Summit Takes Legal Action In ‘Breaking Dawn’ Leaked Photos

Summit Entertainment issued a statement in a press release on August 1st seeking legal action against the person(s) responsible for the Breaking Dawn leaked photos back in March.

From MTV:

In the release, the studio said the March leak came from the town of Posadas in northern Argentina, but since there may be more people involved, the investigation is still ongoing. Specifically, Summit is identifying Daiana Santia as allegedly being involved in the group that stole the images and footage. Civil action has been filed in the U.S. and Argentina, while criminal action has also been filed in Argentina. The images released were from Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Edward’s (Pattinson) honeymoon scene and some of the final shots of the flick when Bella transforms into a vampire.

When MTV News caught up with Pattinson shortly after the incident occurred, he was obviously very annoyed by the whole situation. “It’s just ridiculous. I literally can’t believe that it happened,” he said. “I want the ‘Twilight’ troops to mobilize, all the good fans, and find out who these little sh–s are and just hack into their computers and destroy them. … I’m being genuinely serious, ‘Twilight’ fans.”

Summit hired law firm Keats McFarland & Wilson LLP to search four continents (North America, South America, Europe and Australia) to find the people behind what director Bill Condon called a “deeply upsetting” experience. Summit Executive Vice President David C. Friedman released a statement in the press release about the situation, saying that a strong fan community should not result in property theft.

“While we very much appreciate the legions of committed fans of the franchise and encourage them to create community online, we cannot ignore that property was stolen,” he said. “It is not fair to the majority of fans that want to see the final chapter of the ‘Twilight Saga’ film franchise fully realized by the filmmaker and dedicated cast and crew to have these images out and available on the Internet.”

In the earlier MTV News interview, Pattinson said the people involved in the incident could not even be considered fans. “It’s raw footage; it’s not even what people are going to see,” he said “Why do this maliciously? You’re not a fan. You’re just a di–.”

Press release:

“In an action that further communicates that those who steal images, video and other intellectual property will be identified and prosecuted globally, Summit Entertainment communicated today that it has identified the principal hacker who earlier this year stole unreleased materials from THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN which were then distributed on the internet.”

“Civil actions in the United States and Argentina name Daiana Santia, along with others, as being involved in stealing photographs, unfinished images and video from both parts of the yet to be released THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN which first appeared on the internet of March 31 of this year. Criminal action in Argentina has also been filed.”

“The investigation, which utilized the services of Kroll Inc. and the law firm of Keats McFarland & Wilson LLP, spanned four continents (North America, South America, Europe and Australia) and has led to the town of Posadas in northern Argentina.  It is believed that others may also be involved in the crime and thus the investigation is on-going.”

“While we very much appreciate the legions of committed fans of the franchise and encourage them to create community online, we cannot ignore that property was stolen,” said David C. Friedman, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Summit Entertainment. “It is not fair to the majority of fans that want to see the final chapter of the TWILIGHT SAGA film franchise fully realized by the filmmaker and dedicated cast and crew to have these images out and available on the Internet.”

Civil and criminal actions!  What are your thoughts on the leaked photos and Summit’s legal actions?

[Source: MTV News, GossipCop. Thanks D. Martin and Lydia!]

MTV News’ interview with Rob back in April on the leaked photos after the break!

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