Optimus Prime would have been furious (by V. Sarne)

[djcamot]

guys just want to share this with you. read it in manila times today. imho, case in point why gm is doing poorly here in philippines. also, very arrogant girl from united pictures. you be judge.

http://www.manilatimes.net/national/...0710moto4.html

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

HARDTOP
By Vernon B. Sarne

Optimus Prime would
have been furious

LET me tell you a story as sad as Jazz’s demise in the hands of Megatron.

On June 27, my colleague and fellow motoring journalist Ron de los Reyes attended the press screening of Transformers at the Gateway Mall in Araneta Center, Quezon City, upon the invitation of General Motors Automobiles Phils. Ron is the producer and host of a 13-year-old motoring TV show, Auto Review. He also writes for the motoring section of Manila Bulletin and pens a column for Cruising Magazine. GMPh, meanwhile, is the subsidiary of the former No. 1 carmaker in the world, which provided the cars that transformed into alien robots in the movie (Chevrolet Camaro for Bumblebee; Pontiac Solstice for Jazz; GMC TopKick Crew Cab for Ironhide; and Hummer H2 for Ratchet).

Ron attended the event both to spend time with his two sons and also to produce a news item on his TV program. He brought with him a palm-sized JVC video camera with a 60-minute tape—the latter having just about 10 minutes of available footage capacity since it had already been used during Ron’s recent trip with Chinese carmaker Chery. So he filmed portions of the proceedings during cocktails as well as the requisite speeches, with whatever was left of the tape.

Now Ron being 53 (yes, I have permission to reveal his age), he had no idea what the movie was all about. He was absolutely clueless as to who Bumblebee and Optimus Prime were. Which is totally believable. I mean, I’d be really alarmed if he were following the exploits of the Autobots in the Eighties.

Normally, he would have consulted some literature but he wasn’t provided a press kit. So he went inside the theater not really knowing what to expect and how to write his news item for the event such that it wouldn’t look out of place in a motoring show. About 15 minutes into the film, he found the perfect clip to accompany his news coverage—the one in which Sam Witwicky was about to be bought his first car by his father. So Ron switched his camera on and focused it on the silver screen. It was—as Ron would later acknowledge—“poor judgment” on his part. He totally forgot that filming any portion of a movie was strictly prohibited, even if all he really wanted was a short clip to go with his story.

True enough, a security guard soon accosted him and asked him to get up his seat and go with the guard to the mall’s security office. Boy, was it just the beginning of a long, traumatic night for Ron.

In the security office, Ron was berated by one Selina Gecolea de Venecia, who apparently is the general manager of the Philippine office of United International Pictures. UIP is jointly owned by Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures, and is the global distributor of the film. Despite Ron’s attempts to calm her down and air his side, she kept screaming at him and even called him a “thief” and a “film pirate.” And when she learned that Ron was a guest of GMPh, she demanded that GMPh’s advertising and promo manager join them at the security office. When the GMPh officer arrived, this certain Selina harshly chastised her as well.

Ron was then brought to a police station and his video camera was confiscated. There, this certain Selina threatened to have him detained. It was at this point that Ron’s blood pressure really shot up. He asked a police officer if he could be brought to a clinic. Sure enough, his blood pressure had gone up to 180. Ron reckons that if he hadn’t been physically fit when the incident happened, he would have suffered a stroke right there and then. When he was eventually released late in the evening, he had to check himself into St. Luke’s Medical Center and stay there until four in the morning. All this just so this certain Selina could protect the monetary interests of an American film company.

Now don’t get me wrong. I honestly think what Ron did in the first place was wrong. He himself admits as much. To pull him out of the theater and subject him to some interrogation would have been perfectly understandable. I can even understand the confiscation of equipment.

What I don’t get is this certain Selina’s need to humiliate and utterly degrade Ron—to the point that he almost succumbed to a heart attack. If she actually took the time to listen to him and then view the contents of the tape—something that could be done on the spot since the video camera, I believe, had a built-in monitor—she would have spared everyone this unnecessary trouble. But no, she actually believed she had caught a “film pirate,” someone who’d sell the footage to fake DVD manufacturers in Quiapo. Although I seriously doubt you could find a buyer for a one-hour tape that largely contained footage from an event in China and about a couple of minutes’ worth of Sam Witwicky’s car-shopping.

Sorry, but I find this incident too weird. You want to crack down on film piracy, arrest all those vendors that are as rampant as Piolo Pascual’s billboards. You don’t curb film piracy by pulling out a respected media practitioner from a press screening and then beating your chest believing you’ve seized a “film pirate.” Mga sir at ma’am, feel free to contact me anytime—I will accompany you to countless DVD vendors in Metro Manila who hawk pirated films in broad daylight. Then again, you probably already know all their locations and buy their stuff yourselves. It’s like having the narcotics division of the NBI stage an entrapment operation in a pharmaceutical convention when drug pushers are selling shabu on sidewalks everywhere.

Again, I think Ron made a mistake there. No question about that. But did he really deserve all this?

