HOT MOVIES; INTERNET PIRACY INFLAMES FILMMAKERS.

Byline: Martha Mendoza Associated Press 

The same technology that allows for the spread of bootlegged music over the Internet is now threatening the movie industry.

Film filchers have begun distributing illegal copies of hot flicks like ``The Matrix,'' using a data format similar to the so-called MP3 files that are being used to spread free music across cyberspace.

While the data files containing full-length movies are too big for the average home computer user to conveniently download, college students with high-speed hookups in their dorm rooms are doing it, and the movie industry is shuddering.

``It's very nice. I get to sit here in the comfort of my own room and watch a new movie without going to the theater and spending $7.50,'' said a 19-year-old sophomore at the University of California, Santa Cruz, who asked that his name be withheld.

It's not very nice, said Jack Valenti, president of the Motion Picture Association of America.

``The theft of copyrighted material in any format cannot be left unaddressed. There is no exception in the case of Internet copyright theft. We won't condone it, and we will pursue those who steal film product and illegally transmit it via the Internet.''

The movies can be found on public Web forums, including those run by America Online, and on Internet message boards.

The movies are frequently distributed by students at colleges around the country - including Stanford University, the University of California at Berkeley and Virginia Polytechnic Institute.

The quality varies.

``Cruel Intentions,'' Sony's new release about a pair of evil teens, looked vivid and sounded clear on a standard desktop computer in one cramped dorm room at Santa Cruz.

However, ``The Matrix,'' the surreal sci-fi film, looked somewhat dark and shady, and the musical soundtrack was missing.

Here's how the copying works: The originals usually come from either a mixing studio employee who steals a copy of a yet-to-be released movie or from a projectionist who brings a camcorder into the reel booth and makes a copy.

The video is then transferred digitally into a file, which is recorded into a computer. Once that computer file is distributed onto the Internet, it can be widely available.

The drawback is the size of the file.

While a song in MP3 format can be downloaded in a few minutes, it would take hours or even days to download a movie using a typical telephone connection to the Web.

But many college students and offices have access to networks with speedy computer lines and vast memory space. With these systems, an entire movie can be downloaded in about 20 minutes.

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Photo

PHOTO (Color) College students in a dorm watch a scene from the newly released movie ``Cruel Intentions'' after downloading the film from the Internet.

John Todd/Associated Press