AMC, Regal, and other chains are pulling The Interview

[noa]

I'm pretty surprised at how gutless everyone is. I have no idea how funny the movie will be, but I liked the trailer and I was hoping to see it. I wonder how much they could make if it goes straight to on demand.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/source-top-five-theater-circuits-758843

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by eDave

So why was the trailer so bad? There is nothing in that trailer to indicate it is a good movie.

I mean, I've seen some other clips and it might just be good. But the trailer...

I actually liked the trailer and it made me more interested in the film.

As for good or bad, who can tell from a trailer, anyway?

[listopencil]

From the trailer it looked like one of those stupidly funny movies. Lots of situational humor and improvised gags around a loose script. I wouldn't have gone out of my way to watch it, but I could see going to the movies with friends/family over the holiday vacation and picking it if choices at a theatre were limited. I wouldn't be surprised if pulling it for political/safety reasons is a ploy to grow interest in the movie.

[unlurking]

Sony should just say **** you and post it on YouTube.

[Aries Walker]

Well, this is growing teeth extending far beyond the movie world.

Originally Posted by New York Times

U.S. Links North Korea to Sony Hacking

By DAVID E. SANGER and NICOLE PERLROTH - DEC. 17, 2014

WASHINGTON — American intelligence officials have concluded that the North Korean government was “centrally involved” in the recent attacks on Sony Pictures’s computers, a determination reached just as Sony on Wednesday canceled its release of the comedy, which is based on a plot to assassinate Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader.

Senior administration officials, who would not speak on the record about the intelligence findings, said the White House was still debating whether to publicly accuse North Korea of what amounts to a cyberterrorism campaign. Sony’s decision to cancel release of “The Interview” amounted to a capitulation to the threats sent out by hackers this week that they would launch attacks, perhaps on theaters themselves, if the movie was released.

Officials said it was not clear how the White House would decide to respond to North Korea. Some within the Obama administration argue that the government of Mr. Kim must be directly confronted, but that raises the question of what consequences the administration would threaten — or how much of its evidence it could make public without revealing details of how the United States was able to penetrate North Korean computer networks to trace the source of the hacking.

Others argue that a direct confrontation with the North over the threats to Sony and moviegoers might result in escalation, and give North Korea the kind of confrontation it often covets. Japan, for which Sony is an iconic corporate name, has argued that a public accusation could interfere with delicate diplomatic negotiations underway for the return of Japanese nationals kidnapped years ago.

The sudden urgency inside the administration over the Sony issue came after a new threat was delivered this week to desktop computers at Sony’s offices that if “The Interview” was released on Dec. 25, “the world will be full of fear.” It continued: “Remember the 11th of September 2001. We recommend you to keep yourself distant from the places at that time.”

Sony dropped its plan to release the film after the four largest theater chains in the United States — Regal Entertainment, AMC Theaters, Cinemark and Carmike Cinemas — and several smaller chains said they would not show the film. The cancellations virtually killed “The Interview” as a theatrical enterprise, at least in the near term, one of the first known instances of a threat from another nation pre-empting the release of a movie.

While intelligence officials have concluded that the cyberattack on Sony was both state sponsored and far more destructive than any seen before on American soil, there are still differences of opinion over whether North Korea was aided by Sony insiders with an intimate knowledge of the company’s computer systems.

“This is of a different nature than past attacks,” one senior official said. A cyberattack that began by wiping out data on corporate computers — something that had previously been seen in attacks in South Korea and Saudi Arabia, but not the United States — has turned “into a threat to the safety of Americans” if the movie was shown. However, the official, echoing a statement from the Department of Homeland Security, said there was “no specific, credible threat information” that would suggest that any attack was imminent.

It is not clear how the United States came to its determination that the North Korean regime played a central role in the Sony attacks. North Korea has been a notoriously hard target for computer penetration. But four years ago the National Security Agency launched a major effort to penetrate the country’s computer operations, including its elite cyberteam, and to establish “implants” in the country’s networks that, like a radar system, would monitor the development of malware transmitted from the country.

But it is hardly a foolproof system. Much of North Korea’s hacking is done from China. And while the attack on Sony used some commonly available cybertools, one intelligence official said, “This was of a sophistication that a year ago we would have said was beyond the North’s capabilities.”

It is rare for the United States to publicly accuse countries suspected of involvement in cyberintrusions or attacks. The administration never publicly said who attacked White House and State Department computers over the past two months, or JPMorgan Chase’s systems last summer. Russia is suspected in the first two cases, but there is conflicting evidence on JPMorgan.

But in this case, there is a long forensic trail. The attackers used readily available commercial tools to wipe data off Sony’s machines. They also borrowed tools and techniques that had been used in at least two previous attacks, one in Saudi Arabia two years ago — widely attributable to Iran — and another last year in South Korea, aimed at banks and media companies.

