Sony Cancels The Interview after Threats of Violence

[ThaJim2]

^LOL god we suck. We are letting a country where people have to eat dirt beat us. There GDP is 12.3 billion dollars that is the size of the economy for Tallahassee a city with less then a quarter million people.

[unbelievable dickhead]

who is "we?" do you work for sony or paramount?

[zombie]

I'm still surprised they got internet in North Korea.

this is a bit uneducated dont you think

[Mindbender Futurama]

some people are saying the movie isn't that good

BUT WE NEED TO SEE IT MORE THAN EVER NOW

North Korea can't tell me what I can't watch

[seagrams hotsauce]

I'd bet the theaters pulling this has little to do with terrorist threats and all to do with Sony asking them to pull it to stop the bleeding without looking like their capitulating to NK. The theaters don't lose anything since the movie wasn't going to be that big, and Sony owes them if they make it through it.

[Tommy Bunz]

Nah I think you are vastly underrated the drawing power of these guys, who are some of the most bankable comedic actors in history.
This is the End made $121 Million domestically on a $31 million dollar budget. And that was the type of comedy that historically shouldn't have been profitable; a hard-R comedy with religious themes.
Neighbors made $150 million on an $18 million dollar budget. Pineapple Express made $70 million profit. Etc.
Christmas is historically a huuuuge weekend for moviegoers and there wasn't a single other major comedy scheduled to be released this year yet. This movie would have made back its budget opening weekend easily.
Not to mention that overall box office grosses for the movie industry are down 5-10% compared to last year, this is a huge loss for them.

[EMCEE DARTH MALEK]

^real talk. I first interpreted this as a marketing gimmick but losing that xmas day $ has gotta hurt. Huge pub for the movie still.

To the folks saying nah nah it's sony's call or whatever -- USA still got clowned. Regardless of what private company made the call, a bunch of dirt farmers and walking cold war anachronisms are deciding what gets played in your country. Hollywood is a big part of US culture and especially international cultural influence. USA is better than this. First amendment these fucks bro.

Btw they're still playing the movie in toronto apparently.

[jamrage]

^Agree. The Interview stood to make a ton of money.

What they should have done was just delay it a few weeks until after Christmas so the theaters wouldn't have been so worried about people not going to watch movies because of the "threat". It would also have given the intelligence agencies more time to calm the hysteria.

This is seriously some pathetic shit on everyone's part, though. Just get more security for the first couple weekends and go about your business. Are we seriously worrying about North Korean sleeper cells? GTFOH.

[Dan]

What they should have done was just delay it a few weeks until after Christmas so the theaters wouldn't have been so worried about people not going to watch movies because of the "threat". It would also have given the intelligence agencies more time to calm the hysteria.

That's not so simple. The theaters would have to bump other releases to make room for this one. There's a reason we know release dates well in advance, these movie companies have to book theater spots for their releases.

[jamrage]

Ok, so push it to early summer, or release it to smaller theaters that have more wiggle room with their release schedule. Something tells me the theaters can find a way to fit this movie into their schedule if they really want to.

[Employee]

http://money.cnn.com/2014/12/19/media/i ... index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The hackers behind a devastating cyberattack at Sony Pictures have sent a new message to executives at the company, crediting them for a "very wise" decision to cancel the Christmas day release of "The Interview," a source close to the company told CNN.

The email message was received by Sony's top executives on Thursday night and was obtained by CNN.

The source said that the company believes the email was from the hackers because it followed a pattern of previous messages, sent to a list of particular executives and formatted in a particular way.

A Sony spokesman declined to comment.

The hacker message is effectively a victory lap, telling the studio, "Now we want you never let the movie released, distributed or leaked in any form of, for instance, DVD or piracy."

The message also says, "And we want everything related to the movie, including its trailers, as well as its full version down from any website hosting them immediately."

It warns the studio executives that "we still have your private and sensitive data" and claims that they will "ensure the security of your data unless you make additional trouble."

____
http://nypost.com/2014/12/18/sharpton-t ... es-movies/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Sharpton to have say over how Sony makes movies

Coming to a theater near you: Al Sharpton.​

Hollywood ​came to the Rev. Al Thursday as embattled Sony exec Amy Pascal ​met ​privately with the ​black leader for 90 minutes ​in a bid to fix the fallout from the ​cyberhacking ​leak of embarrassing, racially charged emails.

