Aussie movie online but downloaders don't want it

OZ IS very proud of its movie industry and its nationalistic streak has focused on the flick Australia, which stars that log-legged sheila Nicole Kidman.

And Aussie hacks desperate for a yarn in the run up to chrimbo hoped to fill a few column inches with bile when the flick turned up pirated on various bit torrent sites.

Nothing beats a good bit of pirate bashing when it has something to do with national treasures from the Ozzie film industry.

The only problem was that it was fairly clear that the pirated copies of the flick were not being shared. In short, no one could be bothered to download it. There are several copies out there but all but one have no more than ten seeds.

Apparently the CAM copies are so bad that pirates were staying away in droves.  But it also could be something to do with the fact that the reviews of the 165-minute, bum-numbing epic have been so bad no self respecting pirate would want a copy.

The Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft claimed the pirated copies originated outside Australia, which it reckoned showed its aggressive policing was working.  This included sweeping cinemas with night vision goggles.

If the box office returns are anything to go by, there would not have been many people in the theatres anyway so someone with a camcorder would have stuck out like a billabong in the salt plains.

Financial rewards of $200 were offered to cinema staff for catching pirates, although in the case of this flick the management would have been happy to have the extra bum on the seat rather than the reward. µ