I'm worried that the overweight will be shunned in the workplace and these new rules will make no one want to hire them.
TOKYO — Security was tight at the Marunouchi Picadilly theater in Yurakucho on Tuesday night for the first Japan screening of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," the fifth film in the popular series. Nearly 500 people had their bags searched and were checked by hand-held scanners in a bid by distributor Warner Bros to prevent piracy.
During the 138-minute film, security guards patrolled the aisles in the darkened theater, some with starscopes, looking for anyone with a hidden camera or cell phone camera.
Security has been stepped up at recent premiere screenings to crack down on illegal copying of films which are circulated on the Internet prior to the film's box office opening. Piracy costs Hollywood $6 billion annually, say industry officials. In May, Warner Bros said it would not hold preview screenings of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," and "Ocean's Thirteen" in Canada from where 20-25% of unauthorized recordings of films distributed globally originate.
"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" will have its official Japan premiere in Tokyo on June 28 with star Daniel Radcliffe in attendance. Radcliffe, who turns 18 in July, was last in Japan in December of 2002 for the second film in the series. He said in an interview last year that about half the fan mail he gets worldwide comes from Japan.
"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" opens in Japan on July 20, one day before the 7th and final book in the series is published. Author JK Rowling has reportedly said that a major character will be killed off. The first four films have so far grossed $3.5 billion worldwide.
