The Interview | Limited Release on December 25, 2014

[Derpity]

Man, this is one of the most fascinating box office stories ever.  Looks fairly conclusive that Sony was targeted by North Korea, AND that it was because of this movie.

 

 

 

Hackers who knocked Sony Pictures Entertainment’s computer systems offline last week used tools very similar to those used last year to attack South Korean television stations and ATMs, people briefed on the investigation said.

 

The similarity would reinforce a hunch among some investigators, which include Sony 6758, -1.05% SNE, +0.15% the Federal Bureau of Investigation and a team from Silicon Valley security company FireEye Inc., that North Korea played a role in the breach at the film and television studio, one of the largest in the U.S.

 

South Korea publicly blamed the 2013 attacks on North Korea.

 

In the wake of the Sony attack, the FBI issued a private warning to companies late Monday to be on the lookout for a certain type of destructive malware that can make data on hard drives inaccessible, according to someone who had seen it. Retrieving any data from an affected hard drive can be quite difficult and costly, according to the FBI warning.

 

Sony Pictures is set to release this month “The Interview,” a comedy in which U.S. spies enlist a television host played by James Franco and his producer, played by Seth Rogen, to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. In June, a spokesman for the Pyongyang government said distribution of the movie would be “the most undisguised terrorism and a war action” and threatened a “strong and merciless countermeasure” if the U.S. government “patronizes the film.”

 

Employees at the Sony Corp.-owned studio behind “The Amazing Spider-Man” and hit TV show “The Blacklist,” have been forced to work with cellphones and personal email accounts since images of a skull appeared on company computers last week along with the message “Hacked by #GOP.” Employees were warned by Sony not to use any digital devices connected to its internal networks. The hacker group, known as “Guardians of Peace,” hasn’t revealed any details about its identity or provided Sony with a list of demands.

 

Over Thanksgiving weekend, certain critical operations began to come back online, including those linked to DVD sales during Black Friday. On Monday, email and telephones were working, though employees were only able to work in certain buildings whose networks had been deemed secure.

Edited December 3, 2014 by Derpity

[dudalb]

Kim Il Jongs sings:

 

"Tommorow! Tommorow!

We'll Hack You Tommorow!

Tommorow is another day!"

 

Most bizarre show biz story in a long time.

 

I can't help but think that South Park will use this in a future episode,since Matt Trey and company know they are on Kim's to do list....

[The Futurist]

This story is crazy, authories really start to believe the attacks are norh korean.

They even make death threats during the hacks.

This is some truly fucked up shit if true.

[grim22]

Interesting fallout from the Sony hack: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-05/fan-interest-in-sony-s-the-interview-soars-after-attack.html

 

The cyber attack that crippled Sony Pictures (6758) computers has one kernel of good news for the beleaguered studio: millions have raced online to see clips of “The Interview,” the film that may have led to the seige.
 

Views of trailers for the film, a comedy about a plot to kill North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, soared almost 10-fold on YouTube to 406,000 a day through Dec. 3 from Nov. 24, when the computers crashed at Sony Pictures and the studio released the final clip, according to data provided by Tubular Labs. Social media chatter also soared.

“The hack increased awareness and therefore will probably result in a higher box-office result,” said Tobi Bauckhage, chief executive officer and co-founder of Moviepilot, which monitors online activity related to films.

[DeeCee]

They should shoot something referencing the hack.

[Kvikk Lunsj]

They should shoot something referencing the hack.

After credit scence.

[Ozymandias]

Hahaha, I almost never see comedies at the theater(last one I saw was Hangover 2) but I'll probably see this, looks hilarious.  Kim Jung Un is probably the only leader in the world that you could make this movie about without anyone getting really pissed off except North Korea(and they clearly are really pissed off).  I hope this becomes a huge hit, just imagine if it did Hangover/Ted numbers, North Korea would bloviate like theres no tomorrow which would only add to the hilarity of this whole idea.

[BK007]

And if this movie tanks, it'd be hilarious. 

 

All that money in for a ludicrous idea for Rogen and Franco ($6,5m each or was it $13m each!) and then they lose money on it, get panned and get hacked. 

[AJG]

Hahaha, I almost never see comedies at the theater(last one I saw was Hangover 2) but I'll probably see this, looks hilarious. Kim Jung Un is probably the only leader in the world that you could make this movie about without anyone getting really pissed off except North Korea(and they clearly are really pissed off). I hope this becomes a huge hit, just imagine if it did Hangover/Ted numbers, North Korea would bloviate like theres no tomorrow which would only add to the hilarity of this whole idea.

December is boring.

I'm only paying for this and Hobbit

[23IsEverywhere]

I think that the people trying to shut this movie down will get it so much free publicity that it will break out.  I think this may clear $100M

[Jessie]

I don't get why December doesn't have many big budget blockbusters scheduled for release every year. It's no coincidence that the highest grossing movies of all time are release during Christmas time. Disney seems to be on of the few studios with their heads screwed on right, SW will kill it next year over the Christmas season.

[AJG]

Has this leaked yet?

[SchumacherFTW]

Has this leaked yet?

NK wanted to hurt Sony, but still don't want people to see this remember that

[AJG]

http://www.theverge.com/2014/12/8/7355853/hackers-tell-sony-to-halt-the-release-of-the-interview

Hackers tell Sony not to release the movie.

[Goffe]

http://www.theverge.com/2014/12/8/7355853/hackers-tell-sony-to-halt-the-release-of-the-interview

Hackers tell Sony not to release the movie.

 

 

"We have already given our clear demand to the management team of SONY, however, they have refused to accept. It seems that you think everything will be well, if you find out the attacker, while no reacting to our demand. We are sending you our warning again. Do carry out our demand if you want to escape us. And, Stop immediately showing the movie of terrorism which can break the regional peace and cause the War! You, SONY & FBI, cannot find us. We are perfect as much. The destiny of SONY is totally up to the wise reaction & measure of SONY."

 

LOL

[CoolioD1]

Thank God for all this hacking business. I was afraid this movie would get lost in the christmas shuffle but it's getting a shit-ton of publicity.

[Jessie]

LOL

 

damn I hate hackers, if I ever caught hackers, id cut their fingers off.

[SchumacherFTW]

damn I hate hackers, if I ever caught hackers, id cut their fingers off.

But they're like hydra! Cut off their fingers and more grow back!

[Jessie]

But they're like hydra! Cut off their fingers and more grow back!

Then we shall glue their fingers together. Let's see them try typing with the equivalent of one fat finger muhahahahaha

[Kvikk Lunsj]

Did Team America get this much attention from North Korea.