Pirate Cinema

Acknowledgements

The initial inspiration for this book came from the actual Pirate Cinema movement all over the world, and I thank them most sincerely for letting me rip, mix and burn their real-world awesomeness. Thanks also to Vodo.com's Jamie King, my go-to guy for help with the squatting bits. Simon Bradshaw was indispensable when it came to getting the legals right. Sarah Hodgson was a big help with the northerness, and Jo Roach was the all-time champ when it came to improving my dialect. As always, my mother Roz Doctorow was a stellar proofer and subeditor -- I only wish I'd inherited more of her detail-orientation.

Thank you to the United Kingdom, my adopted country, for making me an Official British Person in 2011. Thank you to the MPs who stood up to the dreadful Digital Economy Act, especially the indefatigable Tom Watson who defied the three-line whip from the Labour Party. A backwards thanks to the corporatist lickspittles in Parliament and the Lords whose cowardice and corruption inspired this book. You know who you are, and so do the rest of us. We won't forget it, either. Betting against the Internet in the 21st century is felony stupidity, and I will personally see to it that this gross dereliction of duty dogs what's left of your political careers, forever.

Thanks to the copyfighters who stood up so brilliantly to SOPA, PIPA and ACTA in 2012 and made me feel, for a moment, like some of my book was coming true.

Finally, thanks as always to my favorite British people: my wife, Alice and my daughter, Poesy, who put up with all manner of bad behaviour on the way to this book's completion.