14 DAY TRIAL // Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, perhaps one of the most talented, prolific, and appreciated writers of today, is speaking out in the Sony Hack that saw countless private emails between Sony executives and other trade individuals published online.
He’s speaking out against the media, though, blaming all outlets that covered the leaked emails, whether to write about their content or posting them on their websites, of being a part of the problem and of doing precisely what hackers group Guardians Of Peace wanted to get done.
Guardians Of Peace, aka #GOP, broke into Sony servers last month, stealing thousands of files containing all types of sensitive information, from home addresses and social security numbers to private email exchanges and script drafts.
#GOP retaliates after “The Interview” screening
When #GOP hit Sony Pictures Entertainment, it warned the studio that they would be going public with some of the data they’d taken if Sony moved ahead with plans for the release of the movie “The Interview,” a comedy with Seth Rogen and James Franco, in which they play newsmen tasked by the CIA to murder North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on a visit to the country with the purpose of conducting an interview.
Sony didn’t mind the warning and kept “The Interview” on schedule: late last week, the Hollywood premiere of the film took place and the only alteration the studio made to the program was that it banned media interviews before or after.
In retaliation, #GOP made public several batches of emails not seen before – and the media has been covering the leaks since then. Celebrities like Angelina Jolie, Adam Sandler, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, the President of the USA Barack Obama, and writer Sorkin were most often named in emails.
#GOP wanted chaos and the media is helping with that
In an op-ed in the New York Times, Sorkin breaks his silence to set the record straight on the hack: he is not an outsider and he has every reason to take issue with what’s going on right now. First of all, though, he confirms that he did want Tom Cruise to play Steve Jobs in “Jobs,” he denies the rumor that he’s broke or sleeping with the female author of a book which he’s looking to adapt for the big screen.
On a more serious note, Sorkin highlights that what the media should be focusing on is the huge breach against Sony: they did nothing wrong, they did nothing illegal, and yet they’re being held on trial in the court of public opinion.
What #GOP did was illegal. They even threatened Sony employees and their families, and said that the leaks would be just a first step in their attempt at bringing the studio to its knees, where it belongs.
The media is equally to blame for this
By publishing the contents of those emails, the media is helping #GOP on their mission of doing that. The public is lapping it all up, forgetting that there was a time when they were tremendously outraged at the thought that the government was snooping in on their emails, looking for signs of terrorist activity.
By publishing the contents of those emails, the media is becoming a part of the problem because it’s spreading illegally obtained information for no other purpose than money-making. Unlike with other hacking scandals / leaks, the information published is not of public interest, he says. It’s juicy gossip, it’s true, but it benefits no third party in any way.
“I’m not crazy about Americans calling other Americans un-American, so let’s just say that every news outlet that did the bidding of the Guardians of Peace is morally treasonous and spectacularly dishonorable. I know there’s juicy stuff in the emails and I know some of us have been insulted and I know there’s more to come. No one’s private life can totally withstand public scrutiny. But this is much bigger than hurt feelings and banged-up egos,” Sorkin writes.
“If you close your eyes you can imagine the hackers sitting in a room, combing through the documents to find the ones that will draw the most blood. And in a room next door are American journalists doing the same thing. As demented and criminal as it is, at least the hackers are doing it for a cause. The press is doing it for a nickel,” he continues.
Aaron Sorkin’s full op-ed is available at the New York Times.
