Man invested $45M in a Nicolas Cage movie. It got stolen off Netflix’s desk.
Man invested $45M in a Nicolas Cage movie. It got stolen off Netflix’s desk.
男子投资 4500 万美元拍摄尼古拉斯·凯奇电影，硬盘却在 Netflix 办公桌上被盗
Netflix has been sued after admitting that an unencrypted drive containing an unreleased, hotly anticipated 2026 blockbuster starring Nicolas Cage was stolen from its offices. In a lawsuit filed Wednesday, Netflix was accused of waiting a week to warn the production company, Op-Fortitude, that the movie, Fortitude, was swiped, along with other drives that were “stolen right off a Netflix desk.”
在承认存有未发布、备受期待的 2026 年尼古拉斯·凯奇主演大片的未加密硬盘从其办公室被盗后，Netflix 遭到了起诉。在周三提交的诉讼中，Netflix 被指控在电影《Fortitude》及其他硬盘“直接从 Netflix 办公桌上被盗”后，拖延了一周才通知制作公司 Op-Fortitude。
“Someone stole a good amount of drives from our office desks this past week,” Sean Berney, director of Netflix Original Film, said in an email to a production company representative after several attempts to get Netflix to return the drives were allegedly ignored. Rather than acknowledge the “profound and devastating loss” and likelihood that the movie might be leaked free online at any time, Berney apparently only offered that Netflix would pay for the missing drive. He also “erroneously” claimed that thieves would need a key to unlock the movie, even though Netflix had allegedly requested the production company to unlock the drive prior to delivering it.
“上周有人从我们的办公桌上偷走了不少硬盘，”Netflix 原创电影总监肖恩·伯尼（Sean Berney）在给制作公司代表的一封电子邮件中写道。此前，制作公司曾多次尝试要求 Netflix 归还硬盘，但据称均被无视。伯尼显然没有承认这一“深重且毁灭性的损失”以及电影随时可能在网上被免费泄露的可能性，只是提出 Netflix 可以赔偿丢失硬盘的费用。他还“错误地”声称窃贼需要密钥才能解锁电影，尽管据称是 Netflix 在交付前要求制作公司解锁该硬盘的。
Op-Fortitude and Simon Afram, the financier and filmmaker who paid $45 million to get the movie made, think Netflix failed to take basic security measures to prevent the unencrypted drive from being stolen. They’ve asked the court to rule that Netflix owes them “revenues of at least 2.5 times the production budget, or $112,500,000,” as well as other damages, including punitive damages, after allegedly implicitly breaching a contract to delete the screener files and promptly return the drive after viewing.
Op-Fortitude 和出资 4500 万美元制作该片的金融家兼电影制作人西蒙·阿夫拉姆（Simon Afram）认为，Netflix 未能采取基本的安全措施来防止未加密硬盘被盗。他们已请求法院裁定 Netflix 赔偿他们“至少相当于制作预算 2.5 倍的收入，即 1.125 亿美元”，以及包括惩罚性赔偿在内的其他损失，理由是 Netflix 涉嫌违背了在观看后删除审阅文件并及时归还硬盘的默示合同。
In response to the lawsuit, Netflix insists that it’s not liable for losing the drive, ruining the movie’s marketing strategy, or potentially making it easier to pirate the film. In fact, the company claims that Afram and the production company are attempting to use the lawsuit to extort money from Netflix, including by issuing a demand letter for $165 million. In a statement to Ars, a Netflix spokesperson confirmed that none of the other lost drives contained any content. Only Fortitude could be accessed by thieves, solely due to the production company’s failure to encrypt the drive, the spokesperson alleged. It is not the only copy of the movie. And so far there’s no evidence it has been leaked, Netflix said.
针对此诉讼，Netflix 坚称其不对硬盘丢失、电影营销策略受损或可能导致电影更容易被盗版承担责任。事实上，该公司声称阿夫拉姆和制作公司正试图利用诉讼向 Netflix 勒索钱财，包括发出一封索赔 1.65 亿美元的律师函。在给 Ars 的一份声明中，Netflix 发言人证实其他丢失的硬盘中均未包含任何内容。发言人声称，窃贼之所以能访问《Fortitude》，完全是因为制作公司未能对硬盘进行加密。Netflix 表示，这并非该电影的唯一拷贝，且目前没有证据表明电影已被泄露。
“Netflix disputes any claim that it bears the risk of loss for a film delivered without the proper industry-standard safeguards,” Netflix’s spokesperson said. “While we do not own the rights to Fortitude, we take content security seriously and have taken extra measures to support the filmmaker and his team. This includes conducting a thorough investigation and offering to monitor known piracy sites for any unauthorized distribution or sale. We have declined to share anything about our ongoing investigation with the law firm representing Simon Afram, given their hostile attempts to extort money from Netflix over this situation—including immediately demanding $165 million for the film rather than work with us in good faith.”
