The consequences of the Sony hack now extend to studios that haven't even been threatened yet.
In a courageous show of solidarity with Sony, now Paramount won't let the few theaters who thought it would be funny to show a different North Korea-baiting comedy in place of The Interview to do so. That's right, some independent theaters thought it would be a nice gesture to allow American audiences a shot at chuckling at another piece of political satire, 2004's Team America: World Police, but Paramount have decided to play it "safe" and nix that, too.
The Alamo Drafthouse was set to offer Team Americain place of The Interview, but Paramount put a stop to that. The Capitol Theater in Cleveland was also set to show Team America, but this was as a tenth anniversary screening of the film, which had been on the calendar since October. That won't be happening, either. Brandy Fons, a spokesperson for the Alamo Drafthouse told the AP that "the film was pulled from release."
This all comes on the heels of Tuesday's "9/11" threat made by the hackers who attacked Sony in retaliation for the unflattering light that The Interview casts their leader in, which led to Sony deciding not to release that film. New Regency followed by killing a Steve Carell/Gore Verbinski thriller set in North Korea. Now Paramount think that a movie released ten years ago might get them in hot water. Maybe if the "Guardians of Peace" issue another statement telling them "No, it's cool, our beef was only with the guys making fun of our current leader, not his dad," then the Team America screenings can go forward.
If my tone is harsh, please understand: the folks in charge of Sony and Paramount have now twice, in the space of twenty-four hours, effectively let a faceless threat decide which movies Americans are allowed to watch in theaters, all because they're afraid of having their dirty laundry aired in public. This is a poor example to set. Please keep in mind, that while the American government is pointing the finger at North Korea as the originators of the cyber attack on Sony, the United States Department of Homeland Security, who take everything seriously, never put much stock in the actual threat of violence.
The most disturbing part of all of this is that Sony quickly folded to the cyberterrorists' demands after a series of potentially damaging e-mail leaks led to Paramount's willing capitulation, despite the fact that they haven't even been threatened. The hackers have already won, now they're just running up the score. These studios have managed to show everyone with an axe to grind, domestic or foreign, exactly how they can interfere with any movie they don't like the content or message of.
All you need is a keyboard and some empty threats.
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