The terrorists have won!

[DenverChief]

Earlier Wednesday, Sony pulled the film, which depicts the assassination of North Korea's leader, following a threat that people should avoid going to theaters where "The Interview" is playing. The country's major theater companies had said they had decided to postpone or cancel next week's showing.
"In light of the decision by the majority of our exhibitors not to show the film "The Interview," we have decided not to move forward with the planned December 25 theatrical release," Sony said in its first statement on the matter.
"Sony Pictures has been the victim of an unprecedented criminal assault against our employees, our customers, and our business. ... We are deeply saddened at this brazen effort to suppress the distribution of a movie. ... We stand by our filmmakers and their right to free expression and are extremely disappointed by this outcome."

[Just Passin' By]

Originally Posted by underEJ

Dane is pretty much dead on. There is no way Sony can risk releasing this for business reasons, right now anyway, and American freedom has nothing to do with it.

Every entertainment company on the planet is trying to move into the lucrative, massive and still rapidly growing Chinese film market. It is the single most important movie release market in the world for the next decade or two. They are currently sifting through offers from entertainment companies to decide who gets in. This is tens of billions of dollars of future revenue. China is the support structure for NK, and releasing it could cost Sony all of their Chinese releases even if that threat is never made by China (very few western films get released in China per year.)

Content is already adapted to be more appealing to that market and its censors, and most films that get released without any cuts or changes are family fare that wouldn't tend to offend anyone. Most of the others get cut in some way to be selected for release.

Sony has alot more to lose than the costs of production on one movie. Celebrities can bemoan all they want, it is a business decision by a Japanese company to cut losses.

This might have made sense, if they hadn't already made the movie.

[digger]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

Option 4. Execute Dennis Rodman

This.

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by underEJ

Dane is pretty much dead on. There is no way Sony can risk releasing this for business reasons, right now anyway, and American freedom has nothing to do with it.

Every entertainment company on the planet is trying to move into the lucrative, massive and still rapidly growing Chinese film market. It is the single most important movie release market in the world for the next decade or two. They are currently sifting through offers from entertainment companies to decide who gets in. This is tens of billions of dollars of future revenue. China is the support structure for NK, and releasing it could cost Sony all of their Chinese releases even if that threat is never made by China (very few western films get released in China per year.)

Content is already adapted to be more appealing to that market and its censors, and most films that get released without any cuts or changes are family fare that wouldn't tend to offend anyone. Most of the others get cut in some way to be selected for release.

Sony has alot more to lose than the costs of production on one movie. Celebrities can bemoan all they want, it is a business decision by a Japanese company to cut losses.

The problem with this theory is that China is almost as annoyed with NK as we are. Their interest in propping up NK has more to do with a desire to not have refugees flood into China, not for any love of the Kims, who have repeatedly irritated Chinese leaders as well. They are not going to be offended by this movie. Also, Sony did try to release it even in the height of the controversy, it was the theaters who pulled back out of stupid cowardice.

I fully expect Sony to release the movie later, either in theaters or on VOD, especially now that they have been called out by the president. Sony now risks American anger and boycotts. Even as we speak, Sony's CEO is scrambling in interviews, basically hinting that we're eventually going to have the movie available.

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

I just have a really hard time believing that any insurance company would cover their losses in this instance. This is far from a "total loss", as Sony has other distribution options.

I'm pretty sure it would be unprecedented and would open Pandora's Box, which would make production insurance skyrocket.

No kidding. They get the finished product and go YIKES this sucked. Lets kill it and take the insurance.

[eDave]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

Stuxnet! Here, boy! Here! Now, sic 'em!

Forgot about that. I vote this.

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

Stuxnet! Here, boy! Here! Now, sic 'em!

Military's have the best hackers in the world. Most on their own free will, sometimes as a penance before going to retail. We have really ****ed up peoples shit in response to poking us.

[Sannyasi]

Originally Posted by alnorth

The problem with this theory is that China is almost as annoyed with NK as we are. Their interest in propping up NK has more to do with a desire to not have refugees flood into China, not for any love of the Kims, who have repeatedly irritated Chinese leaders as well. They are not going to be offended by this movie. Also, Sony did try to release it even in the height of the controversy, it was the theaters who pulled back out of stupid cowardice.

I fully expect Sony to release the movie later, either in theaters or on VOD, especially now that they have been called out by the president. Sony now risks American anger and boycotts. Even as we speak, Sony's CEO is scrambling in interviews, basically hinting that we're eventually going to have the movie available.

I agree with you, but its just sad to me that we are talking about American anger and boycotts now. Sony really is being treated like the culprit and not the victim. They're an entertainment company, what do people really want them to do?

[kcfanXIII]

I am far from sold North Korea was responsible. I just don't think they have the capability to do this.

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by kcfanXIII

I am far from sold North Korea was responsible. I just don't think they have the capability to do this.

Of course they do. Its not that difficult for a nuclear state to hire a ton of skilled hackers.

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by Sannyasi

what do people really want them to do?

Not repeatedly say (until an hour or so ago) that they have no plans to ever release the movie in any format.

[hometeam]

Originally Posted by kcfanXIII

I am far from sold North Korea was responsible. I just don't think they have the capability to do this.

So North Korea couldnt do it.. but some random person in a basement could have? I mean, they have nukes but they couldnt figure out a shitty company shitty cybersecurity?

Or is it a conspiracy ala ram29jackson >?

[kcfanXIII]

Originally Posted by alnorth

Of course they do. Its not that difficult for a nuclear state to hire a ton of skilled hackers.

They have limited internet for one. For two, they learn programming by writing on notebook paper. The only way I can see NK being behind this is if they hired hackers from an outside source, which I suppose is possible. However, the evidence as described by what i'm reading from the fbi points to NK being directly responsible. I just don't buy it.

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by kcfanXIII

I am far from sold North Korea was responsible. I just don't think they have the capability to do this.

See post 216. A million bucks is not a large amount in a military budget. But it can buy you some good coders.

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by kcfanXIII

They have limited internet for one.

No they don't. The people, sure. The military? No.

Originally Posted by kcfanXIII

For two, they learn programming by writing on notebook paper.

They have nuclear weapons. That is a hell of a lot harder to do than to recruit and/or train hackers.

This is INCREDIBLY easy for a nuclear state to pull off.

[alnorth]

Wow, that was fast.

Statement from Sony:

Sony Pictures Entertainment is and always has been strongly committed to the First Amendment. For more than three weeks, despite brutal intrusions into our company and our employees’ personal lives, we maintained our focus on one goal: getting the film The Interview released. Free expression should never be suppressed by threats and extortion.

The decision not to move forward with the December 25 theatrical release of The Interview was made as a result of the majority of the nation’s theater owners choosing not to screen the film. This was their decision.

Let us be clear – the only decision that we have made with respect to release of the film was not to release it on Christmas Day in theaters, after the theater owners declined to show it. Without theaters, we could not release it in the theaters on Christmas Day. We had no choice.

After that decision, we immediately began actively surveying alternatives to enable us to release the movie on a different platform. It is still our hope that anyone who wants to see this movie will get the opportunity to do so.

We might get that grand wide-release VOD experiment after all. Movie studios have always been curious about how economically viable it might be to bypass the theaters.