Manila: Da Vinci code ‘a hit’ among film pirates…
Just a story I did for European paper I write for…
By Mike Cohen
Manila
Manila - At the stores and street vendor stalls that do a brisk trade in pirated DVD's in the Capital city of Manila 'Da Vinci Code' movie based on Dan Brown's best selling book is the top seller amidst talkof a ban on the Movie being shown in the Philippines.
Even though the film is not yet officially released here yet, the movie premiere date for
commercial showing is five days from Sunday; a week away. But the copies smuggled in To the country in large numbers are reproduced in bulk. "Business is booming! I hope they do ban it!" a vendor told this writer.
"Filipinos are hard headed," Andy Mussof, a stall owner told the mirror, "You tell them the government does not want you to see this film, they will buy two copies each just give a neighbor!" Mussof smiles as he walks about a shopping center in suburban San Juan.
From Cabanatuan City in central Luzon to Butuan City Southern Mindanao one pirated film is beating all comers local newspapers say people are flocking to buy copies ever since the catholic church began a campaign against the movie.
"DVD! DVD! DIVD sir? Da Vinci code?", Santi calls out to customers in the area where the pirated copies are sold, he's a street vendor asks all comers in the street market that is in the downtown Manila Quipo. District, nervously wary of outsiders and raiding teams that harass the mostly Muslim vendors of the district, he says "Today we sold may fifty copies, its a big seller."
While officials of the government muse over the idea of if the film will be allowed in theaters, the stall owners and small shop keepers who do a highly illegal but brisk business say buying the film is almost a form of protest versus the highly unpopular Arroyo Government.
“,1] ); //–>DVD sales and pirated movies sold on the sly mostly in fear of government crackdowns still abound as in most major cities in the Philippines where cheap copies of movies shot by people using small Video cameras in US, Asian, or, European theaters are often smuggled into the country and reproduced in mass recopying machines of backroom shops that can churn out 500 copies an hour.
The Philippine Star reports "Movie pirates in Metro Manila, however, expect to rake in the profits if the movie is banned." while the Manila Times in an editorial called the governments bowing to some church groups led by the Catholic Opus Day Movement's letter and email campaign versus the movie says in way "Dan Brown" ought to be paying the church royalties! they have made his book and pirated copies of the movie a certified best seller. Dan Mariano wrote in his column.
Devoutly Catholic and deeply religious the Philippines often seen as a "Second Vatican" by many in the Church with over 80% of the country's 81 Million people Roman Catholics. "One must remember Jose Rizal our national hero, he wrote a book versus church abuse his book was banned they even shot him, but to this day he is our best loved Filipino because he stood up to the church." Mussof, said.
The movie is not due for release in theaters till next week - so far Government has backed down from talk of a ban but may limit the number of copies or raise the ticket tax on the film. Some communities are expected to go to theater owners and appeal to them not to show the films as form of protest.
Meanwhile other groups are planning to show another fast tracked documentary on television called "the Jessus code", showing a church backed counter 'Da Vinci code" dcoumentary that exposes groups ought to do harm to the church and growing persecution of christians in hollywood films and by governments bent the orgranization clamims on destroying faith based groups in Europes and the USA.
May 15th, 2006 Posted by mikeinmanila | Uncategorized, news, News and politics, News Of China, china, asia, terrorism, Views, war, immigration, Filipino, Bush, Rants, Raves, Whathaveyou..., freedom of speech, protests, republican, border security, free speech, al qaeda, war on teror, fil-am, filipino-american
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