A Low-Key Mitnick Protest ------------------------- By Maureen Callahan 03:55 PM Jul. 16, 1998 PT A small band of hackers quietly converged upon the New York City headquarters of Miramax Films this afternoon, hoping to draw media attention to their protest of Takedown, the studio's planned movie about jailed hacker Kevin Mitnick. "This story is not getting enough play," said Emmanuel Goldstein, editor of 2600: The Hacker Quarterly and organizer of the protest. "Miramax is going to get major things wrong, when the facts of this case are far more interesting than the fiction." The group called up to the Miramax offices several times, inviting someone from the company to speak to their concerns, but were unsuccessful. A similar protest was also planned today for the studio's Los Angeles office. Takedown's script, based on the 1996 book of the same name by Tsutomu Shimomura and New York Times reporter John Markoff, reportedly takes liberties both with Mitnick's character and his alleged crimes. According to Goldstein, who obtained and read a recent draft of the script, Mitnick is wrongly depicted as a violent racist who malevolently alters medical records. Goldstein is concerned that the image will perpetuate stereotypes of hackers. "They make him a little too maniacal," said the art director of 2600, who identified himself only as "Phil." "The only thing that's missing is, like, giving him a mechanical arm," said Phil. He paused, staring with amusement at passing businessmen who were getting their picture taken under a "Free Kevin" banner. "This is more of a Larry Flynt story," said Phil. "Kevin is a modern-day political prisoner who has been put away for something people don't understand." Phil said that he has been in daily contact with Mitnick. Mitnick has been in jail since 1995, awaiting trial on three federal indictments: possession of cellular phone account information; violating conditions of a supervised release program relating to a 1989 computer fraud conviction; and alleged computer fraud committed between 1992 and his arrest. In that time, he has been denied a trial for bail, visitors, and access to a computer. Still, Goldstein and Phil managed to get Mitnick a draft of Takedown. "If the movie comes out in its current form, he's definitely going to sue," said Phil. Still, Miramax can fall back on the defense that Takedown is based on one book, which itself is based on the life of a public figure. But Phil said that Mitnick is a public figure by default - and one whose name and plight falls far below the radar of the average American. "This movie will affect the rest of the hacker community," said 19-year-old protester Roger Harrison. "By demonizing Kevin, the public will be further turned off about what hackery is." Perhaps. But the small amount of controversy generated over a film that has yet to start shooting - another version of the script has apparently been drafted - may work in Mitnick's favor. "Miramax might help further the cause," Goldstein conceded. "Before this, a lot of people didn't even know he was in prison." He paused to check his cell phone, and groaned when he realized that he had just missed a call from Mitnick. "They can get away with this, because people have been silent until now," he said. "But we can't be silent any longer. To stand by and let a film like this get made - that would be unconscionable." Miramax did not return calls seeking comment.