My take on movie exhibitors pulling THE INTERVIEW from their screens for Christmas?
It was the right thing to do.
Ultimately the circuits dumping the movie led to Sony Entertainment scrapping the picture for good.
Yet as late as early yesterday afternoon, evening press screening of THE INTERVIEW that night was still on. I didn’t receive word of the that cancellation until around 4:00 p.m.
So why am I taking this pro theater cancellation stand?
Think about it.
If ANYTHING bad would have occurred ANYWHERE near the showing of this film, the theater could’ve faced major lawsuits.
Because unlike the midnight massacre at the Cinemark in Aurora, Colorado which was completely unexpected and without warning, an incident surrounding THE INTERVIEW would have been much harder to defend—especially for the insurance companies!
After all they WERE warned…..
There was also pressures from shopping mall operators who with theaters within their properties.
And the terrorist threats against the theaters could have had a substantial negative impact on those malls as well—-possibly keeping shoppers away during the all-important holiday shopping season.
And what about Warner Brothers, 20th Century-Fox, Disney, Paramount and other movie companies that all have major films playing in the megaplexes for the holidays?
They too could have been financially impacted by moviegoers staying away from the theaters altogether because of the threats.
So while the cancellation of THE INTERVIEW by most theater companies is being seen by some as capitulation to the bad guys, it WAS the right business decision under the circumstances by America’s theater operators.
As for Sony Entertainment?
Well, let’s not get into them. They’ve got enough problems to deal with in the coming weeks and months.
We’ve become a nation of cowards. We’re afraid of anything and everything now.
I say boycott every movie on Christmas Day.
What’s next the “hackers’ will be pissed about?
Books? Music?
Sony has set a very slippery precedent. Their reputation right now is one step up from dog crap.
Screw them.
Don’t go see a movie on Christmas Day.
Spend time with your family.
Drink.
Do something but go to the movies.
+1
Touche.
Yep, preach on brother Randy.
These things remind me that with rights come responsibilities.
And while the Greek chorus sings of freedom what the back-beat tells us if they really only want security.
I may disagree with the things you say, I will defend your right to say them with my life if necessary.
And in this case take a long, hot shower to try and wash away the stink.
Wonder if this comment will too await moderation?
“If ANYTHING bad would have occurred ANYWHERE near the showing of this film, the theater could’ve faced major lawsuits.”
Do you mean anything bad in general (robbery, car jacking, mugging, etc.) or in regards to something actually related to the threats from the hackers? Because the capabilities of this little N. Korean collective of hackers is pretty limited.
Also, I would suggest giving this a read.
http://motherboard.vice.com/read/reaction-to-the-sony-hack-is-beyond-the-realm-of-stupid
What actually happened vs the public reaction is like night and day.
I didn’t see any theaters pulling The Dark Knight Rises after that nutjob killed people in Aurora and there were other anonymous threats after it. This is beyond stupid.
bad play by north Koreans. They felt the movie insulted their leader so they
hacked the computers. Truth is that it’s not that hard to hack a computer
now. In fact there are people out there who for compensation can hack a
computer pretty easily.
When I saw the trailer I thought “this is strange…the Korean is a crazy
dude and he’s not been seen for months.”
But who’s going to show it? Netflix/TWC/Fox News/network….no one will
show it or sell or they’ll probably get hacked too.
Too bad…trailer looked funny.
Jack…do these studios carry insurance for things like this? I’m sure with
44 million on the line they bought some kind of policy…or I hope they
did.
This isn’t the last time this happens. The crooks will never be found
or jailed. Its the nightmare that the government has been fearing for
years. One hacker could take down the entire financial system of the u.s.
Gonna get crazy.
Don’t know what kind of a insurance policy Sony may have carried on the film.
But to my way of thinking they’ll probably be out of $100 to $150 million when everything’s said and done—-production, marketing, distribution, etc. costs.
Come to think of it, that should make for a good tax deduction on their (possible) “ANNIE” profits.
I certainly understand the cancelling of the movie by the various theater chains and the decision by Sony to pull the movie. That is the cautious, safe and conservative approach.
It is decidedly not the approach I want to see continue in the United States.
So it now seems that any form of satire about evil foreign dictators and perhaps leaders of terrorist groups is now forbidden. We cannot make fun of the Iranian or Syrian leaders. Vladimir Putin is out. I assume all Al Quada, Taliban, Isis, etc satires are forbidden. I assume Saddam Hussein, Osama Bin Laden, Hitler and Satan are having a drink in hell and laughing hysterically about this.
I am no fan of Seth Rogen and find his juvenile attempts at humor to be tiresome and not at all funny. However, I would have gone to see the movie just to support it.
I think I will go watch my DVD of The Great Dictator before someone comes around and confiscates it.
+10, Lee.
To your point about our near pathological fear of giving offense, I’ve been railing about the religious aspect of this for some time now (to no avail) but this is a step too far – the same fear now plagues the secular world.
At this rate we will end up accommodating others to out own to death.
Put another way? Sony should just grow a pair; how big could their North Korean market be?
p.s. – I hold both Rogen and Ferrell in the same disdain; never understood the fascination with juvenile humor…
Sony = the worlds biggest wuss.
sony = multi billion dollar money making machine trying to cover their ass.
There’s more juicy info in those remaining emails…they still got millions
of unpublished emails/movies/info that’s still to come out.
this is the new world. get used to it.
If I ran sony..I too would pull the movie. You’re making all that money..
take the financial loss on this movie and go make more movies. Why risk
all that money and your cush jobs fighting some unknowns in korea.
this isn’t about America and free speech….its about money
Probably some more damaging emails left to be made public…why risk
it financially over 40 million bucks. Plenty of good scripts out there
to be made like KING OF STING.
“If ANYTHING bad would have occurred ANYWHERE near the showing of this film, the theater could’ve faced major lawsuits.”
IF
If my Aunt had nuts, she’d have been my Uncle.
Anytime anyone is offended, makes a threat, we’ll just shut down the offending party.
Two bright spots in this exhibit of pussification…..
1. I just made up my mind over which to get, the new Playstation or The Xbox.
2. One less Seth Rogan and James Franco movie.
This ad hoc response just doesn’t fly.
Look, I used to call and get insurance for crazy stuff all the time. Promotions that related to shut outs in NFL Games, insurance on the fly for trips, etc etc. The publicity the flick is getting, which in turn would lead to revenue, would MORE than offset the insurance costs needed to show it in the US.
Why didn’t execs, with time to see this coming, not get on the phone and figure out a way to insure this flick with the threats in house?
Running like sheep. The North Koreans have moles here ready to blow up mom and pop in the movie theater? Hackers ready to bring us to our knees, even though we have advance warning? Not likely.
Usually business people are concerned with business and money.
This was actually a hell of a good thing for making money on this flick. It was an opportunity wasted on so many levels.
Insurance companies WANT to sell policies just like this.
How fucking dangerous am I? Moderated?
Me too.
Hearne hates old, angry white guys and tries to keep us moderated.
Reality is just another crutch for those who can’t handle liquor and drugs, eh?
I far as I am concerned, we can never have enough dissipated Caligulas behind the microphone in this room.
moderated—-
whatever….
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