For many who thought the quest to identify the men behind the leak of “Expendables 3” had ended, I guess that was not the plan.
Two men believed to be the culprits behind the premature release of “The Expendables 3” have been arrested in the north of England. A 36-year-old man was taken at his residence in Upton and a 33-year-old man at his house in Dewsbury for questioning.
The two were taken by U.K. anti-piracy police. They are suspected of stealing a copy of the Sylvester Stallone actioner from a cloud-based system and uploading to the Internet on July 25, weeks ahead of its theatrical U.S. release on August 15.
Back in 2009, “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” also leaked. Bronx resident Gilberto Sanchez was arrested and sentenced to a year in prison for illegally uploading the film on Megaupload. The torrent site was later shut down and sued by MPAA over monetary damages.
Unlike “Origins: Wolverine” which leaked in its rough cut, the “Expendables 3” arrived early in its high-quality copy. Lionsgate also took legal action against the operators of file-sharing websites, suing those who ignored their request to have the stolen file removed.
