Late yesterday, two pictures popped up online that showed some, ahem, racy portions of Summit Entertainment's next TWILIGHT picture, BREAKING DAWN. Though few standard movie blogs ran the pictures, they were available across the 'net (and quickly) on a number of Twitter accounts, fan sites, Tumblrs, and the like. This is not the first time that TWILIGHT team has faced a leak (and I do doubt it will be the last), but the situation certainly got me thinking.

Summit has managed to pull down most of the pictures (though, as is the case with the Internet, they can still be found by people willing to look hard enough), and now they've issued an official statement asking that fans of the series not only stop posting the pictures, but that they don't even look at them. The statement was posted on the TWILIGHT SAGA's official Facebook page (as run by Summit), and you can read it, along with some of my expanded thoughts on the issue, after the break.

"Dear Twilight Saga fans,

As some of you may know, pictures and screen grabs of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn as a work in progress have leaked on the internet. We are extremely proud of this film and also extremely heartbroken to see it out there at this stage.

The film and these images are not yet ready or in their proper context. They were illegally obtained and their early dissemination is deeply upsetting to the actors, the filmmakers and Summit who are working so hard to bring these movies to fruition to you in November 2011 and November 2012.

Please, for those who are posting, stop. And please, though the temptation is high, don’t view or pass on these images. Wait for the film in its beautiful, finished entirety to thrill you.

Sincerely,

Stephenie Meyer, Bill Condon, Wyck Godfrey and Summit Entertainment"

First of all, I think it's key that this statement comes not just from Summit, but also writer Stephenie Meyer, along with director Bill Condon and producer Wyck Godfrey. Twi-hards are all but rabid for any and all pieces of information regarding their beloved series, but they are also, by and large, respectful of Meyer and her wishes. A heartbroken Meyer does not a happy Twi-hard make. Meyer herself has dealt with the leak of her unpublished novel Midnight Sun (a book based on Twilight, as told from Edward's perspective), and the film franchise has faced a number of leaks of various bits of production throughout its existence.

Second of all, what interested me most about the leaked pictures (and, yes, I did look at them) is what has kept me thinking about them since the situation first broke out yesterday. The pictures in question are not production stills or even on-set photos, they are very clearly screen captures from the film itself. Unlike something like a leaked trailer or a leaked production still, the pictures in question were absolutely never meant for dissemination. Screen captures from an unreleased (and partially unfinished) film are obviously not meant to be seen by the public. So who would leak something like this? And why would any reputable outlet run it? And, that also leaves a much bigger picture to ponder - the leaking of screen captures from a film means that whoever leaked them got them from the film.

Hardcore fans are always going to want to get their hands on new information and fresh looks, but even the nosiest of newshounds has to admit that posting clearly illegal and stolen pictures is going too far.

TWILIGHT fans, I would love to know your thoughts on this. Did you look at the pictures? What do you think of Summit's statement and appeal to fans? Will you continue to look at leaked items from BREAKING DAWN if they keep getting released? Am I being too rigid on this?