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The Interview


buttheadsmate

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Random Thoughts:

- I think it was a bad idea for a movie.

- The released info has been a treasure of interesting insight into the inner workings of Sony Pictures (and probably every other studio, too).

- I'm waiting for Sony Pictures to become so devalued that a competitor (Lionsgate, Fox, or Disney) steps in to make an offer.

- Thanks to the leak, Sony's pretty screwed. Creatives don't want to work with them and theaters aren't showing this movie.

- Reportedly North Korea has "1,800 cyberwarriors." I'm pretty sure California has that number beat in Silicon Valley alone.

- I'd probably still buy a boxed set of Minimates just for the hell of it.

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I literally had early screening tickets for this for tonight. They couldnt wait a few days more to cancel it?

Its interesting that Sony, a computer/technology company let themselves get hacked like this. All the leaked emails have been interesting/revealing about the spidey/marvel movie plans.

The threatened violence is just like when south park eps 200 and 201 were aired with Mohammed and terrorists said if they showed them on tv then they would kill the south park guys and people at comedy central. Matt and Trey didnt care but comedy central conceded and gave in and censored the episodes without telling Matt and Trey. We essentially can be seen as giving into terrorism then as we can now.

I dont have all the details but I heard there were some Whammy level secret emails they threatened to leak, and apparently violence at movie theaters. So some theater chains said they wouldnt show it, and Sony gave in. Films are an art form, yet some people want to oppress what they dont understand.

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Anything that screws up Sony so Marvel gets the rights back to the Spiderman movies is fine by me

The problem being that there are two companies out there that might be interested in acquiring Sony Pictures and neither are Disney.

Lionsgate was in discussions about a possible merger with Sony last summer. A few months ago Fox was looking to buy WB and is reportedly still on the prowl for another takeover. Disney just sunk over $4 billion into acquiring Lucasfilm and is barely starting to see returns on that investment trickle in. I doubt they're in the best position to compete with Fox.

Worst case scenario: Fox ends up with Spider-Man by purchasing Sony Pictures. spidey.gifapocalypse.gif

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Why do you think this is so significant, Rob? I only have passing knowledge of this, but it seems like a major movie studio caved to some vague terrorist threats, and as a result aren't releasing a movie that probably wouldn't have netted them a huge profit to begin with? If the U.S. played some role in forcing Sony to shelve the movie, or if North Korea somehow showed itself to be a legitimate global power because of this, then that would be more noteworthy IMO. Though the U.S. has a not highly publicized history of "negotiating" with terrorists of the day in various ways without actually having to admit to doing so, and North Korea is allowed leeway in its zany behavior because of its relationship with China and capacity to inflict serious harm on the South, including the decimation of Seoul if hostilities broke out.

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Why do you think this is so significant, Rob? I only have passing knowledge of this, but it seems like a major movie studio caved to some vague terrorist threats, and as a result aren't releasing a movie that probably wouldn't have netted them a huge profit to begin with? If the U.S. played some role in forcing Sony to shelve the movie, or if North Korea somehow showed itself to be a legitimate global power because of this, then that would be more noteworthy IMO. Though the U.S. has a not highly publicized history of "negotiating" with terrorists of the day in various ways without actually having to admit to doing so, and North Korea is allowed leeway in its zany behavior because of its relationship with China and capacity to inflict serious harm on the South, including the decimation of Seoul if hostilities broke out.

Hmmm ....you're the one person that might get me off the fence upon which I am sitting. I think it is significant that ....allegedly ............. a sovereign nation has taken on a multi-national commercial corporation . I'm not saying that this is the first time time this has happened but it might be the first time that oil is not involved .

I have no time for the oppressive N.Korean regime but I have less time for ill-advised movie themes. Reap what you sow.

Edited by buttheadsmate
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This is a pretty complex issue that I have a few scattered thoughts on...

First off, Sony's movie division is a radioactive dumpster fire.

