The Producer Of This Overlooked But Well-Reviewed Sci-Fi Movie Thanked Fans For Pirating It

Movies can find success in many ways. Take the Chris Hemsworth-starring heist thriller, "Crime 101," for instance. It bombed massively at the box office, grossing about $72 million on a $90 million budget, but became a streaming sensation when it hit Amazon Prime. One film that could have killed for such numbers is "The Man from Earth," an independent sci-fi film that was released in 2007 to great reviews but little fanfare. It also found massive success in the torrenting space. But instead of complaining, the producer thanked fans for pirating it to success.

This happened when RLSlog, a blog that was about pirated releases, gave the movie a glowing review. This sent its massive audience to BitTorrent, whose free app is not available on the Microsoft Store, to download the film. In two weeks, the movie's IMDb rating had shot up to 8.2, thanks to an influx of 700 ratings. "The Man from Earth" became a cult classic.

In an email to RLSlog (via TorrentFreak), the producer, Eric Wilkinson, thanked fans for giving the film free promotion, considering the movie had no advertising budget. He acknowledged that the only reason people were talking about it was the piracy. Wilkinson wrote, "What you guys have done here is nothing short of amazing. In the future, I will not complain about file sharing. YOU HAVE HELPED PUT THIS LITTLE MOVIE ON THE MAP!!!! When I make my next picture, I just may upload the movie on the net myself!"

"The Man from Earth" is about John Oldman (David Lee Smith), a professor who suddenly resigns and decides to move away. His colleagues show up unexpectedly to send him off and inquire why he's leaving. John tells them the truth: he's from the Upper Paleolithic era (about 50,000 to 10,000 years ago) and moves every 10 years so people don't notice he's not aging. What follows is an interrogation, as the guests try to grasp the concept of immortality by interviewing a former caveman who has lived through millennia of human history.

Without RLSlog's review, "The Man from Earth" would have probably faded into obscurity. It's no secret that the entertainment industry hates piracy. It has gotten to the point that Amazon is blocking some streaming apps on the Fire TV for providing access to pirated content. You would have expected someone from the movie's production team to condemn the fans. But it was undeniable that this was a rare occasion where pirating helped a movie, even though it's very much illegal.

Luckily, you don't have to pirate "The Man from Earth," as there's a digitally restored version streaming on Amazon Prime Video. The movie has a 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes based on five critics' reviews, and an 85% audience score based on over 10,000 ratings. Many agree that it's a well-written philosophical sci-fi film, even though the production is amateurish and has no special effects.

In May 2016, a sequel to "The Man from Earth" was announced. Richard Schenkman, the movie's director, writer, and producer, told Variety that people were asking for more and that he planned to develop it into a long-form series. That sequel was titled "The Man from Earth: Holocene." It continues the story of John Oldman, who is still working as a professor but is now showing signs of aging after 14,000 years. At the same time, he draws the attention of four students, who take it upon themselves to uncover his past.

"The Man from Earth: Holocene" came out on October 13, 2017, and as a limited release. In January 2018, it was released to file-sharing sites by Schenkman and is also available to stream on Prime Video. Unfortunately, the reception to the sequel was mixed. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 50% score based on six critic reviews. Audiences weren't kind either, giving it a 52% based on over 250 ratings. Fans couldn't help but notice that the hard-hitting philosophy and cerebral dialogue of the first movie weren't the focus.

Instead, fans got what The Hollywood Reporter described in its review as "melodramatics, histrionics and plot contrivances which work consistently against its strengths." The first film was penned by Jerome Bixby, a celebrated sci-fi writer whose credits include "Star Trek" and "The Twilight Zone," before he died in 1998. The sequel was written by Schenkman and Bixby's his son, Emerson.