Now what about GMPh? I learned that they didn’t even accompany Ron at the police station nor check on him the following day. Wow. You could take educational lessons from them on good public relations. This is an exemplary way of treating your guest—especially one who got in trouble because he attended your event and thought of giving it some publicity (which is why companies invite journalists all the time, right?).

If I were in their shoes, this is exactly what I would have told this certain Selina: “Listen, ma’am, I understand your dedication to the antipiracy measures of your American company. But we’re General Motors and we own the vehicles that you see in the movie you so passionately protect. No GM vehicles, no Transformers. Let’s see Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg come up with a blockbuster movie with a SsangYong Rodius Bumblebee. Ron is our guest and we vouch for his integrity. You are not touching him and you are certainly not bringing him anywhere. Do that and we will have the Decepticons descend upon this place.”

I can’t imagine this happening if Nicky Mariano were still GMPh’s sales and marketing director. Heck, I can’t imagine this happening at a Toyota, Mitsubishi, Honda, Isuzu, Nissan, Subaru, BMW or Mercedes-Benz event. Think about this for a moment and it isn’t difficult to understand why General Motors has relinquished the global top spot to Toyota. It has simply lost its pride and swagger.

And that is precisely why it needs a Hollywood film to make it look good all over again.

[mazdamazda]

IMO - that's just a consequence of his actions... no videocam - no trouble...

[VtEC]

wow, what happened to his sons?The GMPh manager should be fired..

[weremanok]

he forgot that filming any portion of a movie is strictly prohibited? it is more likely that he really doesn't know that it is not allowed. he was lucky that he was not detained in a police station. i bet that if they caught some unknown guy doing the same thing, he'll go straight to jail and the UIP girl will be portrayed as a heroine against piracy. the issue here is not about GM or UIP or the street vendors selling pirated DVDs. this is about ron delos reyes doing something stupid. i agree with mazdamazda, no videocam, no trouble.

[roninblade]

IMO - that's just a consequence of his actions... no videocam - no trouble...

only to a certain point. kung reasonable kausap yung Selina hindi na sana umabot sa police station at hospital yung tao.

[66bunny]

Can't blame GM "uncooperativeness" or Selina for snapping.

I think EVERYBODY knows this day and age that FILMING any upcoming film is against the law.

No videocam, everybody goes home happy.

[Sarsi]

agree with what the security had done. With regards to the certain girl named Selina, i think she overreacted on her actions.

OT: si Ron delos Reyes ba ay nakakatandang kapatid ni John Estrada at Jay Manalo :peace:

[wildthing]

pero mali pa rin naman yung pagkuha ng film or photo....ang LAKI-LAKI ng notice sa mga sinehan about that....it is impossible to miss it unless you are blind di ba?!?

besides kung media siya, he should always consult/ask permission if he can take pictures... unless paparazzi sya...

another point, if he really wanted pictures, he could always request one from UIP ... merun silang pang media release lagi na ganyan.

if you also notice, some pDVDs are actually cinema copy, promo copy or screening copy... so hindi kataka-taka kung someone as influential as Ron could also be a classified "leak" or ka-in-cahoots for pirated DVDs master copies.

IMO, I would really take the stand of Selina.

[cardo]

ignorance of the law excuses no one... as popularly said

I agree, ron should be held responsible for the video, but at the same time, the gm of UIP should have just left the matter to the police, or their representatives(other term for lawyers hehehe) at hindi na lang sana sya nag create ng scene. she's a manager and i think it was uncalled for if what was described above was really the true reaction she gave to ron. i mean she's a professional and a manager, and she should act professional as well... or just leave it to their lawyers or experts to handle the situation. no sense in making a scene. you never know if ron still had his video on hehehe. I dont think GM could be blamed as well. I mean, if the police or lawyers needed data to validate what went on, Im sure GM would gladly abide since ron was their guest. but I think there was no issue for GM to get involved... not until there was clarification on what went on.

[Bogeyman]

You want to crack down on film piracy, arrest all those vendors that are as rampant as Piolo Pascual’s billboards.

Wrong. You go after the source, which includes people who bring video cameras inside theaters.

Never mind if Mr. de los Reyes had no idea what the Transformers was all about. Being a journalist, producer and host, and knowing that he'll be needing some footage for his TV program, he should have coordinated with the film's distributors and made arrangements beforehand.

He could have spared himself a world of pain with a little foresight and common sense.

Now what about GMPh? I learned that they didn’t even accompany Ron at the police station nor check on him the following day. Wow. You could take educational lessons from them on good public relations. This is an exemplary way of treating your guest—especially one who got in trouble because he attended your event and thought of giving it some publicity (which is why companies invite journalists all the time, right?).

Melodramatic Mr. Sarne needs to realize that there are better ways to promote a movie, other than bringing a video camera inside a theater and filming "a couple of minutes' worth" of footage. And yes, for Pete's sake, what has this got to do with GM's image? Mr. de los Reyes' invitation was from GMPh, but only to screen and write about the film, not capture it on videotape. Hindi na nila sagot ang katangahan niya.

All this just so this certain Selina could protect the monetary interests of an American film company.

What exactly is wrong with that? I don't think they made the Transformers movie out of charity.