Andre Yoskowitz
1 Apr 2009 15:39
One month before its theatrical release, a workprint version of X-Men Origins: Wolverine has been leaked online, and is seeing huge downloads as I type.
The film, being a "workprint", has some special effects missing, as well as the occasional view of wires still attached to actors during action scenes. Although unconfirmed, some are reporting that the leaked version is missing some of the director's re-shoots. We probably won't know until next month however what is missing.
The film was supposed to compete with other blockbuster fare such as Star Trek and Transformers 2 but poor reviews of the film based on the leaked version may kill that buzz.
The more important question may be, at least from 20th Century Fox's perspective, is where the leak came from. There is a small caption at the beginning of the video that says 'Rising Sun Pictures' and is dated from last month.
Rising Sun Pictures is an Australian visual effects company that worked on editing the film, and is currently working on the upcoming blockbuster Terminator Salvation. There is no evidence however to support that RSP was involved in the leak.
20th Century Fox has yet to comment publicly on the leak.