October 19, 2001

Entertainment News

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Resistance is Futile

The Recording Industry Association of America is taking the war against file sharing into your homes. The RIAA is experimenting with technology that targets individual personal computers. The method uses software to masquerade as a file-swapper online, according to industry sources.

Once the software has found a computer offering a certain song, it attempts to block other potential traders from downloading the song. It repeatedly requests the same file and downloads it very slowly, substantially clogging the target computer’s Internet connection.

RIAA lobbyists are also seeking a provision to a new anti-terrorism bill that would shield copyright holders against any damage done to computers in the pursuit of copyright protection. I guess that now you don’t need to check out CBS if you want to see Big Brother; just log on to your favorite file-sharing service.

The Sound of Irony

Meanwhile, the Justice Department has started an antitrust investigation of the Recording Industry Association of America. E! Online is reporting that the Justice Department has issued a subpoena to the RIAA to determine the extent to which record companies has sought to control distribution of music over the Internet.

It should be a quick investigation — there’s a few million disgruntled teenagers out there who can give you the answer to that question.

The C in CBS Stands For Crazy

After weeks of a hypersensitive Hollywood going out of its way to eliminate images of the World Trade Center from movies and TV shows, CBS says it’s considering a new series set in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. And it’s going to be a comedy.

Network president Leslie Moonves announced last week that he’s considering a romantic comedy series about two people brought together after their spouses are killed in the destruction of the Twin Towers.

Moonves said a producer, whom he declined to name, pitched him a standard premise about a middle-aged couple. After the attacks, the producer suggested the idea be changed to “heighten the stakes” and tell some of the powerful stories that came out of the disaster.

“Is it exploitative to do something like that? Not if it’s handled properly,” Moonves said.

Moonves then dropped his pants for reporters to demonstrate that his balls were indeed made of steel. They were unable to confirm if Moonves brains were really cotton, however.

Rollin’ Away

Guitarist Wes Borland, more commonly known as “The Scary Puppet-Looking Guy,” has quit Limp Bizkit. The split is amicable, the band’s management said in a statement last week. “Both Limp Bizkit and Borland will continue to pursue their respective musical careers,” the statement said. “Both wish each other the best of luck in all future endeavors.”

Borland, who usually appears onstage in elaborate face and body paint, had been the Bizkit guitarist since the group’s formation in 1994. According to MTV online, he was easily the second most popular band member behind frontman Fred Durst, inspiring a number of online fan clubs and Web sites.

Rumors are circulating, meanwhile, that Borland has been tapped by George Lucas’s creature shop to play a horrible alien in the new Star Wars movie.

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