The trailer for Microsoft-owned Turn 10 Studios' Forza Motorsport 4 features clips stolen from someone else's automotive web-series — including a clip of actor Paul Walker. UPDATE!
UPDATE: After some investigation, we determined the incident occurred because of a misunderstanding between Microsoft and a French director, resulting in them using the Turn9 footage without permission.
The teaser-trailer for the new installment in the popular Forza Motorsport series for Microsoft's Xbox debuted at this year's Video Game Awards features almost no game photography, instead relying mostly on live footage. (Full Disclosure: Jalopnik partnered with Turn 10 Studios on two downloadable content packs for Forza Motorsport 3) Some of it's from Top Gear USA, whom they've partnered with, but other parts are from the trailer for the racing web drama Turn9.
If you watch the two back-to-back you'll see at least four instances where the shot is taken directly from the trailer. This includes the up-close shot of the driver, two shots of the E46 racing BMW M3, and a fourth shot of another unidentified racing driver we're fairly sure is actually actor Paul Walker, who cameos in the series.
This unauthorized usage was first noted on Facebook by filmmaker J.F. Musial, who has worked with the producer of Turn 9.
We contacted the producer of the film, Tim Whitcome (who also runs Autotopias) and he admitted the footage was his and did not give permission to use it. According to Whitcome both he and the director Greg Thanos are investigating and have no idea how their film ended up in the trailer.
Forza is produced by Turn 10, which is an internal game development studio created and run by Microsoft. We've contacted them for an explanation but have yet to hear back. You can see the two trailers below.
FULL DISCLOSURE: Jalopnik had an editorial tie-up with Turn 10 Studios on Forza Motorsport 3, this game's predecessor, on two DLC packs for the game. We are working on a similar tie-up on Forza Motorsport 4. Although no money has exchanged hands in this relationship, because it might be something you feel could affect our judgment and clarity in covering this game, we felt the transparency was important.