DEADLINE: How could this have happened, that terrorists achieved their aim of cancelling a major studio film? We watched it unfold, but how many people realized that Sony legitimately was under attack?
GEORGE CLOONEY: A good portion of the press abdicated its real duty. They played the fiddle while Rome burned. There was a real story going on. With just a little bit of work, you could have found out that it wasn’t just probably North Korea; it was North Korea. The Guardians Of Peace is a phrase that Nixon used when he visited China. When asked why he was helping South Korea, he said it was because we are the Guardians of Peace. Here, we’re talking about an actual country deciding what content we’re going to have. This affects not just movies, this affects every part of business that we have. That’s the truth. What happens if a newsroom decides to go with a story, and a country or an individual or corporation decides they don’t like it? Forget the hacking part of it. You have someone threaten to blow up buildings, and all of a sudden everybody has to bow down. Sony didn’t pull the movie because they were scared; they pulled the movie because all the theaters said they were not going to run it. And they said they were not going to run it because they talked to their lawyers and those lawyers said if somebody dies in one of these, then you’re going to be responsible.
We have a new paradigm, a new reality, and we’re going to have to come to real terms with it all the way down the line. This was a dumb comedy that was about to come out. With the First Amendment, you’re never protecting Jefferson; it’s usually protecting some guy who’s burning a flag or doing something stupid. This is a silly comedy, but the truth is, what it now says about us is a whole lot. We have a responsibility to stand up against this. That’s not just Sony, but all of us, including my good friends in the press who have the responsibility to be asking themselves: What was important? What was the important story to be covering here? The hacking is terrible because of the damage they did to all those people. Their medical records, that is a horrible thing, their Social Security numbers. Then, to turn around and threaten to blow people up and kill people, and just by that threat alone we change what we do for a living, that’s the actual definition of terrorism.
Clooney goes on to say that he sent a petition to all the heads of major studios, asserting that they would stand with Sony against the hackers, and none of them would sign it.
Of course Clooney is dead right here, and I don't think that we have yet to understand just what has happened and how it will shape how this country deals with cyber attacks in the future.
The other day a lot of people seemed to suggest that the producers of "The Interview" should have known better, and that they brought this on themselves.
Those people completely miss the point.
I don't think they really miss the point. This movie had a truly dreadful premise--the assassination of a living head of state--and as a comedy! Sony could have invented a country, invented a ruthless leader. Movies are set in the future, some dystopian scenario that can reflect on current indignities or atrocities, but to make it so contemporary is riddled with danger. We have a President who is unpopular with a large, usually wacky, contingent of our society. To imagine possible retaliation is unthinkable, but it is possible. "Politically correct" is a silly term but it conveys a lot of chances to do the right thing. Sony made a tasteless movie, removing it from the roster of slightly less tasteless movies is a good thing.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. To make the point in another way, how about this: Let's say that some Iranian film was about two journalists sent to assassinate President Obama OR President "W" Bush... Not too funny huh..whether you are a liberal, a conservative, etc. .. not too funny, would cause a BIG reaction here in the US.
DeleteNo, we need to deal with the fact that the entertainment industry and the media has SERIOUSLY deteriorated in the last two decades. With greater freedoms because of new technologies, we need greater understanding, not more stupidity and vulgarity.
Now as for the North Korean government's reaction -- yes a form of terrorism, I agree. But that's the WHOLE point. That is where they are at-- don't be shocked when a hyena acts like a hyena. That's why we need to learn about global diplomacy, because every nation is not like ours--for better or worse.
I agree with you too. How would Americans feel is a major foreign film company made a blockbuster-style movie about assassinating the sitting US president? It was never a good idea. That being said, I think this hacking epidemic is really insidious and dangerous.
DeleteBeaglemom
Beaglemom, unfortunately there is an element in this country that would love that movie idea. A rather large element.
DeleteI agree also too. I was surprised when I first heard about the movie that it was about assassinating a living leader, and that nothing was said about it at the time.
DeleteWTF has happened to this country? Land of the Free and Home of the Brave? I don't think so! Land of the shit for brains and home of the shit in your pants from fear.
ReplyDeleteThis whole story pissed me off on so many levels.
