Airing from 1989 to 1999, Hard Copy was a show infamous for not simply reporting the news, but for being sensationalistic and, often, a little too graphic. What you may not know, however, is that years before Stieg Larsson began writing his world-famous novel, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Hard Copy had already done a nine-minute segment about the fictional disappearance of Harriet Vanger.

I am, of course, aware of the difference between what's real and what's imaginary, but there really is a Hard Copy segment about the case: it just happens to be fake. Mouth Taped Shut, the viral site for the upcoming David Fincher adaptation of Larsson's book, has created its own video parodying Hard Copy and telling the story of the case at the center of the new film. Check out the video below.



As you can see, they really went all out creating this, and perhaps its biggest effect is making me happy we finally moved beyond VHS tapes. While the information isn't really anything new for people that have read the books or even seen the Swedish language adaptation, I could actually see this nine-minute report being helpful to those completely unfamiliar with the story. It doesn't have any spoilers, and is basically pure exposition. If you have a friend who is concerned about the dense nature of the mystery behind The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, just send them a link to this video.

The new David Fincher film, which is set to be released on December 21, stars Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgard, Robin Wright and Joely Richardson. To learn more about the movie, be sure to head over to our Blend Film Database.