Pascal agreed to let Sharpton have a say in how Sony makes motion pictures, in an effort to combat what he called “inflexible and immovable racial exclusion in Hollywood.”

“We have agreed to having a working group deal with the racial bias and lack of diversity in Hollywood,” said Sharpton.

He said Sony would work closely with his National Action Network, ​the ​National Urban League, ​the ​NAACP and the Black Women’s Round Table to “see if we can come up with an immediate plan to deal with it.”

The meeting, held behind closed doors at the Greenwich Hotel, also included National Urban League president Marc Morial.

“Our interest is seeing to it that Sony is on the right side of changing Hollywood,” Morial said.

Sharpton called the conversation “candid” but stopped short of calling for Pascal’s head after she was exposed making racist remarks about President Obama with Hollywood producer Scott Rudin.

“So the jury is still out on where we go with Amy,” Sharpton said. “We clearly are willing to deal with an immediate formula to see where we deal with breaking down the walls of inflexible and so far immovable racial exclusion in Hollywood.”

He was mum on the exact details of the plan to work with Sony but added, “We are not going to be satisfied until we see something concrete done.”

He also denounced the hackers, believed to be North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un’s henchmen, as bullies and called pulling “The Interview” from theaters in the wake of terror-attack threats a “dangerous precedent of real concern.”

“We are outraged by the bullying that is being done right before Christmas around this hacking,” Sharpton said.

Pascal, who called Sharpton last week to arrange a meeting with him, ​was not spotted leaving the hotel and issued no statement after the meeting.

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http://deadline.com/2014/12/george-cloo ... 201329988/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hollywood Cowardice: George Clooney Explains Why Sony Stood Alone In North Korean Cyberterror Attack

EXCLUSIVE: As it begins to dawn on everyone in Hollywood the reality that Sony Pictures was the victim of a cyberterrorist act perpetrated by a hostile foreign nation on American soil, questions will be asked about how and why it happened, ending with Sony cancelling the theatrical release of the satirical comedy The Interview because of its depiction of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. One of those issues will be this: Why didn’t anybody speak out while Sony Pictures chiefs Amy Pascal and Michael Lynton were embarrassed by emails served up by the media, bolstering the credibility of hackers for when they attached as a cover letter to Lynton’s emails a threat to blow up theaters if The Interview was released?

George Clooney has the answer. The most powerful people in Hollywood were so fearful to place themselves in the cross hairs of hackers that they all refused to sign a simple petition of support that Clooney and his agent, CAA’s Bryan Lourd, circulated to the top people in film, TV, records and other areas. Not a single person would sign. Here, Clooney discusses the petition and how it is just part of many frightening ramifications that we are all just coming to grips with.

____
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/nat ... story.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

White House says Sony hack is a serious national security matter

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https://sg.news.yahoo.com/movie-world-f ... 03890.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Sony Pictures' decision to cancel the release of its madcap comedy about North Korea after threats from hackers has caused consternation in the movie world and triggered concerns about freedom of expression.

[Employee]

http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/201 ... erica.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Paramount Bans Showing ‘Team America'

Three movie theaters say Paramount Pictures has ordered them not to show Team America: World Police one day after Sony Pictures surrendered to cyberterrorists and pulled The Interview. The famous Alamo Drafthouse in Texas, Capitol Theater in Cleveland, and Plaza Atlanta in Atlanta said they would screen the movie instead of The Interview, but Paramount has ordered them to stop. (No reason was apparently given and Paramount hasn’t spoken.) Team America of course features Kim Jong Un’s father, Kim Jong Il, as a singing marionette.
In 2004, North Korea demanded Team America be banned in the Czech Republic. “It harms the image of our country,” a North Korean diplomat said then. “Such behavior is not part of our country’s political culture. Therefore, we want the film to be banned.”

“Obviously, it’s absurd to demand that in a democratic country,” a spokesman for the Czech foreign ministry said at the time.

This time, the North Koreans didn’t ask nicely. In July, a North Korean diplomat told the United Nations that The Interview “should be regarded as the most undisguised sponsoring of terrorism as well as an act of war.”

Sony emails unearthed by The Daily Beast this week showed the studio screened a rough cut—and it's face-melting assassination scene—for two U.S. State Department officials who apparently blessed it.

