14 DAY TRIAL // More A-listers from the industry of film are speaking out on Sony Pictures’ decision to comply with the demands of the Guardians Of Peace (#GOP), the hackers group that broke into their servers in November, stealing (and then leaking) sensitive information from the thousands of files there.
Even US President Barack Obama said that “Sony made a mistake” in pulling the action comedy “The Interview” from the release schedule and then all promo materials from their website, after pressure from the group and ultimately a threat to bomb all theaters screening the film, 9/11-style.
Then, George Clooney talked to Deadline on the topic, revealing he had actually tried to get a petition signed among his peers to let Sony know complying with the demands would be the most stupid thing they could do. Sean Penn is saying pretty much the same thing now.
Setting a dangerous precedent
To get Sony to pull “The Interview” from theaters, #GOP understood that no amount of leaked emails and scripts and even actual footage from the movies in the works at the studio would do the trick. So they sent an email in which they threatened to bomb every theater in the US screening the film, which, in turn, triggered countless cancelations.
By the time theater chain owners were done pulling out of their contracts, Sony was left with no venue to screen the movie, even if it wanted to. It’s true, had they acted in a more proactive manner, the theater chains would have stood by them, but Sony basically dumped all responsibility in their lap, telling them they were free to choose whether to run the film or not – and deal with the consequences on their own.
“The Interview” domestic release was canceled, and all international dates followed suit. Over the weekend, after yet another message from #GOP, Sony caved even more and pulled all trailers from its official channels, as well as the official website for the movie and the associated social media account.
By reacting this way, no matter the circumstances, Sony has shown #GOP and whatever terrorists out there looking for a similar score that they can be manipulated into doing their bidding, if only one uses the right words. And that sets a very dangerous precedent, mostly because it infringes on freedom of speech and the freedom of creative expression.
Think outside the box, Sean Penn says: this is just the beginning!
The worst is yet to come, Sean Penn says in a statement to Mother Jones. By caving to #GOP, Sony has opened the door – or, better yet, Pandora’s box – for even more outrageous acts of terrorism.
He might be exaggerating a bit to make a point, but at least hypothetically, he’s right on the money with this.
“This week, the distributors who wouldn’t show The Interview and Sony have sent ISIS a commanding invitation. I believe ISIS will accept the invitation. Pandora’s box is officially open. […] The decision to pull The Interview is historic. It’s a case of putting short term interests ahead of the long term. If we don’t get the world on board to see that this is a game changer, if this hacking doesn’t frighten the Chinese and the Russians, we’re in for a very different world, a very different country, community, and a very different culture,” Penn says.
“I’m not sure the world has come to terms with all the implications of the hacking. I was in Liberia and Sierra Leone right at the beginning of the Ebola outbreak in April. It did seem to those of us there that the response was neither coming swiftly or with a true sense of urgency. This feels the same. This matter should be before the UN Security Council today,” he continues.
In saying these things, he’s basically agreeing with what George Clooney and Obama and Aaron Sorkin before them said: Sony should have kept “The Interview” on schedule and not comply with the demands. Because Sony, as a provider of entertainment, should not have surrendered to a group upset about a parody of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Sorkin and Clooney also blamed the media of the outcome, saying that, instead of focusing on the importance of the hacking and the demands made, it stressed only the scandalous side, based on those leaked emails, thus telling another story than the one it should have said.
