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Author
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Topic: Sony Hack Hits Home
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Buck Wilson
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 894
From: St. Joseph MO, USA
Registered: Sep 2010
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posted 12-17-2014 08:57 PM
Regal pulled before Sony did. One could argue Sony may not have pulled it had one of the big 3 not pulled out.
Sounds like they aren't releasing it at ALL now:
http://variety.com/2014/film/news/sony-has-no-further-release-plans-for-the-interview-1201382167/
quote:
Dave McNary
Film Reporter
@Variety_DMcNary
Sony Pictures Entertainment has chosen to stand down for “The Interview,” deciding against releasing the Seth Rogen-James Franco comedy in any form — including VOD or DVD, as U.S. officials reportedly link Sony’s massive cyber attack to North Korea.
“Sony Pictures has no further release plans for the film,” a spokesman said Wednesday.
The studio issued the statement a few hours after pulling the planned Christmas Day release of “The Interview” in the U.S. in response to the hackers who threatened a 9/11-style attack against U.S. theaters and moviegoers if the comedy were released.
By late Wednesday afternoon, the studio had removed any mention of “The Interview” from its official web site.
The move could open the door for Sony to sell the rights to a rival distributor — though Hollywood is still reeling from Tuesday’s invocation of a possible terrorist attack on exhibitors if they screened “The Interview.”
Prior to the decision to pull the controversial movie, a Sony Pictures insider had told Variety that the studio was weighing releasing the film on premium video-on-demand. Such a move would have allowed the studio to recoup some of the film’s $42 million budget and tens of millions in promotion and advertising expenditures.
Sony’s nightmare began on Nov. 24 when the “Guardians of Peace” hackers disabled the studio’s computer system and began disclosing internal documents, email messages, film budgets, executive salaries and the social security numbers of thousands of employees.
“The world will be full of fear,” the group’s Tuesday message said. “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, most of the country’s largest theater chains — including AMC, Regal, Cinemark, Carmike and Southern Theatres — announced they would either delay showing the picture or would drop it altogether.
“The Interview” centers on an assassination attempt on North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.
On Wednesday, several published reports said that federal authorities had determined that hackers working on behalf of the North Korean government were behind the hack attack. CNN’s Evan Perez said that an announcement is expected on Thursday that would “assign attribution” to the country.
“The Interview” has been scheduled for release in foreign markets starting in late January.
FILED UNDER: James FrancoSeth RogenSony hackThe Interview
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Frank Angel
Film God
Posts: 5305
From: Brooklyn NY USA
Registered: Dec 1999
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posted 12-18-2014 07:30 AM
Marcel is right. Sony should just give the damn movie away and spit in the face of the pig NK government & their chubby, pinky-sized dick-tator.
The mistake over here, aside from the fact that all of a sudden it is becoming quite apparent that we have an epidemic which is affecting those big, cigar-chewing, corporate executives who we thought were so tuff -- seems the majority of then suffer from cryptorchidism, i.e., either their testicles haven't descended or are MISSING.
Have we all become just a bunch of wusses, talking about the imagined "threat" to theatres -- and that's all it is...imagined -- because there has been all our agencies say there is no credible threat of violence or what we conjure up when the words "terrorist threat" are bandied about. If anything, there might be an extremely slim chance that the hackers may still try to hack a exhibitor chain's servers, but there is no threat of violence.
It is a mistake to give the public the impression that somehow there may be terrorist attacks on theatres if the movie is shown. In the public's mind the word terrorist means geehad-bent suicide bombers and madmen who hack off people's heads. North Korea has no cadre of obsessed, lunatic Al-Qeada equivalents or fanatics who would carry out that kind of violence. They don't have terrorist "cells" hiding here just waiting for the signal to blow themselves up or fly planes into Regal EWalk in Times Square. And that's what is conjured up in the public's mind when the media throws the words "terror attack" around.
We are caving into suggestion rather than fact. They knew what they were doing using 9/11 as a fear button. Fact is, in a country where the people are underfed and endure a ghetto standard of living, there aren't a lot of North Koreans willing to strap bombs to themselves to stop a movie for the motherland.
Hells, give me the effin movie and I'll run it. Or leak it to the internet and have it play in every country around the world....THEN what are they going to do?
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Martin McCaffery
Film God
Posts: 2481
From: Montgomery, AL
Registered: Jun 99
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posted 12-18-2014 07:43 AM
I wonder if all of these big chains signed the Terrorism Waiver on their insurance. In case you don't have to deal with that end of the business, when you get liability and property insurance these days you have to be offered a Terrorism rider. It's a stupid by-product of 9/11 and I'm guessing everyone opts out. I know we do. I think it is quite possible their lawyers are telling them they are not covered if anything happens.
On the other hand, as someone who has received death threats in bomb threats in the good old pre-9/11 days (The Last Temptation of Christ), I say screw them, show the damn movie. And screw Sony for pulling it. During Last Temptation there were lots of chains who publicly refused to show it (cough CARMIKE cough), but there were also plenty of indies who said F*ck Yeah, we're not afraid. Some theatres even got vandalized, but went ahead anyway.
But I guess in the last 28 years, there aren't enough indies to support a 3000 screen release, and the bean counters at the studios aren't in the business of taking a stand on whatever principles they have that don't produce a profit.
Nonetheless, Exhibitors: Never, NEVER give in to threats. You are in the business of showing movies, not not showing them.
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