Sony's Decision Not to Release "The Interview"

[Gaze]

What do you think?

Sony Cancels Theatrical Release for ‘The Interview’ on Christmas

Variety December 17, 2014
https://www.yahoo.com/movies/sony-cancels-theatrical-release-for-the-105474068892.html

With theater chains defecting en masse, Sony Pictures Entertainment has pulled the planned Christmas release of The Interview.
In announcing the decision to cancel the holiday debut, Sony hit back at the hackers who threatened movie theaters and moviegoers and who have terrorized the studio and its employees for weeks.

“Those who attacked us stole our intellectual property, private emails, and sensitive and proprietary material, and sought to destroy our spirit and our morale – all apparently to thwart the release of a movie they did not like,” the statement reads.

“We are deeply saddened at this brazen effort to suppress the distribution of a movie, and in the process do damage to our company, our employees, and the American public,” it continues. “We stand by our filmmakers and their right to free expression and are extremely disappointed by this outcome.”

The comedy centers on a hapless television host who is recruited to assassinate North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un. The country has condemned the film and some cyber security experts believe that it played a role in the hack attack on the studio. Seth Rogen and James Franco star in the picture, which cost $42 million to produce.

Sony has been reeling for weeks since hackers broke into the studio’s computer system in November and stole internal documents, email messages, film budgets, spreadsheets detailing top executive salaries and the social security numbers of thousands of employees. The documents and records were subsequently leaked online, setting off a firestorm of media coverage.

Tuesday’s message accompanied another data dump. It threatened violence on theaters that showed “The Interview” and people who attend screenings.
“The world will be full of fear,” the message reads. “Remember the 11th of September 2001. We recommend you to keep yourself distant from the places at that time. (If your house is nearby, you’d better leave.)”

In response, exhibition industry lobbying arm the National Association of Theatre Owners said its members must decide individually whether or not to release the picture. That set off a cascade of cancellations.

Here’s the company’s full statement:
“In light of the decision by the majority of our exhibitors not to show the film The Interview, we have decided not to move forward with the planned December 25 theatrical release. We respect and understand our partners’ decision and, of course, completely share their paramount interest in the safety of employees and theater-goers.

Sony Pictures has been the victim of an unprecedented criminal assault against our employees, our customers, and our business. Those who attacked us stole our intellectual property, private emails, and sensitive and proprietary material, and sought to destroy our spirit and our morale – all apparently to thwart the release of a movie they did not like. We are deeply saddened at this brazen effort to suppress the distribution of a movie, and in the process do damage to our company, our employees, and the American public. We stand by our filmmakers and their right to free expression and are extremely disappointed by this outcome.”

 

[Lark]

I think this shit shouldnt have happened, I think that there shouldnt be countries like Russia and North Korea in which a bunch of goons can run the place like their own private mafia fifedom.

 

[Rcs6r]

I'm not really sure how I feel yet. I understand the yielding to the hackers because sensitive info was at stake, and I understand the *presumed* reason the hackers didn't want the movie shown: depicting assassination of a currently living national leader.

In the abstract, I think the movie's premise is rather... awkward. I believe there was a thread about the movie around here on the forums and it had interesting viewpoints, perhaps should be linked to.

Say the movie was about the assassination of the Chinese government officials? The Queen of England (no political power but similar impact)? Even our own president - and we know there would be a shit storm if Barry O was shown being snuffed out.

In the end, I don't really care either way because I have no intention on seeing the movie, American workers didn't get their info leaked (though still stolen), and the hackers got their demands satiated for now.

 

[SealHammer]

I think this shit shouldnt have happened, I think that there shouldnt be countries like Russia and North Korea in which a bunch of goons can run the place like their own private mafia fifedom.

Whether or not it should be, it certainly is their fiefdom and nobody will be able to undo that from the outside.

I also think it's funny that an unnamed entity that only hacked a media company's servers has succeeded in scaring American-based companies out of conducting their business. The war on terrorism is truly going well. Then again, I suppose it's a pretty cheap movie so they're probably not terribly concerned about pushing back its release.

I'd be interested to hear what the FBI is doing regarding the threats.

 

[Rcs6r]

I'd be interested to hear what the FBI is doing regarding the threats.

Going home to their families for the holidays and farting in this movie's general direction?

 

[SealHammer]

Going home to their families for the holidays and farting in this movie's general direction?

Well the FBI tends to take any threats posted on the internet pretty seriously. They spend a lot of time and energy chasing them down because there's no way to verify the seriousness of the threat without going straight to the source first. The content of the movie probably isn't a factor so much as the "I will fly a plane into your movie theater" stuff.

 

[SpecialEdition]

This is hilarious.

North Korea is completely fucking fucked in the first place. It's not as if there haven't been countless movies and tv shows produced about killing leaders of countries or blowing up the goverment. Just look at the tv show Homeland about an American POW who was turned and wanted to blow up the President of the USA. No one bats an eyelash at "domestic terrorism" as they like to call it, but make a movie about taking out North Korea is so stupid. It's not like the USA hasn't infiltrated other countries in reality and taken out their leaders. Osama Bin Laden anyone? Saddam Hussain? Come on.

If anything it makes for truly phenomenal press for the movie and now everyone is going to want to see why it's so damn controversial. Maybe it's all just a huge marketing scheme.

