Fred Kaplan on the Sony computer hacking and the resultant cancellation of the release of the film, The Interview. I'm still trying to figure out what I think of all this, above and beyond the fact that it's awful that cyber criminals have done what they've done.
I assume Sony has canceled the film's release because they were afraid of a terrorist attack (like, a bomb) in a public theater…or afraid that worries of that happening would keep filmgoers away. That perhaps could be viewed as a financial decision and perhaps could be viewed as an act of responsibility. And yes, it could also be just corporate cowardice…but maybe not if there was a credible fear that to go ahead and open the film would be risking the lives of theater operators and those who went and purchased tickets.
I really don't know. My primal response is always to support Free Speech and the free availability of that which creators create, even if it is a Seth Rogen comedy. Still, you have to weigh that against real or likely threats…and I don't think the movie is being destroyed. It'll be available somewhere, I imagine, maybe even uploaded across the web by counter-hackers. What's being destroyed at the moment is Sony's current marketing campaign for the movie.
These are rambling thoughts because my brain is still rambling on about it. I think I'm outraged but I'm not sure about what just yet. I do agree with Fred Kaplan that we're going to see a lot more of this kind of thing.