The Interview

[Dotini]

How do you formulate rules of warfare/engagement for the Internet?

By Braille, by trial and error, by experiment and test, by necessity or forced choice. And by false flag if possible. Above all, by secrecy.

 

[Swagger897]

Well let the US stay out of that seeing how we can't follow our own rules...

 

[Sanji Himura]

Update: Sony Spox: No further release plans for The Interview. This includes Direct to DVD or Video on Demand. This according to two tweets sourced by The Blaze.

 

[Ken]

The hackivists win. So sad.

 

[Blitz24]

$44 million down the drain.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

$44 million down the drain.

I bet we'd be saying that even if the film released ...

 

[Ken]

I bet we'd be saying that even if the film released ...

Touché.

 

[Blitz24]

I bet we'd be saying that even if the film released ...

True, but at least then it would have served a purpose other than being DOA.

Did anyone check if there was a movie made about trying to kill this movie before it was shown? They could make lots of money on that.

 

[Dan]

I wasn't interested in seeing it before, but after all these hackings, I'm more interested in seeing it.

*Puts on tinfoil hat*

Sony was never hacked! It's all an elaborate plot to gain attention for the film!



But seriously though, this is bull. North Korea needs some real leadership; not a limping idiot who murders innocent people on a daily basis. Perhaps we should send in Dennis Rodman to calm down Supreme Fatass.

 

[EF12345678]

@CallmeDan, bravo.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Did anyone check if there was a movie made about trying to kill this movie before it was shown? They could make lots of money on that.

Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr and Jack Black probably will.

 

[Sanji Himura]

While North Korea may have won the battle, it lost the war in one Texas town. The DFW branch of the Alamo Drafthouse will show 'Team America: World Police' in place of 'The Interview' for a free 7pm Christmas showing.

American flags and other patriotic items will be given out by theater employees, Wallace says.

The plot of Team America, co-written by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, revolves around Kim Jong Il, the father of current North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. The posters promoting the R-rated movie in 2004 included the tagline, "Putting the 'F' Back in Freedom."

The Alamo Drafthouse movie theater in Dallas, Texas, will be showing Team America: World Police in place of The Interview on Dec. 27 at 7 p.m. Wallace says that the Dallas/Fort Worth location is the only location as of now that is planning to screen the replacement film.

In a note on its website, the theater added: "THAT is how true American heroes will be celebrating this year, but if you want to let the terrorists win...well, that's your prerogative."

 

[NLxAROSA]

Nice knee-jerk reaction there. Luckily, not all media are as sensationalist as that, so here's an article on why it's most likely NOT NK behind the hack: http://marcrogers.org/2014/12/18/why-the-sony-hack-is-unlikely-to-be-the-work-of-north-korea/

 

[Robin]

I can't understand is why something similar didn't happen when Team America came out? Surely that was just as, if not more offensive to North Korea. I can imagine Trey Parker & Matt Stone wanting to do a sequel right about now even though they said they wouldn't do another.

*Puts on tinfoil hat*

Sony was never hacked! It's all an elaborate plot to gain attention for the film!

Can you imagine it would be one of the craziest PR stunts ever.

Even I want to see it now just to see what the fuss is about. I can imagine if it goes straight to home video or on demand it's going to be the highest grossing direct to DVD release ever.

 

[Imari]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_a_President_(2006_film)

This managed to get up a fair amount of people's noses in America. Is it so hard to believe that other countries also object to having their leader fictionally assassinated, however evil or otherwise he may be?

From memory, NK also objected to Team America.

 

[Sanji Himura]

From memory, NK also objected to Team America.

They did. The difference here is that Kim Jung Un actually had the balls to send his cyber attack dogs from China to do something about it.

They were the only people who had something to gain from getting this movie pulled.

 

[Peasantslayer]

Sony should at least try and salvage something from the money they have spent and pick on a weaker country that won't declare war on them.

 

[Sanji Himura]

Sony should at least try and salvage something from the money they have spent and pick on a weaker country that won't declare war on them.

You are missing the point. The point is that North Korea's Cyber Goon group, based in China, just toppled one of the most anticipated releases of the year all because it doesn't reflect a good image on Kim Jung Un.

Parody films are made all the time, and this shouldn't be an exception, but it became one because the hackers exposed what was going on behind the scenes at Sony.

 

[Imari]

They did. The difference here is that Kim Jung Un actually had the balls to send his cyber attack dogs from China to do something about it.

They were the only people who had something to gain from getting this movie pulled.

You know how there's that internet group Anonymous who go around doing random white knighty stuff, mostly for no particularly good reason? And any other number of groups of script kiddies who like to stir up 🤬 on the internet just because they can, not unlike the other big Sony hacking back in 2011?

Maybe it was KJU and his army of hackers. Maybe it wasn't. It probably isn't KJU making threats to bomb cinemas (because why would you potentially start a war against the US over this, which is what a bombing on US soil would amount to), so there's at least one other group out there with an interest in people not watching the film.

Don't ask me why anyone else would want people not to watch it. Some people are mental.

 

[Dennisch]

So, if you sound dangerous enough you can get stuff done.

Good to know.

