Today I received a group notice from one of my favorite group in Second Life, Shadows Sinners¹. These past weeks, The Fox Cavern which is the home of Shadows Sinners had added a lot of stuff for their members and guest to enjoy. The group notice I received is about the groups latest addition and that is Movies at the Shadow Auditorium. Their first feature flick would have been The Bourne Ultimatum².

I was a little curious because The Bourne Ultimatum is a new movie and it’s currently being shown in theaters worldwide and I thought that maybe the group spent a lot of real life money in acquiring a license to publicly display the movie. My curiosity led me to ask one of the group officer if it was legal and I think I touched a sensitive spot in asking that. Sometimes curiosity is a bad thing.

Anyway, the owner contacted me and said that he rented it in a Second Life video rental store and that he has no intention of breaking any laws. He also asked if I was a member of RIAA³ and I told him no and if I was would I tell him? Besides, I think the correct group would be MPAA⁴ and not RIAA.

I was just really curious on how the movie was acquired and if it was acquired illegally then what can I do? I’m a nobody in Second Life and I’m not affiliated in any group in Real Life. It was just curiosity.

The group cancelled the showing of the movie which I think was a good move specially if they are not sure about the legality of the copy of the movie they rented in-world because the announcement was sent to the group and was posted at some public forums and we never know who could be receiving or reading them. It may give the group more harm than good in the future.

If you are looking for a fun group with many events and offerings then Shadows Sinners is the group for you!

1. Shadow Sinners is a very active group in Second Life.
2. The Bourne Ultimatum is the final movie in the Bourne series. Starring Matt Damon as Jason Bourne.
3. Recording Industry Association of America is a trade group that represents the recording industry in the United States.
4. Motion Pictures Association of America is a non-profit trade association based in the United States which was formed to advance the interests of movie studios.