Columbia Pictures accidentally deleted its own movie trailer in failed anti-piracy move

Promotional poster for "Pixels" movie
(Image credit: Facebook.com/Pixels)

Whoops? In an anti-piracy sweep targeting all things named "Pixels" — to protect the new Adam Sandler film of the same name — a firm hired by Columbia Pictures accidentally wiped the studio's own trailer from Vimeo. In addition to the trailer, Columbia's clear-cutting razed a video project called Pantone Pixels, a 2006 film by an NGO called "Pixels," and the 2010 short film that inspired Sandler's major motion picture, The Independent reports.

"You can't make this stuff up," one journalist wrote on Geek.com.

"Some take screwing up to a whole new level," TorrentFreak agreed.

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The swing-and-a-miss came as part of Columbia's attempts to buckle down on online piracy. However, to date, they remain just that — attempts.

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.