Avant and her husband who is helping her, Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos, that they are pulling out of major fundraisers planned over the next few days and won’t participate in any more headed by Obama and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (whom they see as in the pocket of the Internet giants like Google).
One of those events is a major January 31st fundraiser attended by First Lady Michelle Obama at the Beverly Hills home of Avant and Sarandos. There’s another LA fundraiser for the First Lady on February 1st. And both President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will be coming for more fundraisers here in coming weeks. The moguls are telling Avant and Sarandos to count them out. “Now is when all the fundraises are starting. But everyone in my position is really pissed. It’s a real conundrum,” one mogul told me.
Alarmed by the mogul boycott, Sarandos sent a personal plea to the Hollywood studio chiefs over the weekend begging them to continue supporting the Obama re-election campaign even though he knows they are disappointed with the Obama administration’s position on the piracy bills. Several moguls, in response, ”sent back word saying ‘Fuck You’ basically,” one insider tells me, expressing how they feel used and abused by the President despite their campaign contributions. I’ve learned that Fox Filmed Entertainment Chairman Jim Gianopulos even sat down and wrote his good friend (and fellow Greek-American) Sarandos an articulate note over the weekend the gist of which said that he and his fellow moguls won’t give any more money if they keep getting taken for granted. One insider told me, “Jim explained that this notion that the Hollywood community will continue giving regardless of its business interests has to be taken into consideration. The message was, ‘Don’t expect Hollywood to show up and say ‘Who do I write the check to’ anymore.”
The moguls are reminding Obama et al that, in the words of one studio chief, “God knows how much money we’ve given to Obama and the Democrats and yet they’re not supporting our interests. There’s been no greater supporters of him than we’ve been from the first day and the first fundraisers continuing until he was elected. We all were pleased. And, at its heart institutionally, Hollywood supports the Democrats. Now we need the administration to support us. This is a very important time for Hollywood. The issue at hand — piracy — is a legitimate concern. But Google and those Internet guys have been swiftboating the entertainment industry by saying we’re trying to shut down the Internet just because we don’t want them to advertise pirated movies. As for other claims, we make 24. We don’t make national security problems.”
The boycott even extends to many of the moguls’ families who also are big Obama and Democratic Party donors. The situation is serious because many moguls and/or their families comprise Obama’s top bundlers in the TV/movie/music biz. Bundlers as defined by opensecrets.org are “people with friends in high places who, after bumping against personal contribution limits, turn to those friends, associates, and, well, anyone who’s willing to give, and deliver the checks to the candidate in one big ‘bundle’.” These donors direct more money to the candidates than anyone else. As of September 2011 these 357 elite bundlers were directing at least $55,900,000 for Obama’s re-election efforts — money that has gone into the coffers of his campaign as well as the Democratic National Committee, according to opensecrets.org. That figure by now has significantly increased and will continue to do so.
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.


And the alternative is Romney? Really? Think again, Hammurapi.
Holy crap, it’s Disney/Universal versus Sony Betamax all over again.
Fantastic. Now Hollywood can put their money behind Mitt Romney, who will flip flop on them at the last minute.
My my
Maybe their “all in” candidate is pissing them off
Maybe the unnamed Moguls should check out Ron Paul
Ron Paul is the only candidate who’s actively stated that SOPA/PIPA is a bad law. They’re not going to run from Obama to Ron Paul.
Talk about the greed of the 1%. All those liberals in Hollywood would crush internet innovation and independence to make a few dollars more. Oh yeah, tell that money doesn’t matter to these guys.
Except a much larger fraction of the 1% have been minted in/by Silicon Valley than Hollywood in the last two decades. Hollywood is setting the stage for a war they’ll ultimately lose.
How telling. This story confirms that SOPA/PIPA is about money in the pockets of the 1%.
Haha, looks like even HOLLYWOOD is against the impending police state being constructed before our eyes. I guess Obama is gonna have to go back to Chicago for the rest of his cash!
How is this a Police State action. He knows the legislation needs to be fine tuned. These so-called moguls are acting like spoiled brats. If anything, the Administration is weighing the arguments of internet entrepreneurs who argue that the currently written legislation will damage the internet. If anything, it is anti-police state.
…or, he’ll just use all the campaign contributions that he’s about to get from the tech sector…which has orders of magnitude more cash than the entertainment industry.
Use your brain.
The moguls are such out of touch jackasses. Go ahead, blame people other than yourself. You should innovate your way out of the problem. The problem isnt the internet itself. The problem is companies like Pirate Bay. You will never eliminate piracy in a digital age by pointing fingers at others. Its just some crap you want to say so investors let you keep your job. There will always always be assholes who steal things. You cant legislate morality. Take a cue from the recording industry.
The day you put ALL the content online in an ad supported way (so you can monetize it), is the day piracy evaporates.
I hope Obama stands firm and shows the media moguls they can’t always buy the laws they want.
1) If I went over to Century City mall and robbed somebody, nobody would be saying the mall should be blamed and shut down. That seems to be the gist of these laws.
2) The definition of theft here still needs to be clarified. Taking something when the original owner still retains their copy is something different from classical theft. When I see a JPG on a website that I like and right click “save as” and make it my wallpaper, am I stealing it? We need to figure out what constitutes theft.
Any industry that inflicts Sandler’s JACK AND JILL on an innocent public needs to punished anyway.
