x-men

FBI makes arrest in 'Wolverine' uploading case

Update 7:50 a.m. PST: To include new information from FBI that suspect may not be source of the leak.

The FBI has accused a man of copyright infringement for allegedly uploading to the Web the feature film "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" last spring.

Gilberto Sanchez, 47, was arrested in the Bronx, N.Y., early Wednesday morning by FBI agents without incident, law enforcement sources told CNET. A spokeswoman from the FBI's Los Angeles field office, which led the investigation, confirmed the arrest.

If convicted, Sanchez faces up to three years in prison and a $250,000 … Read more

Wolverine for iPhone: How to botch a movie tie-in

Even if "Terminator: Salvation" turns out to be a forgettable movie, you're likely to remember the eponymous iPhone game--by all accounts a fantastic third-person shooter.

The tie-in app for "X-Men Origins: Wolverine?" Not so much.

For any other movie studios planning their own iPhone-oriented marketing efforts, here's a list of what not to do:

Release the app a week after the movie opens. Give it a ridiculously lengthy title, like X-Men Origins: Wolverine The Game - Feral Sense. So, please, no "Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian: Ben Stiller … Read more

The 404 334: Where may the 4th be with you

Today we celebrate annual Star Wars Day...well, Wilson and I do. Jeff unloads his typical dump truck of hate on our beloved trilogy and a bunch of other stories, including Google Goats, YouTube birthing, Wiki games, and the new Wolverine movie proving errbody wrong!

To commemorate Star Wars Day, I'd like to introduce you to Sabersegging, thanks to the folks at Vice Magazine for the story. Sorry about messing up the name in our description, I think Cybersegging is something else entirely. Anyway, check out that video and contact your local Jedi Training Center for more details!

Next, we play some inside baseball with Google and reveal their newest HR pursuits: Google Goats. The software giants just hired a bunch of goats to hang out on the lawns at their Mountain View offices and eat/fertilize the grass. PETA, of course, wonders if the goats will receive a proper pension plan and health insurance options, but we have some better ideas...

Lots of pregnancy stories recently! First we talk about a miraculous birth with the help of YouTube. This story is nutso--a couple decided to have a baby in their home, but when the midwife failed to show up, the husband was forced to consult YouTube for basic birthing instructions and found this video that shows you how to deliver a baby in a vehicle. DISCLAIMER: Not for the faint of heart/stomach, even with the bizarre doll they use to roleplay. We also get another super awesome voice mail about another guy that used The 404 to get him through the stress of childbirth. We think that the mother had a little more, but we're happy to be here to welcome the young one on the air! Thanks a million for the amazing voice mail, we love hearing stuff like this.

Finally, all you Trekkies will be happy about our latest Photoshop contest to win a ticket to see the new Star Trek flick with us this Thursday, May 7th @ 7PM. We have two tickets available, so go here, and use one of those pictures to Photoshop us as your favorite Star Trek character! E-mail your submission to the404{at}cnet.com and we'll choose two of our favorites.

Episode 334 Download today's podcast |  Subscribe in iTunes |  Subscribe in RSS… Read more

Will 'Wolverine' benefit from (Bit)Torrent of publicity?

Outfitted with a skeleton forged from a super alloy, the comic book hero Wolverine is supposed to be indestructible.

After a raw version of the movie "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" leaked to the Web last month, 20th Century Fox is hoping the action pic, which debuts Friday, is nearly as durable.

Hollywood has been in a near frenzy since April 1, when someone--who has yet to be identified--leaked a copy of "Wolverine" to the Web. The fear was that the unauthorized copy would hurt ticket sales. "Wolverine" cost more than $100 million to make.

Some … Read more

Friday Poll: Would Wolverine be better off in Marvel's hands?

Friday marks the release of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," the first X-Men movie in three years, and the first ever to focus on one character. Now X-Men and Wolverine are properties of Marvel Comics, but Fox still owns the movie rights to all things X-Men and handles the production of X-Men movies, the same way Marvel produced "Iron Man."

Early word on Wolverine is that while Hugh Jackman puts his best claws forward, the film, some say, is poorly written and saddled with a cliched plot.

Also, some of the changes that one of the fan-favorite characters … Read more

The 404 315: Where we undo our top button

Yeah, we're not sure what the title of our show means today, but it's what happens when you let the chat room run the show. We think they want us to take off our clothes. Anyway, we're back to our old antics today: Bittr, Wii, Wolverine, iPhone, and pedometers.

As you can see, Slate.com already stole our idea for a skit mocking Twitter. We were going to shoot a video about a one-character status update. Some times, "F" is the only character that describes exactly how we're feeling at the moment.

