What should Sony do with The Interview?

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by Rachael Bee, Dec 17, 2014.

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  1. narkspud

    narkspud Forum Resident

    Location:
    Tustin, CA, USA
    Observation: The chances of there being a physical terrorist attack on some American theater showing The Interview are mighty damn slim.

    However, the chances of there being a sophisticated cyber-attack on a nationwide chain of theaters showing The Interview is pretty damn high.

    Lost in all the silly leak reports is the fact that Sony Pictures' corporate network was totally shut down by the hackers for a couple weeks at the start of the month. (I'm not sure if it's even back up, having not talked to my industry friends recently.) They were completely locked out of their computer and phone systems. The releases of both The Interview and Annie were in doubt for several days there, because they literally couldn't distribute them. Or advertise them for that matter.

    The theater chains know this (obviously) and would prefer to not have all their nice shiny networked digital projectors suddenly go down on a holiday weekend. It would be mighty hard to sell tickets to Into the Woods if that were to happen.

    Not saying the 9/11 threat wasn't a factor … just that it wasn't the only one.

    The real head-slapper to me is Paramount pulling the few screenings of Team America that were scheduled. Those weren't even chain theaters. That's some serious paranoia there.
     
  2. tomhayes

    tomhayes Senior Member

    Location:
    San Diego, Ca
    It can't win an Oscar unless it's shown in a theatre:

    c:for paid admission in a commercial motion picture theater in Los Angeles County,
    d:for a qualifying run of at least seven consecutive days,
    e:advertised and exploited during their Los Angeles County qualifying run in a manner customary to industry practice, and
    f: within the Awards year deadlines specified in Rule Three.

    See here: http://www.oscars.org/sites/default/files/87aa_rules.pdf
     
    Vidiot likes this.
  3. Rachael Bee

    Rachael Bee Miembra muy loca Thread Starter

    That's an eccentric thought but it makes Hollywood sense. :eek:
     
  4. amoergosum

    amoergosum Forum Resident

    Location:
    Germany
    George R.R. Martin (Game of Thrones):

    "Corporate Cowardice

    This one is surreal.

    In a stunning display of corporate cowardice, Regal, AMC, and every other major theatre chain in the United States have cancelled their plans to show the new Seth Rogen/ James Franco comedy THE INTERVIEW, because of -- yes, seriously, this is not a SOUTH PARK sketch (though I expect it soon will be) -- threats from North Korea.

    I mean, really? REALLY?? These gigantic corporations, most of which could buy North Korea with pocket change, are declining to show a film because Kim Jong-Un objects to being mocked?

    The level of corporate cowardice here astonishes me. It's a good thing these guys weren't around when Charlie Chaplin made THE GREAT DICTATOR. If Kim Jong-Un scares them, Adolf Hitler would have had them ****ting in their smallclothes.

    Even Sony, which made the movie, is going along. There are thousands of small independent theatres across the country, like my own, that would gladly screen THE INTERVIEW, regardless of the threats from North Korea, but instead of shifting the film to those venues, Sony has cancelled its scheduled Christmas rollout entirely.

    I haven't seen THE INTERVIEW. I have no idea how good or bad a film it is. It might be hilarious. It might be stupid and offensive and outrageous. (Actually, I am pretty sure about the 'outrageous' part). It might be all of the above.

    That's not the point, though. Whether it's the next CITIZEN KANE or the next PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE, it astonishes me that a major Hollywood film could be killed before release by threats from a foreign power and anonymous hackers.

    For what it's worth, the Jean Cocteau Cinema will be glad to screen THE INTERVIEW (assuming that Sony does eventually release the film for theatrical exhibition, rather than streaming it or dumping it as a direct-to-DVD release), should it be made available to us. Come to Santa Fe, Seth, we'll show your film for you."


    Source:
    http://grrm.livejournal.com/396855.html
     
  5. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    Correction: they were shut down for a couple of days. Sony has been mum as to how extensive the damage was, but reports circulate that a lot of data was lost and a lot of viruses were floating around on the servers -- some of which Sony was leasing from 3rd-party suppliers.

    What's sobering is that many people in Hollywood are now avoiding emails and are instead having personal meetings, phone calls, messengered memos, and regular snail mail -- no emails. They're also using smartphone apps where you can send a text which erases about :30 seconds after the recipient reads it. Me personally, I think you just have to be careful what you say in email, period, and use common sense -- especially when conducting business.

    If you had, you would've been right. It is North Korea... or so says the NY Times:

    http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2014/12/18/arts/ap-us-sony-hack-north-korea.html?_r=0

    Obama is giving a speech on Friday, and it's said that he'll mention possible repercussions for North Korea. I hope they sanction the living f*** out of them and bring them to their knees financially. If they cut off the cash flowing in and out of the country, it'll cripple them.

