The “Wolverine” Leaker is Revealed: Rupert Murdoch

There’s an old saying that when you point one finger at someone else, you’ve got four fingers pointing back at you. That’s what I was reminded of when I discovered the identity of the leak of the pre-release print of X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Just to recap, back in April, an unfinished version of Wolverine was leaked onto the Internet a month before release. The studio, the director, and even Hugh Jackman went crazy. The FBI launched a full investigation. In December, they arrested Gilberto Sanchez, a glass installer from the Bronx and charged him with leaking the movie online. Looking deeper into his story, though, it turns out not to be that simple. Sanchez didn’t acquire the work-print – he just bought it from a DVD bootlegger outside his apartment, then posted his copy online. No, despite all the fanfare, Sanchez is not the real source of the leak. In fact, shortly after the investigation began, the question of how the workprint got out of the tight security surrounding the film at the studio was answered. The real source of the leak was FOX’s CEO, Rupert Murdoch.

You see, it turns out that during the production, Murdoch asked for a DVD of Wolverine to screen for some friends on his yacht. Despite the fact that this is exactly the kind of thing the studio was trying to avoid, a DVD of the movie’s work-print ended up on Murdoch’s desk as ordered. Along the way, as I’m sure someone probably thought might happen, someone made another copy and the rest is history. The fact that Murdoch hasn’t gotten any heat and this glass installer is getting all the blame illustrates one thing: it’s good to be the boss.