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Sony cancels 'The Interview'

SueDonJ

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I would fully understand your fear and whatever decision you would make based on a threat like that. It just makes me sad, I guess, that we have gotten to this point where anonymous threats can have such a huge impact.

Kurt

Sad. That's the perfect word.
 

Clemson Fan

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I'm not really sadenned by it and I don't view as a challenge to free speech or giving into terrorists or whatever. I just view as a stupid decision by a private company (Sony) that's now going to cost them a lot of money.

What did they think would happen? I mean why not make a movie making fun of and a mockery of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad? What do you think the reaction to a movie like that would be? Isn't it obvious!

If you're going to walk up to a bee hive and whack it with a stick you should expect to get stung!
 

PigsDad

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I'm not really sadenned by it and I don't view as a challenge to free speech or giving into terrorists or whatever. I just view as a stupid decision by a private company (Sony) that's now going to cost them a lot of money.

What did they think would happen? I mean why not make a movie making fun of and a mockery of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad? What do you think the reaction to a movie like that would be? Isn't it obvious!

If you're going to walk up to a bee hive and whack it with a stick you should expect to get stung!

I'd agree with you if the general public decided that this movie was junk and it flopped, and the movie studio got "stung", as you call it.

But that's not what happened.

A movie studio made a controversial movie, and the general public wasn't allowed to even make the decision if they liked it or not because a small, radical group decided they didn't like the movie and effectively blackmailed the studio to pull the movie.

By your post, you seem to be ok with what happened; that Sony got "stung". Would you have been ok if similar actions took place and some other controversial movies were never release, such as:

Fahrenheit 9/11
Brokeback Mountain
And since you brought up making a mockery of Muhammad, how about:
The Last Temptation of Christ and
The Passion Of The Christ

heck, even Deep Throat

Now that the precedent has been set, movies like this may not even see the light of day to even be "judged" by the general public. Yes, that does make me sad.

Kurt
 

Bucky

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I love it when people make blatantly political, anti-govt. statements and then say "let's not make this a political discussion"!:rolleyes::rolleyes:

If you think my post was blatantly political and anti govt I've got a timeshare to sell (give) you. To make an honest statement and get a snarky response is blatantly rude!
 

Beefnot

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If you think my post was blatantly political and anti govt I've got a timeshare to sell (give) you. To make an honest statement and get a snarky response is blatantly rude!

Your statement may have been honest, but still your comment was blatantly political. wilma may have been rude as you say, but she was quite correct. Notice that your comment was edited by a moderator.
 

Clemson Fan

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I'd agree with you if the general public decided that this movie was junk and it flopped, and the movie studio got "stung", as you call it.

But that's not what happened.

A movie studio made a controversial movie, and the general public wasn't allowed to even make the decision if they liked it or not because a small, radical group decided they didn't like the movie and effectively blackmailed the studio to pull the movie.

By your post, you seem to be ok with what happened; that Sony got "stung". Would you have been ok if similar actions took place and some other controversial movies were never release, such as:

Fahrenheit 9/11
Brokeback Mountain
And since you brought up making a mockery of Muhammad, how about:
The Last Temptation of Christ and
The Passion Of The Christ

heck, even Deep Throat

Now that the precedent has been set, movies like this may not even see the light of day to even be "judged" by the general public. Yes, that does make me sad.

Kurt

You're acting as like our Freedom of Speech rights in this country are being trampled on. However, that's NOT what's happening.

We have no real control over how another country or religion is going to react, but we should be smart enough to anticipate it. Sony failed to anticipate this reaction from North Korea and now they're paying the price financially.

A couple of years ago a southern preacher was going to burn a Koran and broadcast it on the internet. Did he have the right to do that? Sure! Was it the smart thing to do? No, because it was sure to incite the fanatics and some innocent people would've gotten killed. Fortunately he decided against doing it.

I'm not against controversial movies being made. We as Americans are a lot more accepting of them and in general we don't get all crazy about them and are more level headed and don't resort to violence or terrorism to protest them. That's just in general who we are and that's great, but that's not how other parts of the world are.

If somebody walks up to a bee hive and wacks it with a stick, then they should anticipate that they're going to get stung. Simple as that.

