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Of Lakers, Clippers & Pirates
LA Lakers Coach Phil Jackson, "The $10 Million Zen Master," may be the most beloved man in the city for returning Hollywood's Team to respectability -- but he's no better than a common shoplifter according to the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).
Saturday's LA Times reports on Jackson's annual tradition of splicing movie clips into pregame film to prepare his teams for the playoffs (as he most famously did in 1996, when Harvey Keitel's line from Pulp Fiction, "Let's not start sucking each other's dicks yet, gentlemen," became the motto of the Chicago Bulls' championship run).
This year, to prepare for the Lakers' first-round matchup against the Phoenix Suns, Jackson rip-mix-burned scenes from Spike Lee's "Inside Man" to show that pounding the ball into the low-post is the key to victory against the centerless Suns. Or as Jackson has phrased it on prior occasions, "When you meet the Buddha in the lane, feed him the ball."
Whether Jackson's longstanding practice of splicing movies -- and circumventing DRM restrictions? -- without permission is an example of fair use is one question. The real trouble is that "Inside Man" is not yet available on DVD. Indeed, last weekend it was #6 at the box office. As such, it's practically impossible that Jackson could have obtained an authorized copy -- although perhaps that's appropriate for the heavily underdog Lakers squad: As Forward Lamar Odom joked to The Times when asked about the piracy issue, "hopefully we can steal a series."
According to the MPAA website: "Downloading a movie without paying for it is no different than walking into a store and stealing a DVD off the shelf," virtually accusing Jackson of virtual shoplifting. But while the MPAA merely equates the Armani clad, nine-time champion coach with a penny-ante street thug, in the eyes of the law he may be far worse: Had Jackson actually shoplifted the DVD, he would have faced up to one year in jail and a maximum fine of $10,000. But if he in fact illegally downloaded the DVD, he faces up to one year in jail and a maximum fine of $3.3 million -- or nearly one-third of his annual salary.
As of this posting time (a Saturday) repeated calls to MPAA spokesfolks were unreturned. However, entertainment industry experts agree that taking down a sports icon at the kneecaps could go a long way toward closing the "ruthlessness gap" between the MPAA and it's music industry counterpart, the Recording Industry Association of America. RIAA has prosecuted a 12-year-old honor student, a 66-year-old Boston woman for illegally distributing gangsta rap, and an 83-year-old woman who'd been dead for months when the papers were served.
"Inside Man" director Spike Lee also could not be reached for comment on the unauthorized use of his movie, and the cruel irony that this is the closest a Knicks fan will get to the playoffs for at least a decade.
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