Think I’ll start my own boycott of Hollywood.
Bastards.
I’m sure Hollywood will suffer from your boycott, despite the fact that Hollywood employs vast numbers of blue collar workers construction, electrical and other technical as well as artist trade unions. Honestly now. Get off your high horse.
I got the Greatest Respect for both Hollywood and Free Internet but
I am happy that Hollywood is getting THIS BOOT on the Neck Lesson from this Empty Food Stamp LOONE.
I hope and Pray all these Great Americans called Hollywood keep their words.
For American Freedom.
I’ve always been a movie buff, but now my family and I NEVER EVER go to the movies. These “moguls” have gotten their last nickel from me….screw them and their lefty pol buddies.
At least they admit their donations are nothing more than bribes… the problem for free speech is that Obama learnt his politics in Chicago so he takes them.
Dear Hollywood: That your boy, – you helped birth him – now you can’t disown him. Just cut him off your purse. The problem? Who else you going to turn to. He has you by the short ones.
Also, I wonder why that Swiss survey from a few weeks back hasn’t gotten more coverage. They asked young people who pirate content what their monthly budget for entertainment was, and if they were spending any less due to their piracy. Turns out they were just using the money they don’t spend on the pirated stuff to, surprise surprise, buy other entertainment content.
The industry, by this survey, would take in just as much money. Admittedly, some people are still getting things for free, but they’re not putting any less money into the coffers of the conglomerates than if they had no Internet.
Very interesting survey, I’d like to hear more about it. But of course it doesn’t back up the industry mantra/party line that (cue Carl Sagan voice) Billions and Billions of Dollars are being lost…
I am a dual Australian/American citizen. I pay taxes and vote in USA and I make my living off of movies, TV, music, and materials that may be pirated. Yet I’m more concerned with the slippery slope of censorship than I am PirateBay. Where are all the actors, musicos, and other 1st Amendment martyrs always fighting to protect free speech? Are their studio/label paymasters holding them back?
So a bunch of old men in Washington who still cannot figure out email are trying to write laws to alter the internet? If you are an influential politco or investor, which side would you join forces with? The old-guard Hollywood and Record biz (who’ve been playing catch up since the web began)? OR the tech/net biz which mints oceans of money and jobs and is the future?
There are 27 laws already existing to combat piracy. The truth is that MPAA and RIAA are willing to concede power to the FCC to govern and control in exchange for the ability to thwart new start-up social media sites who don’t pay royalties to Hollywood. Sounds like Munich in pre-WW2 Europe!
You have to love the irony of Murdoch using Twitter to show his disgust (a site which itself can be shut-censored due to SOPA-PIPA). The best part of this entire debalce is that average citizens (who use the net! wow!) are fighting back. To prove how cutting edge they are, the MPAA and RIAA will next likely outlaw casettes, VCRs, and CD burners too.
Sincerely,
Nick Cave
The owner of 247 Copyrights and Intellectual Property including films, scripts, and songs who supports anti-SOPA/PIPA.
cannot be said any better. bravo!
Exactly. The film industry is my bread and butter (soy-based substitute, actually). Of course piracy is a problem, but let’s start by breaking out the anti-fungal cream and put away the amputation saw.
Amen brother Nick and not only do I love your work/art – I’ve paid for it (not pirated it), both in recorded form and in concert and hope you get a royalty from my latest purchase of the Criterion Collection’s “Wings of Desire” DVD.
P.S. H’wad (what I call H’wood and who I used to work for) did try to put the kibosh on both VCRs and DVDs, until realizing both formats saved their collective booties. But, like the fruit fly, their memories and life cycle is short, so don’t expect them to learn from the past…ha
This is great news not only is the bill dying off but so are donations to ol’barry.
“F*%$ You Hollywood!”
–
In general I couldn’t have said it better, though in this case maybe thanks are in order.
Shut up Hollywood Stop trying to screw with the internet, and put all that energy into trying to make an original movie! You haven’t had one in years with all this remakes!
When you’re on the side of Rupert Murdoch you’re on the wrong side.
Maybe we should stop giving Hollywood OUR money. Let them rot on the left coast. Soon we will be able to create our own movies all with CGI. No actors. No more big paydays for them.
Where are all the morons, oh wait, moguls who were crying at the message of hope. I know a screenwriter who twits, sorry, tweets all day to try and stay relevant. He googooed over Obama. Was on that bandwagon too, trying to be relevant. He’s quiet now. Oh yeah, his total box office is always a loser yet somehow he continues to work with only the best. Ah, something fishy when the work output is so far from the level of talent he works with. It feels nepotistic.
Are they really moguls, or are they the “1%”?
Shortsighted by the moguls, if true.
A Republican President would appoint more “morality police” judges that will uphold ridiculous FCC fees like Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction.
Why is it that Hollywood doesn’t have to adapt to the market? Why does the entertainment industry get to dictate the market?
Shouldn’t they adapt? Seems to me this is like a very successful door-to-door salesman paying the government to force people to live in his neighborhood so he doesn’t have to walk very far from home.
There are other ways of achieving their goal besides building the frame work for a regulated internet. Rules are already in place, enforce those.
When wikipedia goes dark, the world is free of a major source of incorrect and biased information for a while. Good riddence..
Otherwise known as Wikipedia telling the truth about your favorite Republican candidate, instead of a GOP-approved, rubber-stamped puff piece?