What Corporate Cowardice Looks Like

[Arvoitus 1]

quade

I want to see it. That said, I'm now a little afraid to. Not because of anything North Korea could possibly do, but because I watched an episode of M.A.S.H. Do you know the one?

The one where the Catholic Church's, National Legion of Decency, decided the movie, "The Moon is Blue" was immoral and without any socially redeeming qualities, so no movie theater in the US would run it. So Hawkeye and Trapper John, thinking it must contain really awesome pornography in it, conspire to trade and swindle their way to getting a copy only to be disappointed to find everyone fully clothed.

What's odd is there are still films that were condemned in that era and still are. Today, many of those films would be considered "quaint" in what they were banned for.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_condemned_by_the_Legion_of_Decency

It was actually surprisingly decent movie. Even if I didn't know about the hype around it I would've found it entertaining. At no point I didn't understand why'd they want to ban it though.

Your rights end where my feelings begin.

[ryoder 1,384]

Streaming services now available: http://www.canistream.it/search/movie/the%20interview

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[Bolas 5]

Just rented it.

Only in America could watching a stoner comedy be considered an act of patriotism and fighting terrorism.

Stupidity if left untreated is self-correcting
If ya can't be good, look good, if that fails, make 'em laugh.

[Anvilbrother 0]

It was awesome! Would have been a shame if it was never released.

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[jakee 1,254]

AndyBoyd

Yeah, seriously. I stand by what I said. No corporate counsel in his or her right mind would advise a movie theater chain to show that movie. That's why it got pulled. And the reality check is it did get pulled. So it looks like I was right. Now if Sony and the theaters change their minds, I'll have egg on my face. But as it stands, I'm right on this one.

Not in a million years. Just because other people made the same reality denying mistake as you doesn't make you right. When has North Korea ever shown that it has the ability or desire to perform a terrorist attack on US soil? Never.

There is no risk to career or conscience because there is no risk to life or limb beyond the normal background noise of 'what if a random psycho bursts in' that happens with any movie release.

Heck, on that note, there actually was a mass shooting early in The Dark Knight's theatre run. That film didn't get pulled - did it end corporate council's careers or leave them with ruined consciences? No. There were several shootings (tenuously) linked to the influence of The Matrix but they went ahead and made two sequels anyway. Did that ruin careers or consciences? Don't think so.

So basically, if you continually live in grovelling fear of the worst thing that could happen, no matter how astronomically unlikely, you'll never do anything.

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[AndyBoyd 0]

Maybe I and the suits at the theater chains at Sony were wrong on this one. I am aware that the movie is in limited release at independent theaters, and available for rent or purchase on Google. The movie still is not in wide release in big chains, though. Maybe that will change. I can see that you have very strong feelings on this issue and that's cool. My original position, however, has not changed. Given that the US State Department knew the hacks came from North Korea, if I were corporate counsel for Sony or a theater chain, I would have advised them to pull the movie at that time. If that means you think I'm somehow living my life in groveling fear, well, that seems a bit extreme to me, but I can live with whatever you think of me.

[jakee 1,254]

Yes, the hacks came from North korea. Where does that turn into they have the ability and inclination to orchestrate a plot to kill thousands of people on US soil? It's absurd.

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[AndyBoyd 0]

I've conceded four fucking times that I may have been wrong. You then essentially called me a pussy. And you still won't let up. You won this one, Jakee. Congrat's.

[jakee 1,254]

You said you may be wrong but that you still think you're right. I asked for your reasoning on a particular point. If you get that pissed off at the prospect of having to explain your thinking then it does say something about the strength of your argument.

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[AndyBoyd 0]

I have explained my reasoning numerous times in this thread. In some detail. Apparently you didn't bother to read my posts, or if you did, you didn't understand them. I'll try one more time, then can we agree to disagree? I think there were both financial and safety reasons to pull the movie. The financial reasons are that the public may have stayed away from the theaters, and all the movies in a given multiplex, due to concerns about the potential of a terrorist attack. Quade and Andy 9o8 made thoughtful and collegial posts challenging my assumptions as far as the financial part of my argument. I responded the best I could. The safety reason would be a terrorist attack. You responded to that part of my argument by calling my a pussy who absurdly thought that North Korea could pull off a terrorist attack in the USA. Can you see the difference between your posts and Quade's and Andy 9o8's? At any rate, it is far from absurd to think that North Korea could attack a movie theater in the US. All it takes is one lone suicide bomber. Happens all over the world. How is my thinking that could happen here absurd? It clearly is not.

