I arrived here in Nov 2004, probably after a link from one of Rikter's many torrents in that place we all know and love thanks to people like ADM, Rikter and DarkJedi (You know that one where everybody knows your name and share ratio.
). Anyways, I too have been a fan of The Thief and the Cobbler since reading that issue of Comic Scene (which might have been the same one with the Superman II script that made me love the original Donner version oh so many years ago, but I'm not sure). OCP's Deleted Magic was a thing of wonder, and his work on Thief is still amazing to me. The guy has a passion for his hobbies, that much I'll give him. Unfortunately, I've always lived by a rule of "What I have, I'll gladly share with you" with almost all acts of fandom (this has been my way since I was doing fansub vhs tapes back in the late 80's). When I first read the Thief threads, I was excited and shot OCP an email about getting copies of all the dvds he had done. I was quoted prices that seemed astronomically high for stuff that he got in trade himself, so I waited. I pulled the torrents, have given out more copies of Thief and Deleted Magic then I could count, and have spread the word of Dick Williams. I saw the news about the 2k6 OOT dvds, and shared my opinions about GL's methods of releasing them on this and other forums. Personally, I think it was a crock of shit what GL did, but then again, he's been having people double-dip for years now, so it wasn't surprising to see him do it again. That being said, the first "banning of OCP" was kind of a shock, until I learned of his ranting. I followed threads to other forums where they too talked of banning him...but not because of Star Wars. They banned him because of Thief, because of money involved with Thief dvds, and for other reasons (some I agreed with, some I didn't, but I kept my opinion to myself).
Now, I've been into fansubbing and "bootlegging" per-say for right at 20 years or so, and in that entire time, I have never, EVER, charged someone for what I have. I'll ask for the medium to put it on (vhs back then, dvd now), or enough to cover said medium if I supply it, but I have never been paid for stuff for fandom. Have I traded? Yes, for an even trade of stuff. Have I just given people copies so they can see it or have it in their collection? All the freakin time. Hell, for the past few years, most of my friends have gotten fanedits or preservation dvds for birthday or christmas presents. Have I put stuff on ebay or sold people things that I downloaded/traded for/bought from a skeezy dealer at a con or evil "we rent or sale bootlegs or fansubs tapes/dvd" comic shop (ocp didn't do the ebay thing but alot of others have)? Oh HELL no. I didn't buy it, so I'm not making profit off of it.
OCP put alot of his own time and money into his Thief project, and for that I give him kudos and pats on the back and all that jazz. But, if he's offering it to people, to get it out there, to help people see what has not been previously seen before, charging them should have never come into the equation.
Deleted Magic- top notch work, which I still give out to this day to people as a great supplement to Star Wars and to see stuff they've never seen before with it.
The Thief and the Cobbler- I give this out like it's crack going out of style, and will continue to do so since we'll never be able to buy the "true" version of this film.
But selling stuff = wrong. Do not pass go, do not collect $200.
OCP will be missed, that goes without saying. The work he's done is some of the best stuff out there, and I hold his edits and preservations with that of ADM, CBB, AngrySvn, Rikter, MeBeJedi and a ton of other equally awesome assets to the fanedit/preservation community. But, I can't condone what he's done with the whole "I need money" thing. I'm sorry man, I've worked alot of shitty jobs at shitty pay (at my current one, I've worked both Thanksgiving and Christmas day at REGULAR pay because my boss doesn't have to pay holiday pay), and have never EVER resorted to selling fanedits or preservations of things.
If you're reading this OCP, I thank you for the work you've done on Thief, Deleted Magic, the SW Classic Editions, and your other projects. And I do wish you good luck in the future with your other movies, projects and life.
And my brain is empty......
Ok, no more typing out big "my 2 cents" rants while I'm at work working a swing shift....