The only thing Clooney is right about is:
ReplyDelete"And they said they were not going to run it because they talked to their lawyers and those lawyers said if somebody dies in one of these, then you’re going to be responsible. "
Terror doesn't require hacking a computer system. Anyone can start a campaign that will get lawyers to make their clients wimp out. For example, see Rushdie's experience with the publication of a book that offended some Muslim's resulted in his going into hiding, bookstores being bombed and riots where some people died.
The definition of terror is to impose your will by threats. And it is extremely easy to threaten soft targets. This fuss about SONY is really about the fact that public gathering places can not be made safe. The USA can not protect our shopping areas, our schools/universities, our parks, our movie theaters. Nor can we protect our water supplies, all our power plants, our dams, navigation systems and ports.
SONY's computer systems were laughably easy to hack if someone can siphon off 100 terabytes of data without anyone noticing it. If that is all it takes to "terrorize" us, then we got a big problem, because some reasonably clever teenagers, of ANY nation, can do the same.
Censorship borne of fear. How lovely.
ReplyDeleteExpect more now that they've found they can get away with it.
Clooney is right.
I'll stick with the President on this one.
ReplyDeletehttp://gawker.com/obama-calls-sonys-interview-cancellation-a-mistake-1673270588
Yes, he is spot on. The media missed the big story here. We have a media that lost the ability to ask questions years ago and now we have a scared media. Insanity prevails.
ReplyDeleteThe media isn't scared. They are "dumbing down" everything for sound bites and making the news more entertaining because the American public isn't demanding real journalism anymore. Most of the news anchors are probable hired for their looks, not brains anyway.
DeleteHe may be right this time, but I've long been circumspect about Clooney. Before a great deal of information had yet been gathered he was quick to point blame for Princess Diana's death at the paparazzi, when in fact a driver stewed to the gills, and on mood-altering medication as well, was overwhelming the primary cause. And as we later learned, only the Diana's bodyguard had a seatbelt on and was thus the only survivor.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJoQOQHQ8oA
ReplyDeleteHilarious spoof of North Korean propaganda film on America. Was really filmed in Romania and narrated by a British comedian. The wry, dry humor is absolutely hilarious!
Clooney/Warren 2016
ReplyDeleteCrazy as it sounds rumor has it that Clooney finally got hitched so he'd be taken seriously as a politician. He can be the far left's very own Ronnie Raygun :-)
Delete@ 12:44
DeleteYup - I don't think what you suggested sounds crazy at all.
But there's more - I believe that he's shaved off 5-10 years from his real age and he's had facial surgery. Believe me, George Clooney is NOT 53.
I think he is a good actor and that he's used his celebrity to support righteous causes. If he is interested in politics, he knows, better than most, that getting elected is all about appearances...ideas and integrity are far less important. Unfortunate, but true -- oh my what have we become???
CAL- are you saying Clooney is "really" 63 instead of 53?
DeleteHis presence in photos with his famous family members as a small child debunks that pretty thoroughly. When he sat on his aunt's lap at age three, there were so many well known people in the photo that it's extremely easy to conclusively date. Just wanted to put that out there.
for one thing - north korea is a bubble world that is only surviving as a bubble world because of what? who knows? it is ridiculous. but it is what it is.
ReplyDeletecapitalists (ie., movie theatre owners, etc) love the amendments when it works FOR them, but are cowards when someone needs to be brave and STAND for them.
clooney is right -- the freedom of speech is for the idiots, the buttholes, and the jerkoffs -- they have freedom to speak here in the US of A. and we of course, have the right to call them idiots, buttholes, and jerkoffs.
but they have the right to speak -- and that is a precious right.
IMO Sony did the only thing it could do. It was screwed either way, but in a no-win situation like this, you must evaluate which consequences would be the most devastating. For Sony, releasing a total shitfest of a movie like this one, which already had "BOMB" written all over it, was just not worth the dire consequences North Korea threatened Sony with.
ReplyDeleteTerrorism? Yes, I agree. North Korea is engaging in terrorism. And it totally has Sony over a barrel. It's easy for the President and for George Clooney to criticize Sony's decision, but they are not the ones facing the consequences Sony would be -- not just Sony top management, but every single one of its employees down to the lowest minion, could suffer from the release of a crappy, tasteless, moronic movie. I'm more concerned about that than I am about Sony's freedom of speech being violated, when Sony fucking brought this on themselves.