Look, I've explained myself as clearly as I can. I understand that you disagree. That's cool with me. I just get frustrated having to explain myself over and over again. There's nothing more for me to say on this topic. Have the final word, and we're done with this.

[Anvilbrother 0]

Just ignore him, all he is here for is to piss people off and make them spin their wheels answering his specific and hard to pinpoint answers so when you can't find it he call you out for being wrong for some stupid shit he was requesting you to find.

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[jakee 1,254]

Quote

The safety reason would be a terrorist attack. You responded to that part of my argument by calling my a pussy who absurdly thought that North Korea could pull off a terrorist attack in the USA. Can you see the difference between your posts and Quade's and Andy 9o8's?

Well, Quade called you a coward, so no, I'm not really sure why you took exception to my posts and not his?

Quote

At any rate, it is far from absurd to think that North Korea could attack a movie theater in the US. All it takes is one lone suicide bomber. Happens all over the world.

When has it happened? North Korea are always angry at someone. Who have they ever attacked?

How are they going to orchestrate it? Do they have a network of terrorists embedded in the USA that we're completely oblivious to? If they did would they expose them over a movie? Of course not. It's absurd.

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[wolfriverjoe 1,340]

jakee

When has it happened? North Korea are always angry at someone. Who have they ever attacked?

How are they going to orchestrate it? Do they have a network of terrorists embedded in the USA that we're completely oblivious to? If they did would they expose them over a movie? Of course not. It's absurd.

Well, they've attacked the ROK (South Korea). But that's a bit different. They make threats, make demands, make small(ish) attacks that result in a few (or a few dozen) deaths. With little or no real consequences.
Because they have a huge army (Badly fed, badly equipped) and nukes, everyone is afraid to risk retaliation. So the DPRK feels really powerful.

I agree that the likelyhood of a DPRK terrorist attack was very, very low. And that's the problem.
They pulled the hacking attack on Sony.
Then they threatened "9/11 style" attacks on the theaters showing the movie.

And the cowards caved.

Everyone talks about how bad bullying is and how important it is to stop it, when it comes to kids.
But when an actual bully makes empty threats, we (as a society) capitulate.
We're "worried about safety" or "about potential liability" or whatever.

We are afraid to take any actual action (no matter that the real risk is miniscule) because we are afraid of a weak, impotent bully.

"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

[Anvilbrother 0]

You love to throw the "how are they going to attack us" bullshit fucking line out there. It doesn't have to be a guy from their soil coming over here to do it. For fucks sake look what happened from the Brown shooting, what 3-4 cops dead, addresses to others put out on twitter with suggestions to "handle it". How did that happen, was it one of brown family members that actually drove from furgeson and did it? No its the message put out into the media that some mental patient acts on....
The possible rogue idot taking implied commands from North Korea and doing some sort of attack at a theater was enough for the suits to pump the brakes. Quit taking shit so literally, or maybe stop coming over and just stirring the shit, its getting all over you.

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[SkyDekker 1,122]

quade

***And how would you deal with the repercusisonf rom the other studios, because their movies are now taking a financial hit, because of the actions you as the movie theatre have taken?

If you'd like to talk about how film distribution works from studio to theater and what the deals are and how the money flows we can do that, but I can pretty well guarantee there would be zero "repercusison."

Quade, why do you think only independent movie theatres showed the movie?

[BillyVance 34]

SkyDekker

******And how would you deal with the repercusisonf rom the other studios, because their movies are now taking a financial hit, because of the actions you as the movie theatre have taken?

If you'd like to talk about how film distribution works from studio to theater and what the deals are and how the money flows we can do that, but I can pretty well guarantee there would be zero "repercusison."

