These days, the content of a film passes through many hands before it lands in the DVD factory to be shrink-wrapped and shipped off to stores. If you really think about it, it’s amazing that more major films aren’t leaked on the Internet long before their release. Apparently, the upcoming “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” suffered from the perfect blend of fan interest and lack of respect to end up on the internet on April 1st. At first, it seemed like a joke. But those who downloaded it soon discovered that it was for real.

Look, I’m not here to pass judgment on piracy. There are plenty of shades of gray to consider when looking at this issue, with persuasive arguments on both sides. One thing is for sure: piracy isn’t going anywhere, and millions of people participate in it. As the immortal Dr. Kinsey once said, “everybody’s sin is nobody’s sin, and everybody’s crime is no crime at all.” I think. Liam Neeson said it, anyway. Pretty profound no matter how you slice it.

But here’s the thing about piracy. If you do it, and you’re flamboyant about it, you had better be prepared to reap the consequences. Especially if you’re in the public eye. Especially if you’re a journalist, and you download “Wolverine,” subsequently brag about it on your professional blog, and then review the movie just to prove that you really did it.

Which is exactly what Roger Friedman did.

20th Century Fox, the company that owns “Wolverine,” released this statement that pretty much summed it up.

We’ve just been made aware that Roger Friedman, a freelance columnist who writes Fox 411 on Foxnews.com – an entirely separate company from 20th Century Fox — watched on the internet and reviewed a stolen and unfinished version of ‘X-Men Orgins: Wolverine.’ This behavior is reprehensible and we condemn this act categorically — whether the review is good or bad.

Yes, you will get fired for bragging about illegal downloading even if your review is a good review. What kind of country do we live in, anyway?!

Particularly in this climate, pulling this kind of stunt is ridiculously stupid. Keep this story in mind while you go about your day, because no matter what kinds of dumb mistakes you make, they won’t top this.

Probably.

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