[Tommy Bunz]

that Clooney interview is great

[Blockhead]

I'm still surprised they got internet in North Korea.

this is a bit uneducated dont you think

It's a bit of a joke, don't you know

[alpha]

a buddy of mine who's in video production made this. "Hitlers reaction to canceling the interview.

[seagrams hotsauce]

Nah I think you are vastly underrated the drawing power of these guys, who are some of the most bankable comedic actors in history.
This is the End made $121 Million domestically on a $31 million dollar budget. And that was the type of comedy that historically shouldn't have been profitable; a hard-R comedy with religious themes.
Neighbors made $150 million on an $18 million dollar budget. Pineapple Express made $70 million profit. Etc.
Christmas is historically a huuuuge weekend for moviegoers and there wasn't a single other major comedy scheduled to be released this year yet. This movie would have made back its budget opening weekend easily.
Not to mention that overall box office grosses for the movie industry are down 5-10% compared to last year, this is a huge loss for them.

You're right, my impressions of how well those flicks did were way off. I rescind my dumb theory

[Employee]

http://apnews.myway.com/article/2014122 ... 2bfcf.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

North Korea on Saturday proposed a joint investigation with the U.S. into the hacking attack against Sony Pictures Entertainment, warning of "serious" consequences if Washington rejects a probe that it believes will prove Pyongyang had nothing to do with the cyberattack.

The proposal was seen as a typical ploy by the North to try to show that it is sincere, even though it likely knows the U.S. would never accept its offer for a joint investigation, analysts said.

____
http://radaronline.com/exclusives/2014/ ... a-meeting/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Emails released in the leak show recent contact between Sony and the CIA.

According to uncovered emails, a high-ranking CIA agent visited the Los Angeles headquarters of Sony Pictures Entertainment weeks ago, before the company realized its entire computer system had been compromised by hackers the FBI links to North Korea.

Radar will not identify the name of the CIA operative because of national security considerations, but the document indicates the agent was hosted at Sony’s Culver City headquarters by the company’s security chief.

[EMCEE DARTH MALEK]

Its so gay that we cant watch this now. My sis loves seth rogen and we usually all go watch movies during xmas break. This is a black stain on first world freedom. Boycott sony.

[Mindbender Futurama]

a buddy of mine who's in video production made this. "Hitlers reaction to canceling the interview.

I wanted to watch the other version of this a few days ago... THIS HONESTLY IS FUCKING BETTER. Soooooo genius. Tell your homie "Mindbender Loves You, dawg"

"No one cares about what trolls say! The internet is fully of liars and cowards posting nonsense! James Franco is the prettiest man I know!" LOLOLOL sooo many quotables in this

[Mindbender Futurama]

http://www.movietrailerreviews.net/inde ... nt-enough/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Remember how I mentioned American arrogance won’t let this country admit a problem or being at fault unless we can claim victim hood as well? Well this is no different. Once again America is crying foul because something we’ve done before is being done to us. In 2006, an independent “mockumentary” called Death of a President was set to be release. The film was a fake documentary about solving the assassination of President George W. Bush. Yes, it was about the theoretical killing of our then President. Citizens of this country were PISSED. Folks who know me and remember The Insanity Report and my writings there know I was no fan of George W. Bush but even this was in bad taste to me. Gretchen Esell “I find this shocking, I find it disturbing. I don’t know if there are many people in America who would want to watch something like that.” Hillary Clinton commented “I think it’s despicable. I think it’s absolutely outrageous. That anyone would even attempt to profit on such a horrible scenario makes me sick.” Fun fact: Cinemark & Regal theaters refused to show the movie. Because this was back before Twitter, I’m willing to bet if Twitter was the social media powerhouse it is today, every major theater chain in America would have dropped the film. Mind you, this was an independent film that wasn’t made or distributed by any major studio. Yet the way we reacted you would have thought Disney was distributing it world wide.

what y'all think about dem apples?

[Mindbender Futurama]

Btw they're still playing the movie in toronto apparently.

really? where? I'll go see it tomorrow ASAP whenever what the fuckkkk really?

are you lying to me just because it's the internet

where is it playing in Toronto

[Combo7]

Its so gay that we cant watch this now. My sis loves seth rogen and we usually all go watch movies during xmas break. This is a black stain on first world freedom. Boycott sony.

It isn't Sony's call, it's the theater chains. Sony can't force theaters to show their movie.