 

[Lark]

Whether or not it should be, it certainly is their fiefdom and nobody will be able to undo that from the outside.

I also think it's funny that an unnamed entity that only hacked a media company's servers has succeeded in scaring American-based companies out of conducting their business. The war on terrorism is truly going well. Then again, I suppose it's a pretty cheap movie so they're probably not terribly concerned about pushing back its release.

I'd be interested to hear what the FBI is doing regarding the threats.

I wonder if its a good film.

I also wonder why all the wailing liberal agitator groups like anonymous and the ilk arent targetting states like north korea which seem capable of this, or their allies, like the Russians or Chinese, instead of the people they do, who're a bunch of red necks by comparison.

 

[the]

Sony is too big of a business for me to worry about their issues. They make enough that they could track where the threats are coming from.

 

[rawr]

since when have we started taking NK seriously?

well, i guess Sony is...

 

[sassafras]

Honestly, I saw the report on this, noted the names of the actors attached to this movie and couldn't decide whether I thought North Korea was doing us all a favour in sparing the general public another steaming pile of shit or if they've just shot themselves in the foot. By making terror threats and by trying to prevent the film's release, they've essentially invoked the Barbara Streisand effect and made it a piece of history. A lot more people are now going to be really curious about this movie whereas before, it would have spent a weekend in the top ten of the box office and maybe at the bottom of the Netflix roster for a couple of months at best before going the way that most of these asshat comedies go: oblivion.

They just did Sony and everyone attached to the film a solid.

 

[Eventhorizon]

Does anyone else find it strange that a country that looks almost completely dark on a map of the world at night has access, computers and people able to hack anything?

I had no plans to see it in the theater but the second I heard that Kim Jong Un was crying about it I knew it was going to have to. Its partly funny but mostly not because while he is a little crying boy hes a little crazed serial killer psychopath crying boy. Those are real people dying and suffering in that country. This world is so fing messed up.

 

[Eventhorizon]

Honestly, I saw the report on this, noted the names of the actors attached to this movie and couldn't decide whether I thought North Korea was doing us all a favour in sparing the general public another steaming pile of shit or if they've just shot themselves in the foot. By making terror threats and by trying to prevent the film's release, they've essentially invoked the Barbara Streisand effect and made it a piece of history. A lot more people are now going to be really curious about this movie whereas before, it would have spent a weekend in the top ten of the box office and maybe at the bottom of the Netflix roster for a couple of months before going the way that most of these asshat comedies go: oblivion.

They just did Sony and everyone attached to the film a solid.

I dont know. Any movie showing Kim Jong Un being killed off in my book is a good movie comedy or not. The fact he has taken notice of it makes it that much more sweet. That someone like that gets to be shown how insignificant they really are to the rest of the world really just takes me to a happy place. The only thing that would be better is watching him being kicked in the ass down the street in his own country while people laughed at him right before he is put to death being tied up and left to dry in the sun.

 

[cvp12gh5]

Whether or not it should be, it certainly is their fiefdom and nobody will be able to undo that from the outside.

I also think it's funny that an unnamed entity that only hacked a media company's servers has succeeded in scaring American-based companies out of conducting their business. The war on terrorism is truly going well. Then again, I suppose it's a pretty cheap movie so they're probably not terribly concerned about pushing back its release.

I'd be interested to hear what the FBI is doing regarding the threats.

44M is cheap?

 

[cvp12gh5]

Does anyone else find it strange that a country that looks almost completely dark on a map of the world at night has access, computers and people able to hack anything?

I had no plans to see it in the theater but the second I heard that Kim Jong Un was crying about it I knew it was going to have to. Its partly funny but mostly not because while he is a little crying boy hes a little crazed serial killer psychopath crying boy. Those are real people dying and suffering in that country. This world is so fing messed up.

Yeah, what a cry baby. Someone needs to take that guy out already.

 

[sprinkles]

44M is cheap?

For movies these days, yeah that's on the cheap side. Not incredibly cheap but for a company like Sony, 44m is lower on the budget scale. It's not unusual for movies to have nine figure budgets these days. Interstellar for example is a $165 million film.

 

[SealHammer]

44M is cheap?

It's definitely not blockbuster money, as [MENTION=6917]sprinkles[/MENTION] said.

 

[Lark]

since when have we started taking NK seriously?

well, i guess Sony is...

Well if you think about it there's a long history of flattering the vanity of dictators in this way, its the equivalent of "wow! you're so tough! we are totally weak, we totally couldnt fight you" while holding a decisive weapon behind your back.

North Korea is a very good example of this and there's lots of examples over the years, as many as there are lunatic outbursts from North Korea about being taken seriously or posing a serious threat. Its random inclusion in the Axis of Evil was all about that.

A hell of a lot of the conflict management and escalation-de-escalation cycles are quite like the playground rituals anyone will be familiar with or emotional dynamics, the facebook profile updates jokes showing how world wars broke out or jokes about world war one or world war two being replayed as bar room brawl are pretty good for illustrating what I'm talking about.

 

[Eventhorizon]

Very disappointed that small little minded men like Kim Jong Un can dictate anything to include movies. Still Sony is a corporation and not a country so...

 

[apemon]

The best response I have found to threats is to stand.