the buzz log

Not too many summer blockbusters prompt FBI investigations, but the Feds have been tracking the villain(s) who leaked a rough cut of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" on March 31. Criminal investigations aside, the bootleg unleashed a torrent download, blogosphere reviews, and pirated DVDs on sale all over the globe. Even a Fox News columnist got axed when he published his (rave) review about the illegal screener.

The studio, 20th Century Fox, has been huffing and puffing to undo any box-office damage, including a promise that the final version—due May 1—would be different. But now the Huffington Post begs to differ. Here's the back-and-forth:

• The leak was bad, very bad, but Fox chairman Tom Rothman declares that the bootleg's raw, "10 minutes shorter" and a "complete misrepresentation."
• That's a lie, according to the Huffington Post, which points a finger at the official running time: 107 minutes, same as the bootleg.
• Just lunacy, retorts Fox. Yes, the movie runs 107 minutes, but the spruced-up final includes new edits, music, wirework, effects, and footage.

The exchange likely won't change the movie's status as a summer must-see. Plus, the title has dropped from the 10 most pirated film list as the premiere gets closer. In the past week, "X-Men Origins" pulled in the most blockbuster title searches on Yahoo!, edging out "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" and "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen." ("Wolverine," though, hasn't inspired the same online fervor that "Iron Man" did last summer.)

What the promises and fingerpointing could do is revive conspiracy whispers, like the rumor that the leak was "nothing more than guerrilla marketing to the nth degree." Early buzz hadn't been kind about "Wolverine's" solo outing, but the fuss (did we mention the FBI?) kicked up publicity. So even if the mutant sinks, Huffpo points out, Fox can blame the cyberpirates. Sounds like a new plot for another "X-Men" outing.