If you are wondering why Hollywood is so enamored of dictators like Fidel Castro and supports any politician determined to explode the size and power of the federal government, look no further than this story.
Managers of an AMC theatre in Ohio suspected a man of pirating “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit” using his Google Glasses. Theatre personnel immediately sounded the alarm to the MPAA, who in turn called in the Department of Homeland Security. An hour into the movie, according to the suspect, he was pulled out of the theatre and rousted by the Feds for a full hour — searched, questioned, hassled and eventually released after it was determined he did nothing wrong.
‘Follow me outside immediately,'” the [innocent moviegoer] told The Gadgeteer. “It was quite embarrassing and outside of the theater there were about five to 10 cops and mall cops. Since I didn’t catch his name in the dark of the theater, I asked to see his badge again and I asked what was the problem and I asked for my Glass back. The response was ‘you see all these cops you know we are legit, we are with the ‘federal service’ and you have been caught illegally taping the movie.'”
The theatre owners, MPAA, and Department of Homeland Security have all verified the overall story.
You might think from their films that Hollywood opposes a police state, but it is obvious that the MPAA’s relationship with DHS is so cozy that in the middle of Ohio they can profile some guy as a video pirate and have the Feds all over him within an hour.
That is what you call frightening efficiency.
If you’re asking why a federal agency charged with protecting America from terrorism is helping to protect a few percentage points of Hollywood’s bottom line, you are not alone.
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC
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