Thursday, December 12, 2024

Sony Hack? Korea or Inside Job? “The Interview” Plays in 300 Theaters without Incident

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So this was what? Like the Ebola scare? Remember how before Thanksgiving all you heard about was Ebola wiping us off the planet? Then…nothing. For two weeks we heard that North Korea and/or the Guardians of Peace were going to blow up movie theaters if “The Interview.” came out. Well, yesterday the movie played in 300 theaters, was downloaded legally and illegally, made about a million bucks and got bad reviews.

And? And? Nothing. Silence. Peace on Earth. Not a word from anyone. No messages of doom from even the PTA or the real GOP, let alone North Korea. The hysteria is over. Sony execs have been duly embarrassed by their emails. Cynics think Sony is behind the whole thing. Other cynics think some ex-Sony person or someone who had it in for them hired hackers and made it look like it was coming from North Korea.

It’s the end of another ridiculous non story. “The Interview” was going to get bad reviews. This way, those reviews don’t matter. Everyone can watch it. Sony will write down the cost of the movie and put it behind them. Angelina Jolie, Barack Obama, and Denzel Washington won’t talk to them for a while. But in the end, everything will go back to normal in Hollywood. Just rent “S.O.B.” or “The Player.” You could denounce someone’s grandmother in Hollywood, but if you have a good script with a top actor attached, the grandson will be at lunch tomorrow. Grandma be damned.

As for Kim Jong Un: if he plays his cards right he’s going to get a lot of action this weekend. He’s a star.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.

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