Irony: Sony Turns To Google, The Company It Was Plotting Against, To Stream The Interview

from the funny-how-that-works dept

To me, the biggest story to come out of the Sony Hack remains how the MPAA and the major studios were conspiring to attack Google by paying for state Attorneys General to drum up silly investigations of the company. Most everyone else in the press seems much more focused on the gossip and, of course, what happens to The Interview, the Seth Rogen/James Franco movie that some think was the reason for the hack in the first place (even if the evidence on that remains questionable). Either way, as you know, Sony briefly shelved the plans to release the movie (which has fairly dreadful reviews from those who have seen it), but then decided to allow a few independent theaters to show it, followed by the announcement this morning that it would stream the movie via YouTube.

There are lots of bizarre story lines related to this -- including, apparently, Apple turning Sony down when approached with a similar deal for iTunes. Or the whole idea of how this might actually show the Hollywood studios the value of releasing movies online at the same time as in theaters (a message many have been trying to send Hollywood for ages, which Hollywood is quite resistant to). And, of course, there's the whole story line about a giant company being bullied by a few stray threats about showing the film in theaters, which almost no one thinks were serious.

Still, the story that is most fascinating to me is tying this whole thing back to that original story, about "Project Goliath" and the plan to conspire to attack Google -- and the fact that when Sony needed to find a place to stream the film, it turned to YouTube, a Google-owned company. Huh. Of course, this fits with the long history of the legacy entertainment industry lashing out and attacking the creators of the innovations that industry most needs. The recording industry attacked radio when it first came on the scene, though it eventually enabled the music industry to grow so big. Hollywood, famously, claimed the VCR was "the Boston Stranger" to the movie industry -- yet four years after that statement was made, home video brought in more revenue for Hollywood than the box office. The RIAA sued one of the first MP3 players, yet digital music is a major, growing source of revenue these days. And, of course, Viacom engaged in a many years-long battled with YouTube.

Maybe, just maybe, one of these days the legacy entertainment players will get the message that innovators and entrepreneurs aren't the enemy. They're the ones providing Hollywood (and music and other industries) with all the tools to better serve the market.

Filed Under: james franco, seth rogen, sony hack, streaming, the interview
Companies: google, sony, sony pictures, youtube

That Huge Sony Hack May Have Been North Korea Retaliating Against James Franco And Seth Rogen

from the wait...really? dept

You may have heard recently that Sony Pictures experienced what the company called a "system disruption" and what everyone else referred to as "Oh, look, Sony employees are completely locked out of their own computers." In place of a normal, working computer, Sony employees found poetic words and subtle imagery. Just kidding, it looked like an amateurish metal band CD insert artist vomited a splash page all over the screen.

It's fairly likely that the GOP claiming responsibility for the hack wasn't Karl Rove in his mother's basement and there was little early speculation on who they in fact were, beyond the "Guardians of Peace" name the hackers claimed. While it's not yet confirmed, reports are that the internal investigation Sony is conducting is eyeing none other than North Korea.

Sony Pictures Entertainment is exploring the possibility that hackers working on behalf of North Korea, perhaps operating out of China, may be behind a devastating attack that brought the studio’s network to a screeching halt earlier this week, sources familiar with the matter tell Re/code. The timing of the attack coincides with the imminent release of “The Interview,” a Sony film that depicts a CIA plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un. The nation’s ever-belligerent state propaganda outlets have threatened “merciless retaliation” against the U.S. and other nations if the film is released.

Oh, North Korea. Look, if this was you, I'll certainly agree that forcing anyone to look at that garish screenshot above likely qualifies as "merciless retaliation," but I dare say it's probably not going to be all that effective. And should you be found out to be behind this, having the entire planet laugh at your complete lack of sense of humor probably doesn't take the sting out of the fact that you can't feed your own people, despite having a self-proclaimed necro-deity still technically heading up the government.

And to have this reaction over a Hollywood film and then add your own cliffhanger is downright ironic.

"Hostile forces" are casting blame on North Korea, said a spokesman for the country's mission at the United Nations, according to the Reuters news agency. "I kindly advise you to just wait and see."

In the meantime, this is generating so much free publicity for The Interview, one wonders if Pyongyang is serving as a Sony marketing consultant.

Admittedly, whoever did do the hack seems to have really shaken up Sony Pictures (which appears to have had almost no real security at all), as it is rumored to have resulted in the leak of a few upcoming movies and a treasure trove of HR info, including some embarrassing info. Whether or not it's North Koreans angry about a Rogen/Franco flick, or something else, it's not making anyone look very good right now.

Filed Under: guardians of peace, hack, james franco, north korea, seth rogen
Companies: sony, sony pictures