Quade, why do you think only independent movie theatres showed the movie?

I'll offer my opinion... The major chains caved because they feared being hacked themselves and embarrassed with their private sensitive info being released to the public.

The little theaters really don't have much, if any, public exposure online. Plus, there are so many of them around, it's not worth the hassle to try and hack them one at a time.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[rushmc 18]

quade

Quote

Sony Attack: Carmike Cinemas Won’t Screen ‘The Interview’

Carmike Cinemas has bailed out on showing Sony’s comedy “The Interview.”

The theater chain is the first to take up Sony’s offer to distributors to pull “The Interview” if they desire in advance of its wide release this Christmas. Sony remains committed to the planned opening.

Multiplex owners were caught by surprise Tuesday after hackers evoked the memory of 9/11 while threatening theaters that play the comedy about an attempted assassination of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.

The Carmike chain, based in Georgia, has 2,623 screens domestically — most of them in rural and suburban areas of the South.

Source: http://variety.com/2014/film/news/sony-fallout-carmike-cinemas-wont-screen-the-interview-1201381251/

I would urge all my friends in the south to make it known that Carmike caved and let the terrorists win this one. Additionally, they've opened the door to countless other nutjobs with anonymous internet accounts who would also make threats.

Done by laid off Sony staff?

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[quade 3]

rushmc

Done by laid off Sony staff?

While anything is possible, I find it somewhat hilarious all of the people who distrust "the government" when they have massive abilities track every bit of data that goes in and out of the county, yet dismiss them completely out of hand when it comes to something like this.

The US government has said North Korea is behind this and North Korea has all but admitted to it.

Now, I won't for a minute say it's not possible that North Korea didn't recruit a disgruntled former employee of Sony, in fact, that's probably the easiest way to go about such things, but this is far larger than simply a disgruntled employee.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[ryoder 1,384]

"Activist Park Sang-hak said he will start dropping 100,000 DVDs and USBs with the movie by balloon in North Korea as early as late January. Park, a North Korean defector, said he's partnering with the U.S.-based non-profit Human Rights Foundation, which is financing the making of the DVDs and USB memory sticks of the movie with Korean subtitles."

And since Sony has not released the DVD yet, I wonder how they will feel about bootleg copes of their movie being distributed in Best Korea.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/south-korean-drop-sony-film-north-balloon-040731191.html

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[Andy9o8 0]

ryoder

"Activist Park Sang-hak said he will start dropping 100,000 DVDs and USBs with the movie by balloon in North Korea as early as late January. Park, a North Korean defector, said he's partnering with the U.S.-based non-profit Human Rights Foundation, which is financing the making of the DVDs and USB memory sticks of the movie with Korean subtitles."

And since Sony has not released the DVD yet, I wonder how they will feel about bootleg copes of their movie being distributed in Best Korea.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/south-korean-drop-sony-film-north-balloon-040731191.html

I rather doubt there's a statistically-significant number of people in N. Korea who can make use of DVDs or USB sticks.

[JerryBaumchen 1,048]

Hi Andy,

Quote

I rather doubt there's a statistically-significant number of people in N. Korea who can make use of DVDs or USB sticks.

That was my very first thought when I read his post.

Without potatoes, a potato peeler is somewhat useless.



Jerry Baumchen

[ryoder 1,384]

Whoa!
Tough crowd.
Even North Koreans who hate Kim Jong-un don't like movie:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/12/world/asia/disliking-kim-jong-un-and-the-interview-even-more.html

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[Anvilbrother 0]

Nice try Kim Jong-un you know they love the movie....

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[Stumpy 256]

Bit of a streisand affect here. If this hadn't happened because if it had just gone on general release hardly anyone would have seen it because by all accounts from those who HAVE seen it, this movie is a gigantic steaming pile of poo.

Never try to eat more than you can lift

[Anvilbrother 0]

Quote

those who HAVE seen it, this movie is a gigantic steaming pile of poo.

From all accounts from people I know that have seen it, this movie was funny as hell.

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