 

[FoolKiller]

I get theaters not wanting to take the liability risk. I don't get Sony canceling all plans to release the film. We seem to talk big about fighting terrorism while doing exactly what they want in this country.

 

[Famine]

Sony was never hacked! It's all an elaborate plot to gain attention for the film!

More likely it's a patsy for canning what's likely to be an utter turd of a film (Seth Rogen on his own will ensure that, never mind the hilarious brojapes he'll have with James Franco) and getting the insurance to make up the catastrophic losses it would have made. Plus it'll get attention for the film for DVD sales.

 

[Sanji Himura]

You know how there's that internet group Anonymous who go around doing random white knighty stuff, mostly for no particularly good reason? And any other number of groups of script kiddies who like to stir up 🤬 on the internet just because they can, not unlike the other big Sony hacking back in 2011?

Maybe it was KJU and his army of hackers. Maybe it wasn't. It probably isn't KJU making threats to bomb cinemas (because why would you potentially start a war against the US over this, which is what a bombing on US soil would amount to), so there's at least one other group out there with an interest in people not watching the film.

Don't ask me why anyone else would want people not to watch it. Some people are mental.

What would they gain from it, besides getting a few free movies that were on Sony's servers? That's right, nothing. North Korea has everything to gain from not getting this picture to the box office.

Also, there is the factor that over a TB of data was stolen from Sony's servers, and not all of it is released. So whoever these Guardians of Peace people are, they are out to keep the pressure on Sony to stop the film's release. No one wants that more than KJU.

 

[Touring Mars]

NBC are reporting that U.S officials have now directly blamed the North Korean government for "directing" the hack on Sony, but that the hack was actually carried out from a different country, but they don't say where...

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/north-korea-behind-sony-hack-u-s-officials-n270451

Kind of makes sense.

 

[Sanji Himura]

The malware that was used in the attack was similar to the code used by the North Koreans to attack South Korean businesses.

That is pretty damning stuff, especially if a former Sony employee provided a back door for the North Koreans.

As I said earlier, these hackers made off with over a TB of information, and not all of it is released to the public. This could be the means to keep the pressure on Sony to not release the film.

 

[Keef]

NBC are reporting that U.S officials have now directly blamed the North Korean government for "directing" the hack on Sony, but that the hack was actually carried out from a different country, but they don't say where...

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/north-korea-behind-sony-hack-u-s-officials-n270451

Kind of makes sense.

I've been browsing a little bit this morning looking for statements from Anon about Guardians of Peace and all I can find are random comments here and there by Anon members saying they won't stand for GoP's tactics. Maybe they're trying to organize a response. That would be awesome if Anon managed to hack GoP and North Korea.

Normally Anon doesn't support the big Hollywood companies but in this case GoP spoiled everybody's fun, including theirs, and they probably aren't happy about it.

 

[Jump_Ace]

I wasn't interested in seeing it before, but after all these hackings, I'm more interested in seeing it.

Yep, I'll watch it one way or another. But also expect to be fully disappointed after seeing it too.


Jerome

 

[Sanji Himura]

I've been browsing a little bit this morning looking for statements from Anon about Guardians of Peace and all I can find are random comments here and there by Anon members saying they won't stand for GoP's tactics. Maybe they're trying to organize a response. That would be awesome if Anon managed to hack GoP and North Korea.

Normally Anon doesn't support the big Hollywood companies but in this case GoP spoiled everybody's fun, including theirs, and they probably aren't happy about it.

They probably know that GoP has changed the status quo. They are being hypocritical about it since the hactivists haven't done anything against Lizard Squad for DDoS attacks against Sony and MS and taking PSN and XBL offline.

Still what GoP has done is make every project about NK shelved. An untitled project set to star Steve Carell was cancelled by FOX for fears of what NK might do to them.

 

[Keef]

@Sanji Himura I don't think Anon is being hypocritical. Anon fights against intellectual property rights which, let's be honest, are out of control in this country. The big corporations support the exploitative intellectual property laws which exist and lobby government to go after the little guys. Anon supports changing laws which are unjust.

But this GoP attack is different. In this case, Sony in particular is supporting the free speech rights of their artists. It's a simple entertainment movie. GoP successfully quelled those free speech rights and that is unacceptable.

If somebody attacks a corporation because the corporation is doing something bad, Anon will support the attack. But if somebody attacks a corporation when the corporation is doing something good, Anon won't support it and will go after the attackers. Corporations aren't always bad. You have to pick your battles. And there are times when you don't enter the battle at all, like when Lizard Squad does dumb **** - including felony bomb threats - for no particular reason. Anon has reasons.

 

[NLxAROSA]

Wired is also trying to make the case that there really is no proof that NK is behind this all. http://www.wired.com/2014/12/evidence-of-north-korea-hack-is-thin/

To be honest, I'm not convinced either. US officials would love to point to NK because of their agenda and Sony would love that a professionally organized attack is responsible for this mess rather than an amateur hack of their crappy infrastructure (mainly for legal reasons).

So far, I have not seen or read a single shred of *solid* evidence pointing to NK. Of course, the main stream media is regurgitating what the officials feed them and it's mainly the tech media questioning the available 'evidence'.