Redbox warning for 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' movie rental

CLEVELAND - Pirated movies are a big business, so it’s to be expected that movie renters are shocked when they look at the cover of the DVD case for “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.”

The DVD is plain with no label and the title of the film appears handwritten with a Sharpie.

When I rented this movie from Redbox, I didn't know what to do. I thought it was a pirated movie. I thought about calling Redbox so I wouldn’t later be held responsible. If it wasn’t a holiday weekend, I probably would have called first.

We popped the movie in the DVD player and it played great. The typical warnings were displayed prior to the movie, and I never had an issue the entire length of this long movie. That dismissed my fears it might be bootlegged.

So, why was the label so plain? Turns out, Sony did this on purpose to the number one DVD rental. On the Redbox website, there’s a note to renters that states: “The handwritten look on the DVD is legitimate and is intended to look like a burned DVD.”

It’s a nod to the hacker in the movie. If you look closely, you can see the digitization of the writing since it’s mass produced.

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Content courtesy: jennstrathman.com. Jenn works as a consumer advocate for WEWS-TV in Cleveland and has a blog to update people on the latest money-saving tips. Follow Jenn on Facebook and Twitter .