Key Takeaways
- Films leaked: Sony employees faced leaks of unreleased films such as Fury, leading to piracy and a major setback for the studio’s plans.
- Company information leaks begin: Hackers expose employee salaries, personal IDs, and emails, affecting Sony’s reputation and privacy.
- Gender gap exposed: Leaked emails reveal Jennifer Lawrence’s pay gap, sparking a cultural reckoning on gender inequality in Hollywood.
On Monday, November 24, 2014, Sony Pictures employees arrived at the film studio ready to get to work, but it soon became clear that it was going to be a different day. All of their computers were down and had been hijacked by some kind of malware, with a red skull appearing on their screens. They also received a message from a group calling themselves the Guardians of Peace. “This is just the beginning,” the hackers warned, “We now have all your internal data,” threatening to make it all public. This would become one of the most infamous incidents. hacking The best ever.
The entire computer system was compromised and Sony found itself in trouble. hack The mystery remained. It wasn’t until later that week that reports emerged that the company and the U.S. government suspected North Korea was behind the hack of “The Interview,” a comedy starring Seth Rogen and James Franco that was then up for release.
In the film, the pair play a pair of tabloid reporters who are hired by the CIA to visit North Korea and assassinate its real-life leader, Kim Jong Un. Apparently, Kim Jong Un burning to death was too much for the North Korean dictator, who began attacking Sony in an attempt to block the film’s release. Ten years later, the repercussions of the hack are still felt in Hollywood and around the world.
The movie is leaked
Hackers open the door to online piracy
For days after its computer systems were down, Sony Pictures employees were still trying to understand the impact the hack had had on the company. Entire systems had to be rebuilt, and most employees were still working without computers. Most were also still puzzled by the origins and motives of the attack, but few expected what would happen next.
The first big blow to the company after the hack was the appearance of several Sony Pictures releases online. The Brad Pitt film Fury was discovered to have been downloaded online while it was still in theaters. This was followed by Annie, The Mr. Turner, Still Alice, and Two Right Loves on Her Arms, none of which had yet been officially released. Not only was the piracy a major blow to the studio’s film plans, it was also the surest sign that the hackers were serious.
Company information begins to leak
Hackers began leaking documents, exposing the studio’s secret inner workings.
Sony
As if the movie leak wasn’t enough, the following week the hackers began releasing a ton of internal information and documents they had collected through the hack. It started with the leak of Sony Pictures employee salaries, including the huge bonuses top executives received. This was followed by many other leaks, including scans of the movie stars’ personal IDs, and internal employee emails criticizing the studio’s Adam Sandler movies.
It all started with the leak of Sony Pictures employee salaries.
On December 5, 2014, less than two weeks after the hack, Guardians of Peace issued an even more frightening threat online, writing: “Many unimaginable things will happen in many parts of the world. Our agents are operating wherever they are needed. If you do not want to be victimized, please sign the email address below to dispute the company’s lies. Otherwise not only you but your family will be in danger.”
More documents have since been leaked, including emails in which studio head Amy Pascal called Angelina Jolie a “spoiled brat with little talent” and emails in which Pascal and producer Scott Rudin made racist jokes about US President Barack Obama and then publicly apologized.
Gender disparities revealed
Internal emails reveal pay disparity between actors and actresses, leading to major cultural reckoning
Among the many emails, which contained plenty of salacious information for Hollywood gossip blogs, one big story emerged: the pay disparity between male and female movie stars. In the emails, it was revealed that Jennifer Lawrence, who had just won an Oscar for Best Actress for Silver Linings Playbook, had been paid less than her male lead in American Hustle. Lawrence later commented on the revelation, explaining that she had failed as a negotiator, writing in Lena Dunham’s newsletter Lenny, “It seemed like a good idea at the time, but then I got my pay slip online and realized that none of the men I worked with cared about being ‘difficult’ or ‘spoiled.'” This prompted other female stars to start speaking out about this inequality, sparking a major cultural reckoning.
The interview is finally available online
The first simultaneous streaming release came about as a result of a hack.
After the hack and weeks of drama surrounding “The Interview,” the film was finally released, but not as widely as hoped. New threats from the hackers caused cinemas to back out. “We are very clear that we are going to show this film to you at the exact time and place that it is available.The interview was published “What a tragic fate for those who seek entertainment in horror, including at premieres. The whole world will soon see what a terrible movie Sony Pictures Entertainment has made. The world will be filled with fear. Please remember September 11, 2001. On that day, we recommend you stay away from the location,” the hackers wrote.
This was effectively the first major simultaneous streaming release.
As a result, major American cinema chains decided not to screen the film, and Sony Pictures pulled the film, ultimately opting to release it as an online VOD rental and to smaller cinemas and chains that agreed to screen it, effectively the first major cinema chain to do so. Simultaneous streaming release .
A lasting legacy
From debates on race and gender to cybersecurity and film distribution, the Sony hack has had major repercussions
Although the Sony Pictures hack has come a long way, its repercussions continue to be felt. While discussions about race and gender inequality have been simmering beneath the surface in Hollywood for decades, the information leaked during the hack has expanded those discussions and forced change. Studios have begun to set stronger diversity goals, and a growing number of female stars have come out to denounce the fact that women in Hollywood are paid less than men. The wage gap debate has also spread outside of Hollywood, with women around the world sharing their own experiences of facing gender inequality in the workplace. The incident has certainly made many people think twice about what they write in emails.
The Sony hack ushered in a whole new world of entertainment
The hack forced movie studios and many other companies to become more aware of the threat of hackers in the online world and to significantly increase their investments in cybersecurity. However, there have been many notable hacks of major companies in the decade since. When it comes to filmmaking, the legacy of the Sony hack is less obvious, but it is worth noting that since then, major studios have become more risk-averse when it comes to potentially politically controversial productions. For Hollywood studios, the simultaneous online and theatrical release of The Interview represented a major change for the future of film distribution. Although the hackers put pressure on Sony in this case, it wasn’t long before same-day releases became more common for major mainstream films, and the COVID-19 pandemic only added fuel to the fire. The Sony hack helped usher in a very different world for entertainment.
