Tweet
Copies of the movie "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" found on popular file sharing networks may have been leaked via copies sent to The Ellen DeGeneres Show, according to watermarks found on the video.
Screenshots of the pirated screener displays the name "Ellen DeGeneres" in bold letters, along with the date "11/26/13".
A 20th Fox representative has confirmed that the watermark appears genuine, and the pirated copies may have been sourced from screeners sent to the Ellen DeGeneres show in November, just days before the actor and director of the movie, Ben Stiller, appeared on the show on December 4th.
Producers of the talk show have promised to fully cooperate with 20th Fox in determining just how this copy may have been leaked, although they maintain the possibility that the original source may not have been their copy.
"Our show is sent advanced screeners of movies, sitcoms, reality shows, CDs, etc. before guests appear on our show," the show's producers explained. "We do everything we can to protect the content and in 11 seasons nothing has ever leaked online from our show."
While it is common for screeners to eventually find their way online, with Oscar screeners for Frozen, Her, and The Wolf of Wall Street all appearing online last week, it is relatively rare for a copy to be linked to a celebrity in this way.
Screenshots of the pirated screener displays the name "Ellen DeGeneres" in bold letters, along with the date "11/26/13".
A 20th Fox representative has confirmed that the watermark appears genuine, and the pirated copies may have been sourced from screeners sent to the Ellen DeGeneres show in November, just days before the actor and director of the movie, Ben Stiller, appeared on the show on December 4th.
Producers of the talk show have promised to fully cooperate with 20th Fox in determining just how this copy may have been leaked, although they maintain the possibility that the original source may not have been their copy.
"Our show is sent advanced screeners of movies, sitcoms, reality shows, CDs, etc. before guests appear on our show," the show's producers explained. "We do everything we can to protect the content and in 11 seasons nothing has ever leaked online from our show."
While it is common for screeners to eventually find their way online, with Oscar screeners for Frozen, Her, and The Wolf of Wall Street all appearing online last week, it is relatively rare for a copy to be linked to a celebrity in this way.