“对于在交付时未采取行业标准安全防护措施的电影，Netflix 否认承担任何损失风险，”Netflix 发言人表示。“虽然我们不拥有《Fortitude》的版权，但我们非常重视内容安全，并已采取额外措施支持电影制作人及其团队。这包括进行彻底调查，并主动提议监控已知的盗版网站，以防范任何未经授权的分发或销售。我们拒绝与代表西蒙·阿夫拉姆的律师事务所分享任何关于我们正在进行的调查的信息，因为他们在此事上采取了敌对的勒索手段——包括在不与我们真诚合作的情况下，直接要求 1.65 亿美元的赔偿。”
Netflix allegedly requested unencrypted screener
Netflix 涉嫌要求提供未加密的审阅版
Afram was so passionate about telling the story of a real-life World War II spy who became the inspiration for Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels and films that he was willing to personally invest $45 million to make the biggest blockbuster he could. It took seven years, but he made the movie, Fortitude, which he describes tonally as a cross between Ocean’s Eleven and Inglourious Basterds. Directed by Simon West, the film features Nicolas Cage and Sir Ben Kingsley leading an all-star ensemble cast. It follows double agents setting a trap for Adolf Hitler, and it was shot on 35-millimeter celluloid to make it look and feel like the time it represents, the complaint said.
阿夫拉姆非常热衷于讲述一位现实生活中的二战间谍的故事，该间谍是伊恩·弗莱明（Ian Fleming）创作詹姆斯·邦德小说和电影的灵感来源，为此他愿意个人投资 4500 万美元来制作他所能打造的最大规模大片。历时七年，他完成了电影《Fortitude》，他将其基调描述为《十一罗汉》与《无耻混蛋》的结合体。该片由西蒙·韦斯特（Simon West）执导，尼古拉斯·凯奇和本·金斯利爵士领衔全明星阵容。诉状称，影片讲述了双重间谍为阿道夫·希特勒设下陷阱的故事，并使用 35 毫米胶片拍摄，以呈现出符合时代背景的视觉效果和质感。
With a cut of the movie finally available to preview and awards buzz already anticipated, Afram planned to sell exclusive first rights to the highest bidder and decided to show it to Netflix first. “NOBODY has seen it yet, including any of the agencies, and worldwide rights are available,” a mid-June email to Netflix said. This offer was so enticing that it generated an enthusiastic response “the very same day,” the complaint said. When Netflix sent instructions to share a screener, it allegedly told the production company to deliver it unlocked, meaning it remained unencrypted the entire time it was in Netflix’s possession. “This timing allows us to test the content and ensure a streamlined screening,” Netflix’s instructions said.
随着电影剪辑版终于可以预览，且已引发颁奖季的关注，阿夫拉姆计划将独家首映权卖给出价最高者，并决定先向 Netflix 展示。6 月中旬发给 Netflix 的一封邮件写道：“目前还没有人看过这部电影，包括任何代理机构，全球版权均可洽谈。”诉状称，这一提议极具吸引力，以至于“当天”就得到了热情的回复。当 Netflix 发送分享审阅版的说明时，据称其要求制作公司以未锁定状态交付，这意味着在 Netflix 持有期间，该硬盘始终处于未加密状态。Netflix 的说明中写道：“这样安排是为了让我们测试内容并确保放映流程顺畅。”
The production company asked Netflix in person and in writing to agree to delete any files transferred to a projector during screening and to arrange to promptly return the screener after viewing. Days went by, though, and although Netflix acknowledged that it received requests to return the screener, it “failed to arrange its return.” After more than a week had passed, Netflix stopped responding, the complaint said. Finally, Op-Fortitude’s representative pressed Netflix to return the screener immediately. That’s when Netflix’s Berney admitted that the drive had been stolen.
制作公司曾当面及书面要求 Netflix 同意删除放映期间传输到投影仪上的任何文件，并安排在观看后立即归还审阅版硬盘。然而，几天过去了，尽管 Netflix 承认收到了归还审阅版的请求，但却“未能安排归还”。诉状称，一周多后，Netflix 停止了回复。最终，Op-Fortitude 的代表催促 Netflix 立即归还审阅版。就在那时，Netflix 的伯尼承认硬盘已被盗。
Netflix claimed that it had been on “high alert” for a week while working with security teams, but they’d had “no luck” identifying the thief or recovering the stolen drives. “Netflix had known about the theft” for “days or even a full week,” the complaint said, but did not notify the production company. And now Netflix is evading accountability, the complaint suggested, despite knowing it could have taken steps to protect the movie while in its care. As the complaint alleged: Netflix left the [drive]—which Netflix knew to be unencrypted—on an office desk where it could be picked up and stolen, rather than exercising even minimal security measures, such as storing it in a locked or otherwise secured location, storing it in a location monitored by security cameras, requiring a…
Netflix 声称，在与安全团队合作的一周内，他们一直处于“高度戒备”状态，但“未能”识别出窃贼或找回被盗硬盘。诉状称，“Netflix 早在几天甚至整整一周前就知道失窃一事”，但并未通知制作公司。诉状指出，尽管 Netflix 明知在保管期间本可以采取措施保护电影，但现在却在逃避责任。正如诉状所指控的那样：Netflix 将（明知未加密的）硬盘留在了办公桌上，导致其可以被轻易拿走和盗窃，而不是采取哪怕最基本的安全措施，例如将其存放在上锁或有安全保障的地方，存放在有监控摄像头监控的位置，或要求……