The attacks at Sony were routed from command and control centers across the world, including a convention center in Singapore and a computer at Thammasat University in Thailand. But one of those command and control servers, a computer in Bolivia, had been used before, in a limited set of cyberattacks on South Korean targets two years ago. That suggests, but does not prove that that the same group or individuals may have been behind both attacks.

The Sony malware also shared remarkable similarities with the malware used in the destructive attacks on South Korean banks and broadcasters last year. Those attacks, which also destroyed data belonging to their victims, are believed to be the work of a cybercriminal gang known as Dark Seoul. Some experts say they cannot rule out the possibility that the Sony attack was the work of a Dark Seoul copycat.

The Sony attack also borrowed a wiping tool from an attack two years ago at Saudi Aramco, where hackers wiped out data off 30,000 Aramco computers, replacing it with an image of a burning American flag.

Security experts were never able to track down the hackers behind the attacks at Saudi Aramco, though United States officials have long said they believe the attacks emanated from Iran, using tools that are now on the black market.

In each attack, experts were never able to confirm the initial entry point. At Sony, forensics investigators are looking into the possibility that the attackers may have had some inside help. Embedded in the malicious code were the names of Sony servers and administrative credentials that allowed the malware to spread across Sony’s network.

“It’s clear that they already had access to Sony’s network before the attack,” said Jaime Blasco, a security researcher at AlienVault.

[unlurking]

Alarmist douchebags like this are why NK's threats are even being listened to. ****ing idiots.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by unlurking

Sony should just say **** you and post it on YouTube.

Financially, that would be a disaster. They've spent more than $45 million on the production of the movie and tens of millions more on marketing. They can't just dump it out there for free.

PPV would be the best bet, followed by releasing it on Starz (which has an exclusive deal with Sony) then Amazon and finally, Netflix.

[Zebedee DuBois]

$45MM seems like a lot of money to you and me, but that is not as big as a lot of films. Plus, this film doesn't have all the cross marketing tie-ins that could be milked for money. No games, etc. They may get a chunk back on pay for view. Pulling it is the safe move. Think how much an actual attack would cost them. People would shun theatres for months.
It feels like giving in, and that feels shitty - but it is probably the smart move.

[Deberg_1990]

Originally Posted by Zebedee DuBois

$45MM seems like a lot of money to you and me, but that is not as big as a lot of films. Plus, this film doesn't have all the cross marketing tie-ins that could be milked for money. No games, etc. They may get a chunk back on pay for view. Pulling it is the safe move. Think how much an actual attack would cost them. People would shun theatres for months.
It feels like giving in, and that feels shitty - but it is probably the smart move.

Personally I think it's a hollow threat. But I can understand Sonys concern.

Doesn't matter how much a movie costs, no studio wants to lose money on a film. It's still a business. Has to sting some. With all the extra attention, this was starting to feel like a sleeper hit.

[Aries Walker]

I think Sony is hemorrhaging money so badly right now, they don't give a single inkling of a tiny shit about 45 million dollars. They're in survival mode.

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

IMO, they should make it available PPV on Christmas Day. It's not like it's an "Awards" type of film that needs to be released in theaters.

This!

I understand Sony pulling the movie, Real or perceived threat it would have killed the box office on Christmas day. People would have been nervous.

From my viewpoint, you can't just let this slide. We can't allow other countries to dictate to our artists what is acceptable, good satire or funny in our society. Talk about a slippery slope.

PPV on cable etc would probably go over like gangbusters. People would buy just to say FU dear leader.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by Aries Walker

I think Sony is hemorrhaging money so badly right now, they don't give a single inkling of a tiny shit about 45 million dollars. They're in survival mode.

?

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by Aries Walker

Well, this is growing teeth extending far beyond the movie world.

I'm sure payback has already been delivered.

[unlurking]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

Financially, that would be a disaster. They've spent more than $45 million on the production of the movie and tens of millions more on marketing. They can't just dump it out there for free.

PPV would be the best bet, followed by releasing it on Starz (which has an exclusive deal with Sony) then Amazon and finally, Netflix.

Agreed. My comment was more a way to say **** you to North Korea than worrying about $$.

[Baby Lee]

If this is indeed emanating from NK, I can kind of see them recruiting the talent to do the cyberterrorism, but does anyone really think that NK has true believers among us that would pull off acts resulting in actual physical damage to customers?

[jspchief]

Not worth the risk.

Sure, the threats are likely harmless. But who wants to be responsible for a terror attack just to show a movie? I hate the idea of allowing a threat of terrorism to have this impact, but from a business perspective of a theater owner, its an easy choice to make.