FBI and MPAA Step Up "Wolverine" Leak Investigation

From: WorstPreviews.com

20th Century Fox has determined that the copy of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" that leaked online this week was a roughly month-old work print. The leaked copy was digital rather than film, making it more difficult to trace, but The Wrap is reporting that the studio's investigators and the MPAA are "chasing at least a half-dozen leads." The FBI is also on the case.

Given the quality of the leaked print, the focus of the investigation is reportedly on the third-party vendors (special effects firms, reproduction houses, trailer companies) that the studios send their movies to for post-production work, although it hasn't been determined yet how many vendors had access to a full digital copy of the film.

A stamp for special effects company Rising Sun Pictures was on the leaked print, but the company's chairman issued a statement saying "neither RSP or its staff members have ever been in possession of a full-length version, so it would have been impossible for the movie to have been leaked from here."

Twentieth Century Fox chairman Tom Rothman told Entertainment Weekly [via IGN]: "We, like everybody, thought our system was secure. ... Just like I'm sure there are lots of banks that get robbed that thought their vault was safe. We thought the post-production pipeline was secure at every juncture. But, obviously, it's self-evident that it wasn't. I have a high level of confidence we'll find out where the lapse in security was and we'll bring the perpetrators to justice."