candyrocket786

Curious if South Park will tackle this issue or do their own version of The Interview.

ultimaton

If we can't say the film falls under parody or satire without seeing it, I really don't understand how someone can make claims that the movie was "calling for" or advocating for anything under the same circumstances.

DaveyJoe

I understand that, but this sets the tone for what movies will feel like they can get away with in the future. Things are about to get way more PC in Hollywood.

RichC2

The movie isn't calling for the assassination of anybody, it's about two idiots trying to assassinate somebody. The big difference here is one was about inciting violence, the other isn't.

Just like a movie about a guy saying "Burn this bitch down!" and showing what happens isn't the same thing as saying "Burn this bitch down!!" and seeing what happens. Or a movie about a guy yelling "FIRE!" in a theater isn't the same thing as actually doing it. If it were a piece of propaganda telling everybody to out and kill this dude, then that's a different thing altogether.

MoviePage

In addition to the threats of violence, the hackers had also promised to release another wave of sensitive Sony info on Christmas day if the movie was released. I'd imagine that played a part in the decision as well. They're clearly not bluffing at this point, and Sony already has a disastrous number of issues to deal with from the previous leaks.

General Zod

Obama should sign an executive order that this movie be shown on all TV channels this Friday @8pm.

slop101

The problem with playing Devil's Advocate is that you're actually advocating for the Devil!

That is, unless you're doing this:

story

Threatening violence and making people afraid for their lives is bullying, period. Despicable. Invoking fear in someone else exposes your own insecurity. Satire exposes truth. The truth is this: making someone else afraid is the act of a coward. Add in some anonymity and it's the definition of dishonorable.

Neil M.

They probably would have if the season wasn't over. It's too bad this movie didn't try to come out 2 months ago.

I think the two main issues are the liability if something did happen and Annie. I think Sony is worried that families are going to stay home because of the threat and that would affect Annie's box office numbers over the holidays. I really don't know what they are going to do with this film. I can't see them permanently shelving it. That would be nuts.

Draven

Are you willing to bet millions of dollars on that? Sony wasn't.

Paul_SD

To someone who asked "what's to stop the KKK from threatening theaters over Selma?"
The answer is if the KKK has hacked into the that studio's system, completely compromised all security, looted it of all information, and began dispensing it on the net, then yeah, I think theater owners and the that studio would be paying attention.
Of course, the KKK or any US based organization would be morons to do something like that because authorities would have jurisdictional access to them and would be busting down doors on just a scintilla of suspicion.

And as far as pulling it- Even if the hackers had no way of really carrying out any death and destruction, having this in a mulitplex would chill business for every other film in release. If people believed there was even a chance of carrying anything out, why would they even risk going to the film next to it?. No. They would just stay away all together. And if business were down drastically this season because of this, other studios would be looking at Sony as the douche who took a shit in the pool. Not good business. And not good with corporate owners who value something like saving face.
Sony has their plate stuffed right now. I'm sure they're relieved that one less thing is in the air to worry about.

jdslater1

While I know its a very tricky subject I bet you that NO ONE said when this movie was announced "you never guess what will happen when this gets released?!".

robin2099

A whole bunch of people tried to sue the theater and the theater chain in Aurora when the Dark Knight Rises shooting took place. So yes if something did happen the odds of Sony being sued were pretty good.

But that brings up the point of how there really can't be much made to back up what they claimed would happen if you think about it logically. But with them mentioning 911 and people still having the DKR shooting and the Boston bombing in their minds the fear tactics worked.

Paul_SD

yeah, the logistics of something spectacular happening are just too complex to ever pull off. But an isolated one-man incident is not out of the realm of possibility and something like that would have almost the same chilling effect on business and attendance. Business would be down big time and that's the point.

superdeluxe

Steve Carell ‏@SteveCarell 4h4 hours ago

Chaplin

Defiant1

^This. The only thing Hollywood understands is $$$. They are not risking a potentially catastrophic lawsuit and PR nightmare over a POS like The Interview. They'll just suck up the $65M or so in losses as a write-off and pray for the best with Annie and Mall Cop 2.

fumanstan

I think this is a good point; it's not just about Sony and The Interview, but it would affect other movies and movie theater chains along with the people watching them as well. It's easy to sit back and call Sony pussies, but it makes complete sense.

Norm de Plume

Un is probably gleefully jumping up and down in his lifts. Have there been any gloating reports of successful world domination from that screeching harpy of a newsreader?

kstublen

Were those lawsuits successful? How far did those lawsuits even make it in the system? Anyone can try and sue someone else, but that doesn't mean they'll win. Big corporations have in-house counsel for exactly these sorts of purposes.

While I recognize that Sony was under no obligation to release the movie, we are a society that values free speech and we shouldn't condone their decision. Giving into threats of violence and allowing those threats to suppress art should be troubling to everyone. And at the end of the day, we as a society shouldn't cave to threats. This is no different than letting the bully on the playground take your lunch money and give you a wedgie. It shouldn't be tolerated, period.

Neil M.

The difference in this case is that there is a threat. If they ignore the threat and something happened, they aren't going to have any good defense.

Neil M.

I just read that one of the Alamo Drafthouse theaters is going to do a showing of Team America.

inri222

RichC2

Neighbors was his highest grossing movie to date. Pretty sure he's going nowhere.

printerati

All I know is that no German cyberattacks occurred under Roosevelt's watch.

EddieMoney

I don't mind Rogen THAT much, but this movie looked bad. Like ball blistering, dick rotting bad.