Breaking In to the Movies

This sneak preview by a UT film student stole more than the show at Sony Studios

A A A Comments By Tony Ortega Thursday, Nov 21 2002

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Diane Henry, a Sony spokeswoman, explains why, months after the invasions, the movie company hired a private investigator to track down Rimensnyder and Southan.

John Anderson

Southan had used his earlier documentaries to savage his subjects.

Subtitles were needed to overcome poor sound quality in some sections of the film.

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"Whenever a crime is committed against the corporation, we take it very seriously. We have a zero-tolerance policy toward theft, and we will pursue all violators," she says.

Southan says he has no plans to answer Culver City police requests to surrender. And he doubts the charges will result in his extradition from Texas.

"Officially, I think we're supposed to be repentant," Southan says, not sounding repentant at all. Asked if he's thought about how Peter Steinfeld might feel about his script being the butt of their jokes, Southan says he does wonder about it.

"This whole episode must be bizarre for him. I hope he's happy with the movies he's written. They're not the sort of screenplays I'd like to be known for. But then, his scripts have been made into movies, and nothing I've ever written has."

He's through with documentaries, Southan says. He and Rimensnyder are now working on a fictional screenplay, but he refuses to describe it. He denies that it has anything to do with the infiltration of movie studios.

In the wake of Rimensnyder's arrest, the duo asked Beibin to stop selling DVDs that contain their documentary, and they also pulled it at the last minute from a Los Angeles festival. Southan says he's eager to get the film out to more people but is waiting to see how Rimensnyder comes out in her criminal case.

He also didn't figure they had much to worry about in the likes of a civil lawsuit, reasoning that Sony would have a difficult time proving damages. The movie based on the Sean Connery Golf Project script -- whatever it turns out to be named -- may actually benefit from the notoriety, he says.

"I think our film could only do good for the release of the movie when it comes out. I know personally I'm going to see it," he says.

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