Bad move, bub: Fox fires columnist for reviewing pirated Wolverine film

By Steven Musil on 07 April 2009, 10:59am

Rupert Murdoch wants his employees to know he doesn't take piracy lightly -- especially when it's one of his own movies that's being illegally downloaded.

So when Roger Friedman, an entertainment columnist with FoxNews.com, a division of Murdoch's News Corp media giant, posted a short review of a leaked version of the forthcoming X-Men Origins: Wolverine, he soon found himself out of work.

Friedman, who had had contributed to FoxNews.com for ten years, wrote on Thursday in his Fox 411 column that downloading the unreleased superhero movie from the Internet was "so much easier than going out in the rain" and that it "exceeds expectations at every turn," according to a report in Nikki Finke's Deadline Hollywood Daily. 20th Century Fox described the Friedman copy of the movie as a "stolen, incomplete and early version," and Friedman's review was removed from the site on Friday.

News Corp said in a statement on Sunday that the review promoted piracy by reviewing a pirated movie:

"Roger Friedman's views in no way reflect the views of News Corporation. We, along with 20th Century Film Corporation, have been a consistent leader in the fight against piracy and have zero tolerance for any action that encourages and promotes piracy. When we advised Fox News of the facts, they took immediate action, removed the post, and promptly terminated Mr Friedman."

Fox News apparently later decided to soften that message, issuing the following statement on Monday regarding Friedman's position with the company:

"Fox News representatives and Roger Friedman met today and mutually agreed to part ways immediately. Fox News appreciates Mr. Friedman's ten years of contributions to building FoxNews.com and wishes him success in his future endeavours. Mr Friedman is grateful to his colleagues for their friendship and support over the past decade."

The film, which reportedly cost $100m to make, was not scheduled for cinema release until 1 May, but was leaked to the Web on Tuesday. A spokeswoman for the FBI's Los Angeles field office told CNET UK's sister site News.com the bureau has opened an investigation into who released the incomplete movie on to the Web.