    This is where we're headed if we don't stop terrorist threats like this:

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Dec 19, 2014
  6. Deesky

    Deesky Forum Resident

    And I'm still not calling it until it's absolutely certain. It wouldn't be the first time that the three letter agencies were economical with the truth... NK may well be behind it, or independent hackers from NK rather than the gov itself or hacktavists making it seem like it was NK. I don't really care either way, I just want verifiable details rather than suspicions.
     
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  7. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    It just hit me that everyone is forgetting something: Sony is a Japanese company, and, ultimately, takes its orders from Kazuo Hirai. Perhaps he gave the orders not to release the movie.
     
  8. Deesky

    Deesky Forum Resident

    Maybe you should watch the Sony segment on NewsHour (Dec. 18, 2014).
     
  9. Deesky

    Deesky Forum Resident

    Actually, that isn't the case. In fact, the Japanese CEO was against the movie ever being produced in the first place but was overruled by the US branch.
     
  10. ajsmith

    ajsmith Senior Member

    Location:
    Glasgow
    Replace it was a Surroundsound showing of Gentle Giant's 'Interview' with the album cover as the only onscreen image.
     
  11. RubenH

    RubenH Forum Resident

    Location:
    S.E. United States
    I heard Alan Dershowitz on the radio 12/18 say that if that happened, the theaters actually would not be liable... can't recall his reasoning, but I was surprised. Perhaps a legal eagle here could explain ...
     
  12. norman_frappe

    norman_frappe Forum Resident

    Perhaps but it's murky at best. Possibly the legal issue doesn't even matter, it's about the bottom line. After the Colorado shooting there were a few suits filed which were not dismissed and is costing millions in legal fees to the theater to defend against. So even if in the end they are legally exonerated it is going to cost millions to defend against it, something that hurts the bottom line which is really all they care about. And this was not even something that they knew of in advance like the current situation which would be even harder and more costly to defend against.

    Also there is the issue of insurance. Insurers might start to revoke policies and not cover claims if theaters operate after information of a threat.

    The rumor is that Sony pushed the decision to the theaters knowing full well that the theaters would have no choice but to pull it because of legal and insurance issues. A slimy db move if you ask me.
     
  13. RubenH

    RubenH Forum Resident

    Location:
    S.E. United States
    Good point; even if Sony/theaters are "in the right," they'd still have to defend themselves.
     
  14. JamieC

    JamieC Senior Member

    Location:
    Detroit Mi USA
    What is Sony going to do if Actors, directors, producers, and backers refuse to work for Sony again? This could be an even bigger problem. Anyone under contract has an end date, and the studio system is as dead as Cohn and LB Meyer. Actors can refuse a part, they cannot be forced.
     
    Dudley Morris likes this.
  15. tommy-thewho

    tommy-thewho Senior Member

    Location:
    detroit, mi
    I'm sure all the art house theaters would love to show this movie.

    We have several in the Detroit area.
     
  16. Rachael Bee

    Rachael Bee Miembra muy loca Thread Starter

    That's not the case everywhere. In Knoxville, the only art house is owned by Regal. There are zero independent cinemas.
     
  17. mindblanking

    mindblanking The Bourbon King

    Location:
    Baltimore, MD
    The better comedy film would've been an elite team of N. Korean Special Forces infiltrates the U.S seeking to assassinate Seth Rogen and James Franco.
     
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  18. Rachael Bee

    Rachael Bee Miembra muy loca Thread Starter

    It's probably under production already in Asia with Dennis Rodman directing. ;)
     
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  19. One of the consequences of the US being the only developed country to not have a "loser pays" rule in civil suits.
     
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  20. Roland Stone

    Roland Stone Offending Member

    Narrative suspense problem: no one really cares if Seth Rogan or James Franco are assassinated. I suppose this could be done as a self-effacing comedy.

    Diner #1: "Did you hear that? Those guys in the booth by the restroom are here to kill Seth Rogan and James Franco!"

    Diner #2: "Jesus, who @#$%^&* cares? Are those guys still making movies? Wouldn't someone after You Tube hits go for somebody decent, like Liam Neeson?"

    Diner #3: "Because Liam Neeson is badass! I'd pay to watch that !@#$. Liam Neeson would go all TAKEN on their asses! We should tell those guys that."
     
    Last edited: Dec 19, 2014
  21. So what would Sony do if one of these cinemas got a pirate copy of The Interview and screened it for free?
     
  22. JamieC

    JamieC Senior Member

    Location:
    Detroit Mi USA
    Lawsuit
     
  23. bluesbro

    bluesbro Forum Hall of Shame

    Location:
    DC
    We should be playing this movie on Christmas Day at the National Mall in Washington DC on the biggest freaking screens money can buy, with the President and every member of Congress in attendance.

    Bowing down to terrorists?! Damn, many rolling in their graves in Arlington today.
     
  24. Despite the additional dollop of negative PR that would bring?
     
  25. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    Interesting that a president and CEO can be overruled by a subsidiary. What kind of power structure is that?
     
    norman_frappe likes this.
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