I fully support anyone's right to say or produce anything that they wish, (with the exception of illegal material), even if it is something that I disagree with or abhor. But at the same time, I think there has to be a reasonable expectation of response. I am free to say anything I wish to anyone on the street. But, depending on what I say, I can't *expect* there to be no negative consequences to what I said. Free speech is one of the most amazing aspects of a free country. But it isn't a shield against what the reactions of others will be. In this case, Sony makes fun of the leader of a country that limits any all free speech, and then satirically kills him. They couldn't have thought that there would be no response to this. I'll grant that they might not have thought it would include the airing of all of their dirty laundry and threats of violence against their customers. But considering who they targeted, is it really that big of surprise?

With that being said, it's absolutely shameful that they cancelled the movie. It's a gutless reaction, but sadly not surprising. Cowering has become the norm lately. An uptight soccer mom gets bent out of shape because a toy on a peg doesn't conform to her her strict sense of right and wrong and she gets a few thousand like-minded people to sign an online petition, (not even using her real name), and TRU just caves. Obviously the right to a buy a toy is much less important than the right to say what you wish, but the principle is the same. Corporations and even everyday people are so afraid that they just fold to avoid conflict. It's certainly sad to see even if it's about a movie that I had zero interest in from a studio that I have no respect for.

I feel bad for the theater workers that are having to deal with the fallout. Every local news station will be sending an intern to a theater to get a soundbite because the spineless execs that made the decisions will hide behind their attorneys. Bugging low wage workers about the abject failure of their parent corporation is like grilling a concessions vendor at a stadium about why a GM made a terrible trade. That person just wants to show up and do their job.

Perhaps the least, (or MOST), important thing is what happens to Sony in the future. I just keep hope alive that Marvel will regain Spider-Man. Maybe this will devalue Sony to the point that they can't keep rolling out garbage Spider-Man flicks just to keep their hold on the franchise.

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I think this can be discussed without the type of politics that tend to create heated exchanges.

It was a bad idea for a movie. Its already been done with puppets and entitled Team America: World Police.

Sanctioned by government, or not, this cyber attack came from North Korea. The threats of blowing up theaters sounds like a lot of hot air to me, but I am just guy with an opinion.

Sony is screwed. They should have just let the film be released instead of giving in to terrorism, is my opinion.

If I worked for Sony, I would be dusting off my resume.

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I feel bad for the theater workers that are having to deal with the fallout. Every local news station will be sending an intern to a theater to get a soundbite because the spineless execs that made the decisions will hide behind their attorneys. Bugging low wage workers about the abject failure of their parent corporation is like grilling a concessions vendor at a stadium about why a GM made a terrible trade. That person just wants to show up and do their job.

Sony Pictures didn't have much choice but to pull the plug on this release. Several major theater chains decided not to exhibit this film due to threats to their patrons and staff.

If I worked for Sony, I would be dusting off my resume.

If you worked for Sony you might be part of the three class-action lawsuits employees are filing against the company.

Your social security number, your health records, and your salary among other things could all be public right now.

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I feel bad for the theater workers that are having to deal with the fallout. Every local news station will be sending an intern to a theater to get a soundbite because the spineless execs that made the decisions will hide behind their attorneys. Bugging low wage workers about the abject failure of their parent corporation is like grilling a concessions vendor at a stadium about why a GM made a terrible trade. That person just wants to show up and do their job.

Sony Pictures didn't have much choice but to pull the plug on this release. Several major theater chains decided not to exhibit this film due to threats to their patrons and staff.

I feel like they had a lot of choices. Sure, the big chains pulling out will have an obvious impact on number of screens. But I can't believe that there aren't a ton of smaller theaters that would have been all over showing a "controversial" movie. When something is banned it becomes a must see or must buy for a significant portion of the population. Sony could either take the total loss that they are and suffer the potentially more damaging ongoing PR nightmare or they could have tried and made as much as possible and looked good for making the best of a bad situation.

It isn't like this was Battle of the Five Armies that would see hundreds of millions of lost revenue because the big vanilla chains hid behind their bedroom doors. Unless it hit some crazy instant cult status, The Interview is a low $20M ticket sales movie. And that's probably why Sony and the Cinemarks, AMCs, etc... of the world backed off. Why make a stand for a probable low return?

What if threats had made threats against the new Tolkien movie? Would everyone be so quick to cower when they stood to lose 9 figures? I doubt it. The same companies that are using customer and staff safety would be showing BotFA back-to-back-to back on multiple screens.