On today's show, we talk a bit about how Nintendo is almost literally printing money with its Wii console. Apparently, it costs Nintendo 45 percent less to make a Wii than when it first came out. Nintendo is also trying to make more bank by releasing a pedometer, a device that measures foot steps--not an alarm for child predators. Also, we've got some info on a new iPhone app called Bad Decision Blocker that blocks your ability to make drunk phone calls. Seriously, though, if you need an iPhone app to stop you from making drunk calls, you need to 1) stop drinking 2) leave your phone at home, and 3) go see a therapist about your lingering girlfriend issues.

Finally, we get to our favorite "It came from Fox News!" segment. This time around, a Fox News commentator was fired for reviewing a pirated copy of the new "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" movie. Yeah, smart one. Fortunately, Jeff stopped selling DVDs of "Two and a Half Men" a few months ago. And a reminder, please call in with your most death-defying story to win your copy of "To the End of the Death: Our Epic Journey to the North Pole and the Legend of Peary and Henson" by our guest, Tom Avery. Yeah, long, long title.

EPISODE 315 Download today's podcast |  Subscribe in iTunes |  Subscribe in RSS… Read more

The 404 313: Where Dennis Crowley snowboards and bikes his way into our hearts

Dennis Crowley, inventor of many things good, including Dodgeball (the social Web tool, not the terrible movie or the gym game Justin and Wilson can't play because of their thick glasses), joins The 404 today to talk about some interesting stories from the Web and his latest social Web tool, Four Square.

Today, we go a bit back in Web 2.0 history with the first Twitter/Loopt social-networking tool, invented by Mr. Crowley, Dodgeball--from its inception, to its purchase by Google, to its eventual shutdown.

Not to be deterred, Dennis is back at it again with Four Square, another social-networking tool, where users can compete with one another and earn badges and points when they hang at certain places. It's available for both iPhone/iPod Touch, BlackBerry, and SMS. We encourage you to check it out and report back to us, whether it improves your social life or earns you a "Douchebag Badge."

Also on today's show, we get to some voice mails about Buzz Out Loud infringing a little too much on 404-territory. It's no surprise, given our general awesomeness. In actual stories, we've got Justin Yu's review of the new "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" movie that his "friend" let him watch through a telescope in another room.

We learn through the new Digg Bar that young, white males binge drink. You can thank the U.S. federal budget deficit for that wonderful, no-duh study.

Per usual, send us a voice mail, especially about your social life experiments with Four Square, at 1-866-404-CNET (2638). Or via e-mail, if you're international, at the404 [at] cnet [dot] com. More guests coming up, including an appearance by Dan the Mantern and Alison Rosen.

EPISODE 313 Download today's podcast |  Subscribe in iTunes |  Subscribe in RSS… Read more

Studio: Good chance FBI can trace 'Wolverine' leak

FBI agents have started looking for whoever uploaded to the Web an incomplete version of the unreleased movie "X-Men Origins: Wolverine."

The film, which reportedly cost $100 million to make, was not scheduled for theatrical release until May 1 but was leaked to the Web Tuesday evening. Laura Eimiller, a spokeswoman for the FBI's Los Angeles field office, said Thursday that the agency is responsible for investigating copyright infringement and allegations of piracy.

She said the bureau received a call within the last 24 hours from 20th Century Fox, the News Corp.-owned studio that produced "… Read more

The 404 232: Where a machete is more accurate than Bill O'Reilly

Justin kicks off the show with some fresh haterade for Fox "personality" Bill O'Reilly and his views on the godless liberal city of San Francisco. Also on the show, Wilson goes hands on with the Blackberry Storm, an inmate gets $300 K for his lost genitals, NASA installs a fart detector in the space station, same sex couples can join eHarmony and PETA releases "Cooking Mama: Mama kills animals." We conclude with a geeked out discussion about X-Men.

Dan the Mantern here. In case you haven't seen it already, you should check out the above "documentary" from the O'Reilly Factor that claims that, should the Christian right not remain vigilant, all of America will begin to resemble San Francisco, the modern-day Sodom. If you analyze the video, you'll notice that several interviews were conducted with homeless people and burnt-out hippies, precisely the type of people who would make any city seem like an undesirable place to live. Obviously O'Reilly is running out of material. You better watch your back, Bill, because I know a 130-lb. Asian man who loves skinny jeans and ass-whupping, and his skinny jeans are in the wash...

UPDATE: If you're having problems listening to today's episode of the show, please re-download the episode. We apologize, but there was an error in the MP3 encoding, which caused the file to not play passed the 7 minute mark.

EPISODE 232 Download today's podcast … Read more