Terrorists Can Now Shutdown America with Digits
North Korea is said to have hacked Hollywood and got the film The Interview pulled from distribution because of threats of terror attacks in theaters that show the film.
“Sony Pictures has made official what has been painfully obvious to everybody since yesterday morning, when hackers threatened to blow up movie theaters if The Interview was released next week. The studio has officially scrapped its release plans. Sony had little choice here, after the major theater chains announced earlier today they would not display the film given the threatening circumstances. Here’s the statement:
“In light of the decision by the majority of our exhibitors not to show the film The Interview, we have decided not to move forward with the planned December 25 theatrical release. We respect and understand our partners’ decision and, of course, completely share their paramount interest in the safety of employees and theater-goers.”
Who can blame Sony and theater owners? All it would take is a single incident, even if faked or someone took advantage of the situation and bombed a theater, and lawsuits would come in at a fever pitch. Lawyers would be lined up outside to get a ticket for all the families that would want to sue.
Theater chains would close down and most likely be shuttered after an attack.
If they weren’t, movie theaters would need TSA-like security measures if they were ever to open again.
With streaming video, the days of the multiplex movie theater could be relegated to the dustbin of entertainment history.
There might even be a revival of the drive-in movie theater. But then again, car bombs are not out of the question.
I wonder where the North Koreans were when Team America: World Police came out in 2004. These guys were pretty hard on the former North Korean leader. (There’s one “F” word at the beginning of this “I’m So Ronery” clip.)
Here’s another one (“The Death of Dictator Kim Jong-il”), but the language is kinda rough:
It’s no wonder that “Just a day after Sony decided to cancel the debut of the embattled comedy The Interview, Paramount Pictures is pulling Team America: World Police from release. The Alamo Drafthouse, which had scheduled Team America as a fill-in for the Seth Rogen comedy after yesterday’s development, confirmed that its December 27th screening had been canceled, as did Cleveland Cinemas, which had booked the film for a 2015 midnight screening way back in October.”
Welcome to the world of digital terrorism.