Stupid is as stupid does!
 

Beefnot

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You're acting as like our Freedom of Speech rights in this country are being trampled on. However, that's NOT what's happening.

We have no real control over how another country or religion is going to react, but we should be smart enough to anticipate it. Sony failed to anticipate this reaction from North Korea and now they're paying the price financially.

A couple of years ago a southern preacher was going to burn a Koran and broadcast it on the internet. Did he have the right to do that? Sure! Was it the smart thing to do? No, because it was sure to incite the fanatics and some innocent people would've gotten killed. Fortunately he decided against doing it.

I'm not against controversial movies being made. We as Americans are a lot more accepting of them and in general we don't get all crazy about them and are more level headed and don't resort to violence or terrorism to protest them. That's just in general who we are and that's great, but that's not how other parts of the world are.

If somebody walks up to a bee hive and wacks it with a stick, then they should anticipate that they're going to get stung. Simple as that.

Stupid is as stupid does!

I don't really disagree with you. But if a foreign government hacks into a privately owned corporation's systems and also makes violent terrorist threats against Americans, I consider that an overtly aggressive act against the United States that should be not taken lightly. That is worthy of an a$$whooping of some sort in my book.
 

Clemson Fan

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I don't really disagree with you. But if a foreign government hacks into a privately owned corporation's systems and also makes violent terrorist threats against Americans, I consider that an overtly aggressive act against the United States that should be not taken lightly. That is worthy of an a$$whooping of some sort in my book.

I'm actually not against giving North Korea a little ass whooping here and there. I actually said on another thread awhile back that the U.S. should blow up the USS Peublo and send it to the bottom of that river they have it in. However, do we really want to start a war with them over this movie or them hacking into a Japanese company?

All I'm really saying on this thread is the Sony execs who gave the go ahead to make this movie were playing with fire and they got burned! Stupid is as stupid does!
 

MuranoJo

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...You're acting as like our Freedom of Speech rights in this country are being trampled on. However, that's NOT what's happening.

...We have no real control over how another country or religion is going to react, but we should be smart enough to anticipate it. Sony failed to anticipate this reaction from North Korea and now they're paying the price financially...

I agree this was not a smart move for Sony, without considering potential repercussions in this day & age.

But, yes, our Freedom of Speech rights are being trampled on, simply because we've allowed a foreign entity/hackers to control what we're saying.

Sony may be paying the price for now, but I fear this will be a long-term cost for all of us.
 

Patri

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If it is true what I heard on the news this morning, that the U.S. govt. watched the movie and gave the OK, that is even worse. AND, the assassination is successful in the film. Unbelievable. What did Sony expect the repercussions to be?
 

Tia

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Sony may be paying the price for now, but I fear this will be a long-term cost for all of us.


Ya out in full view seems blackmail worked........
 

Sea Six

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I don't think whether or not people would like the movie or think that it is in good taste is the issue at all. I didn't care for the material that Larry Flynt produced, but to censor Hustler magazine was wrong. While not a legal censorship, this new situation opens the door to any group effectively censoring a movie they happen not to like. Do we really want to go down that path?

Kurt

Are you totally clueless? This movie is CRAP!
 

dioxide45

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It seems that this came down to a private company opting to make their own decision to cancel the movies release. Ultimately to limit liability, both in the event of an actual attack and to prevent further data releases. There is no censorship here. It is more like corporate blackmail. This really could happen at any time with any movie. The movie just hit a nerve. In N. Korea it is taboo and even illegal to disparage the supreme leader. They don't want anyone in the north getting any ideas if this movie somehow got seen by those in the north.
 
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PigsDad

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Are you totally clueless? This movie is CRAP!
Did you actually see the movie? :confused: Yeah, that's what I thought. :rolleyes:

And thanks for the unsolicited personal insult of calling me clueless. You really took the high road on that one.

Kurt
 

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It seems that this came down to a private company opting to make their own decision to cancel the movies release. Ultimately to limit liability, both in the event of an actual attack and to prevent further data releases. There is no censorship here. It is more like corporate blackmail. This really could happen at any time with any movie. The movie just hit a nerve. In N. Korea it is taboo and even illegal to disparage the supreme leader. They don't want anyone in the north getting any ideas if this movie somehow got seen by those in the north.

