Hollywood adores a lovable rogue.

Pirates are often depicted as wise-cracking, kind-hearted individuals who set out for treasure

but end up writing a wrong.

In the end, they usually get the girl and the treasure.

In 1926, moviegoers enjoyed The Black Pirate with Douglas Fairbank Sr.

as a young man who joins a pirate crew to exact revenge for killing his father.

And yes, the script follows the age-old formula well.

In 1935, pirates returned to the silver screen with Arrow Flynn as Captain Blood.

And, of course, in 2003 came the tremendously popular Pirates

of the Caribbean franchise. Storytelling has no shortage of beloved characters, from Captain

Jack Sparrow to Captain Hook and Long John Silver, and many in between. Pirates are profitable,

for publishers and Hollywood alike. Along with books and film, a new pirate emerged in the

1970s. While they didn't hijack boats, they did seek a way to make money off the work of others.

Woody Wise picked up his kids from school on a Friday afternoon and never returned home. Instead,

they went on the run from the FBI. As it turns out, Wise had been pirating films. When the FBI

agents arrived at his house, they carted away dozens of movies. He had once owned and operated

his own theater, but television had cut into his profits. Movies were what he knew, and so he

looked for a way to make more money with them. Wise befriended people working in a movie studio shipping department

responsible for getting films into theaters. Yes, back then, movie theaters still used

reels of film. Then, he waited. When a new film came out, it opened in theaters nationwide.

After a few weeks, theaters needed fewer reels, and that's when Wise saw a side hustle.

He sold the extras, making about $575 for each copy.

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