Think it sounds like a good idea to head into your local multiplex and videotape the biggest movies so you can upload them onto the internet and give a bunch of strangers free flicks? Well, you're wrong! And one guy just got the prison sentence to prove it.

From Variety: "A man convicted of sneaking camcorders into movie screenings and selling the pirated tapes in videostores was sentenced to seven years in federal prison Friday. "It is hoped the sentence will deter further unlawful conduct and protect the public," said U.S. District Judge Dean D. Pregerson.

Johnny Ray Gasca was convicted in June 2005 of three counts of copyright infringement as well as using a fake Social Security number and of an escape charge for fleeing his attorney's custody while awaiting trial. Gasca gained notoriety as the first person to be charged in a federal crackdown on video piracy. He represented himself during a weeklong trial, saying he didn't intend to profit from his actions. He said evidence was embellished to make him appear to be a "prince of piracy."
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Among the films recorded by Gasca were "The Core," "8 Mile," and "Anger Management" -- and those movies aren't even worth going to the mall for, let alone prison.