[Dan]

This movie may never get released in any format. The hackers responsible clearly do not want this movie shown, so if Sony were to offer it to Netflix, iTunes, VOD, etc... the hackers would most likely target those companies in order to prevent them from doing so. Likely, those companies would probably refuse the movie anyway to not have to deal with any type of backlash.

[seagrams hotsauce]

This shit is so dumb. First it's "don't release the film" and now it's "take down all the promo material and trailers" which is basically impossible for sony to actually accomplish. What's to stop the hackers from making even further demands and keep dumping data?

Hopefully if Sony goes under they'll drop the flick in some way.

[sleazy_j]

the whole "wtf i didn't know North Korea even had internet" is pretty close.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/sony-hack-f ... sponsible/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

former jailed Anonymous hacker Sabu says it's highly unlikely. info on the hacks that took place says they took 100 terabytes of Sony's data.
that would cripple North Korea's internet infrastructure, or take years to complete if done in segments.

the best possibility of Korea's involvement is hired Chinese hackers.

but, now, the FBI says "it's North Korea"

North Korea says "we'll offer a joint investigation, but there's grave consequences if you don't accept"

then the FBI says "no thanks, admit you're the guilty party"

then FBI asks China "can you help us against North Korean cyber attacks"

and last I heard China said "nah, we're cool."

and now North Korea says "we've got proof that the US Government had a hand in making The Interview"


http://np.reddit.com/r/worldnews/commen ... ew/cn0ksh7" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

this dude analyzed the hacks on a daily basis. it reads that their were probably different groups of hackers being opportunists
and pulling different stunts on different days from each other. as in, the hackers with the 9/11 threats probably weren't the OG
Sony hackers.

either way, i had no interest in the movie anyhow. this whole situation should be a movie.

oh, also, there's the possibility that the hackers were disgruntled ex-employees from Sony's digital division that were laid off earlier this year by none other than Amy Pascal, of whose emails were leaked during the hacks.

[ackbar]

i don't think the internet is very widely available in north korea. even in china a lot of sites are blocked

[Employee]

this whole situation should be a movie.

Given to someone like Fincher it could be balls-awesome-rubbing-on-balls, but every element of the story plays against Hollywood's self-stereotypes and caricatures. We've always been told that major corporations are in control of the government yet SPE, a Goliath by any measure of a corporation, buckled over hacked e-mails, document dumps, personal embarrassment, and threats. That's a pretty boring and paradoxically devastating nail through the heart of the project. They'll circle jerk to the point of chafing when it comes to dumping on bougie Americans, be they in the silly suburbs or somewhere in so-called "Flyover Country." But erectile dysfunction and performance anxiety win the day when Holywood is its own soggy cracker.

[Req]

http://np.reddit.com/r/worldnews/commen ... ew/cn0ksh7" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

basically what I get from this is that it was a group of people who either previously worked for Sony or stumbled across how god awful their IT security is and couldnt believe their luck. It only appears that after the fact they tried to spin it as some political war game, so it very likely isn't. The threat of violence on movie theaters was particularly laughable and reeks of a bunch of neckbeards masturbating on how far they can take this.

In either event, Sony did this to themselves. This is what happens when you don't hire good people to create a proper IT solution. I would imagine other companies swiftly took note. Probably a good time to be in IT security.

[seagrams hotsauce]

^You're saying you still don't think NK was behind this? I had my doubts for a while too, but with both Sony and the FBI are pointing the finger at them I think it's hard to believe they're not behind it. I wouldn't doubt ex-Sony employees being complicit in some way, but not solely responsible.

[Req]

^You're saying you still don't think NK was behind this? I had my doubts for a while too, but with both Sony and the FBI are pointing the finger at them I think it's hard to believe they're not behind it. I wouldn't doubt ex-Sony employees being complicit in some way, but not solely responsible.

If it was NK, why did it take so long to become political? The first hack and public statement came Nov 24th, but The Interview doesn't become a part of any 'demands' until 2 weeks later on Dec 8th?

I mean maybe it was a case of the ex-Sony folk doing the groundwork, then others in the hacking community stepping in and picking the bones, trying to make it look like they have a 'cause.' From what I'm reading about Sony's awful setup, it def seems like once someone spills that they're an open target, they could be hit by all sides without having the slightest clue how to stop it.

So rather than being 'behind it,' they basically walked into an already compromised system and started swinging their dicks.