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We're not really talking about the marketing appeal a movie that was "BANNED IN NORTH KOREA!" might have. We're talking about the liability – legally and morally – that theater owners might have if these threats were carried out. And the more theaters that backed out, the more obvious the remaining targets.

I'm just hopeful that North Korea's as big a fan of Star Wars as the rest of the world because I'm kinda looking forward to seeing that next year.

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Whether releasing to a smaller chain or looking at digital options Sony certainly had other options than shelving the movie altogether. And the threat of violence at actual physical theater locations just isn't credible. Perhaps the hackers could have caused trouble by more hacking but there was no way an attack could be carried out. This is only going to encourage more of these kind of attacks.

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Sony could easily flip this to a positive. Push it out to every video-on-demand service, cable company, satellite, etc. at a premium (reasonable) rental price for the next two weeks. With the holidays you might actually get a lot of rentals from people at home and off work. "Rent the movie banned because of N Korea! Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy New Year and God Bless America!" buttrock.gif

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And the threat of violence at actual physical theater locations just isn't credible. Perhaps the hackers could have caused trouble by more hacking but there was no way an attack could be carried out.

Really?

In related news...

I don't mean it's impossible to attack a theater, I mean there is absolutely zero evidence that North Korea has the capability to launch any sort of attack on American soil. It's an empty threat.

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Sony could easily flip this to a positive. Push it out to every video-on-demand service, cable company, satellite, etc. at a premium (reasonable) rental price for the next two weeks.

And those partners would become targets of cyber-terrorists as well. Corporations don't have the balls to support this publicly.

I don't mean it's impossible to attack a theater, I mean there is absolutely zero evidence that North Korea has the capability to launch any sort of attack on American soil. It's an empty threat.

I hope you're right but no one wants to take that chance. And it's not necessarily about people getting hurt, it's about the companies getting sued for damages, studios and exhibitors alike. Even if people were willing to sign waivers, the companies that insure the buildings and staff would probably have something to say about this.

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We're talking about the liability legally and morally that theater owners might have if these threats were carried out. And the more theaters that backed out, the more obvious the remaining targets.

I don't think that any of these corporations have moral or legal concerns outside of the bottom line. Using your Star Wars scenario, there is no way these companies would pull Star Wars even if there was a credible threat. They wouldn't risk losing the money.

And I honestly don't think that everyone that's a Sony employee or that works at a theater is bad. I'm talking about the very small number of people that make the decisions. Those are the ones that have failed so miserably here.

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I think it is significant that ....allegedly ............. a sovereign nation has taken on a multi-national commercial corporation . I'm not saying that this is the first time time this has happened but it might be the first time that oil is not involved .

Well the primary focus of international affairs is trade or finance now. This kind of thing happens, but at a pretty low visibility level when you see tariffs to protect domestic goods, or governments restricting sales because a company doesn't meet food or drug standards. Sadly, it's not uncommon to see it happening the other way, where a company like Wal-Mart or Shell imposes its will on a sovereign state (through bribes, campaign contributions, and the promise of economic development). But it is pretty crazy to threaten violence and murder!
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Let's call the guy who made this decision Bob. Bob has worked for Sony for a number of years. Bob has a hilarious new film about to be released called 'The Interview' which makes fun of one of the most notoriously crazy dictatorships in the modern world, and is guaranteed to make a few million for him over the X-mas/New year break.

Bob finds out that his company has been hacked. With the hack made public, Bob is pretty embarrassed right now & owes a lot of apologies to a lot of people. On top of that, the film he was banking on making him a few million for X-mas has been threatened by those who claimed responsibility for the hack.

Bob has a decision to make. He can either be risk averse and pull the film, loose a few million while trying to minimise the damage done & repair what he can, or he can be 'ballsy'. He can release the film anyway and show that he is not afraid, and risk EVERYTHING he has left on a mediocre comedy, praying that nothing goes wrong at any screening, anywhere in the world. Because if one person is hurt in any way as a result of the screenings, Bob looses *absolutely everything*. Not just a few million. Everything.

I want to see the film. I think the hype over it is ridiculous. But i can kind of see how Bob might have come to this decision.

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