The net effect is censorship. The weapon was cyber-blackmail.

I, for one, would go to a theater to see this if it were released, just for the principle of the matter. Someone else mentioned another option where it's released over TV and anyone could see it at home.
 

Clemson Fan

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It seems that this came down to a private company opting to make their own decision to cancel the movies release. Ultimately to limit liability, both in the event of an actual attack and to prevent further data releases. There is no censorship here. It is more like corporate blackmail. This really could happen at any time with any movie. The movie just hit a nerve. In N. Korea it is taboo and even illegal to disparage the supreme leader. They don't want anyone in the north getting any ideas if this movie somehow got seen by those in the north.

Yeah, you nailed it. It's really cyber corporate blackmail by a rogue country.

I kind of view freedom of speech as a constitutional protection preventing our own government from trampling on those freedoms and not what a rogue country can or cannot do to influence the decisions of a private corporation.

Imagine being born and raised in North Korea!? :eek: Thank God I won the birth lottery! :D
 

Clemson Fan

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I, for one, would go to a theater to see this if it were released, just for the principle of the matter. Someone else mentioned another option where it's released over TV and anyone could see it at home.

Would you have gone to the theater to see it if this controversy hadn't arose?

The previews actually made me laugh and I wanted to see it. I'm not heartbroken that I now won't be able to see it. It's more of like an ah, oh well kinda response.

My bet is that it will eventually be released through something like Netflix.
 

Carol C

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I still find it odd that such a movie was made. Can anyone think of any other movies where the main plot was to assassinate a living head of state? Sure there are a lot of movies based on history where previous heads of state are targeted, but a current one? Manuel Noriega was a target in a video game which resulted in a lawsuit. Even given the head of state being targeted in The Interview, I think the movie was in bad taste.


Well stated. What if it was Angela Merkel or another head of state? I thought it was tasteless when I first saw the poster and trailer. Just a dumb idea by two punks in the movie industry so popular that Sony gave them a green light apparently without thinking. Btw I think it would have failed box-office-wise...maybe Sony knew that too and pulled it partly for that reason.
 

dioxide45

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I wonder if this movie had the disclaimer at the end of the credits "The events depicted in this movie are fictitious. Any similarity to any person living or dead is merely coincidental."
 

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What We Can Learn from Charlie Chaplin and 'The Great Dictator' - by Nina Porzucki/ Arts, Culture & Media/ Public Radio International/ pri.org

"Seth Rogen is far from the first filmmaker to take a pot shot at a notorious world leader.

Charlie Chaplin’s famous portrayal of fictitious dictator Adenoid Hynkel, a thinly-veiled version of Hitler, made waves around the world when he premiered the 1940 comedy, "The Great Dictator."

“Initially, when he proposed the film, there were fears — in Britain, particularly, where appeasement was still very much in the air — and there was talk that the film would be dangerous," says film critic and historian David Thomson.

But events overtook the worries. "By the time it was ready, by the end of 1940, the world was at war, and it was clear that there was no getting out," Thomson says. "The film became a huge success."

Chaplin’s film made huge cultural waves around the world — except in Germany. "The Great Dictator," along with many other films during that time, was banned in Germany. But "the story is that Hitler himself saw it," Thomson says. "Somehow a print was taken there and the story says that he saw it twice."..."


Richard
 

davidvel

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Well stated. What if it was Angela Merkel or another head of state? I thought it was tasteless when I first saw the poster and trailer. Just a dumb idea by two punks in the movie industry so popular that Sony gave them a green light apparently without thinking. Btw I think it would have failed box-office-wise...maybe Sony knew that too and pulled it partly for that reason.
What if? Like if it were George W. Bush?
 

pgnewarkboy

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I support free speech very strongly. I also think that along with this right to free speech comes the obligation to speak responsibly. Sony was not acting responsibly when they made the head of an actual government an assassination target in a "comedy". Really, what is funny about that premise?

It was imo stupid and offensive but they had a right to make that movie under the United States Constitution. I hate to see our Constitution undermined by terrorists and other governments.
 
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