I doubt Sony will survive in present form with the release of the emails showing what absolute judgmental jerks their upper management is. I can't imagine many artists wanting backing for their next project from a company run by a bunch of backstabbing turncoats, oh, and a company that stored all of the company passwords in a file called "passwords.txt".
DeleteDumbasses deserve to go down.
12:47, I highly, highly, HIGHLY -- did I say "highly"? -- doubt that too many, if any at all, "artists" would refuse backing from Sony for their next project. In fact I guarantee you they won't. The exact same thing that happened to Sony would have happened to whichever entertainment conglomerate was venal and shortsighted enough to release a crapfest like The Interview -- which is to say, ALL OF THEM.
DeleteOh 1:11pm
DeleteDamn, you so serious, so what you North Korean or employed by Sony? Seriously this shit is hilarious!
Well, of course Sony is only concerned about their bottom line and investors. The lawyers say they'll get sued if someone gets hurt. (The U.S. terrorism insurance isn't renewed I heard on NPR).
ReplyDeleteSo Sony takes the cowards way out.
What they should have done is uploaded that entire movie to the Internet FOR FREE and announced the link. They should have thumbed their nose at North Korea.
Instead, they have left us all vulnerable to further terrorist extortion.
No one in North Korea tells me what to do, what to read, what to see or controls what I say. The same cannot be said of Sony.
Bet you wouldn't say that if you were a non-management Sony employee whose personnel history, emails, SS #, and whatever other kind of private personal info Sony keeps on employees, was released online.
DeleteHey 1:13pm
DeleteWhat passed for an IT Department at Sony FUCKED UP. It happens, hopefully they learned their lesson, and yeah, if I worked for them I'd be pissed, but can't cry over spilled milk....
No dumber or no more wrong than giving up Constitutional rights in the wake of 911.
ReplyDeleteOur country is stronger than this. Fear makes you powerless.
Cheney et al knew exactly what 9/11 would accomplish. They achieved their ends and never told Georgie the truth.
DeleteI care, it is on you Georgie if innocent Americans die.
ReplyDeleteIf the President doesn't care and thinks Sony made the wrong decision why should you give two shits? POTUS made it clear that Sony knee-jerked this thing hard and epically failed.
DeleteThe solution to this is simple: use eminent domain to purchase the movie from Sony for $50 million. Release it into the public domain, so everybody gets it for free.
ReplyDeleteIf there was nukes and US went after Sadam he could have easily pushed a button. Hmm unless as we now know he never did it was all made up. Now there are real nukes and US is taking it carefully. Hollywood is nothing without peoples money in movie theatres.
ReplyDelete>>The other day a lot of people seemed to suggest that the producers of "The Interview" should have known better, and that they brought this on themselves.
ReplyDeleteThose people completely miss the point.
No, we don't.
It was a stupid and arrogant idea to think that they could make a bunch of money off of a movie about killing a world leader who is still alive, who represents a country that we have a tenuous relationship with. It is the height of arrogance, in fact. OF COURSE they're going to fight back at the fact that people are getting giggles out of their leader being blown to smithereens. What part of that do YOU not get Gryphen? Sony sits in their greedy little bubble thinking they can get away with anything. Well, they can't. Just like you can't yell 'Fire' in a crowded theatre, Sony should have known better. The 'terrorists' did what they felt they must do to protect their leader's image. They didn't go in and blow up movie theatres. They could have let the movie be released and then act. No, they gave Sony a chance to act responsibly. How is that so hard to understand. We fucking go into other countries and destroy them for far less. It was a bad idea from the start to greenlight this movie. You just don't go after a living head of state. Sony was imperious to that, or so they thought. If the shoe was on the other foot, we'd be sending nukes in their direction.
Clooney's bread and butter is wrapped up in this industry, of COURSE he'd say that. He has a stake in it. The fact that no one signed the petition makes it obvious that there are lots of things to hide and their emails could be exposed next. Secrets. They're running scared, not because of terrorists threats to blow up theatres, but the threat of exposure for things that they've been getting away with for years. Right there in their toxic emails.
Arrogance and untouchability...it's what Sarah also depends on. And as we see, she too will be exposed.
Clooney's right in one respect. Preemptive censorship on Sony's part left them even more vulnerable than before. The President was right when he wished they spoke to him first, but they're a private company, and companies are people. When people are scared or face losses, they do desperate things. Sony may have broken North Korean Laws, but I thought they were covered by the "free speech" issue in the constitution.
ReplyDelete