For obvious reasons I’ve been following this Sony flap over THE INTERVIEW. I have no idea if the film is brilliant and funny, or lame and silly. It is unfortunate that threats have led to the banning of a piece of art and because they “won” this will probably lead to more efforts to force companies to back down on controversial content. Based on this episode the companies will back down. If somebody had been willing to show the film I would have gone just to make my small statement.
That being said, since I was trained as an attorney, I am also very aware of the other side of this. Once a threat of physical violence was launched the studio and the theater chains were in a tough place with their attorneys and, more to the point, their insurers, saying “no way”. Let’s say I own a movie theater and I want to refuse to give in to anonymous threats from unknown actors. Then my insurance company calls and tells me they are going to cancel my policy if I show this film. Now suddenly I have no coverage for a slip and fall in the bathroom, somebody gets hurt when the popcorn popper blows up, etc. etc.
In our complex world it’s no longer just a single person’s decision to take the risk. There are so many other players involved in what seems like a simple decision.
What I can pretty much guarantee is that all the studios are beefing up security on their computer systems.
