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Hackers Vs. Haters: How Twitter Reacted To Sony Pulling The Interview [Weird & Wonderful Web]

Dave Parrack 21-12-2014

To say the Internet didn’t take kindly to Sony Pictures pulling The Interview is putting it mildly. The majority of people think Sony capitulated to an unsubstantiated threat far too easily.

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We kept a close eye on Twitter in the aftermath of the announcement, and these are some of the best tweets about The Interview, and, in particular, Sony pulling the film to appease unknown hackers.

Sony Pulls The Interview

the-interview-movie-poster

For those who haven’t been following the story, a little background should help make things clearer. The Interview is a comedy film starring Seth Rogen and James Franco as two journalists sent to assassinate Kim Jong-un, the real-life leader of North Korea.

In November, Sony Pictures’ corporate computer system was hacked Sony Movies Leak Online, Traditional Taxis Are Dying, & More... [Tech News Digest] Also, Sony's e-paper watch, piracy in the UK, droning on about Chernobyl, and George Lucas ruins the new Star Wars VII teaser trailer. Read More by a group calling themselves #GOP (Guardians Of Peace). The hackers stole data, much of which has since leaked online. At the time of the original hack, no mention was made of The Interview.

Fast-forward to last week when a badly-written cryptic message was posted online threatening a terrorist act if and when The Interview was shown in movie theaters. Theater chains subsequently cancelled screenings of the film, and Sony had little choice but to pull it completely Sony Pulls The Interview After Terror Threat From Hackers, & More... [Tech News Digest] Also, the BlackBerry Classic brings sexy back, Netflix is never going offline, Yo gets festive, Wikipedia edits 2014, and the best Star Wars Christmas lights ever. Read More .

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Much to the annoyance and/or amusement of Twitter…

Roll Over & Die

It does seem a strange turn of events, especially as there is no evidence the hackers are actually capable of carrying out a terrorist act.

Obi Wan Piratebay

Finally, it all makes sense. Release The Interview on The Pirate Bay Why Safe Torrenting Died With The Pirate Bay As far as "popular" torrenting is concerned, the comparative safety that existed at The Pirate Bay is gone, and safe torrent downloads with it. Read More and freedom is restored. Bonus points for using Star Wars as the basis for the joke.

Foreshadowing Furore

Seth Rogen was joking about threats aimed at him for making The Interview six months ago. With foreshadowing this prescient it’s clear Rogen is a better storyteller than anyone thought.

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The Hollywood Elite

That’s a pretty good Photoshop job which makes Kim Jong-un look happy to be part of Ellen’s infamous Oscars selfie. Or did this actually happen?

The Harshest Movie Review Ever

I like to think there are a team of North Korean movie reviewers currently posting negative reviews of The Interview on IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, and elsewhere.

The Stuff Of Legend

This is certainly one idea for how to get the film out into the public domain. There are people who have seen The Interview, and we need them to remember the flick line by unfunny line.

Record Box-Office Takings

I wanted to see The Interview anyway, but I can imagine there are millions of people out there who will now watch it despite not previously having any interest in seeing a stupid comedy.

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Private Screening

Kim Jong-un does seem to be enjoying The Interview in this picture, but not half as much as his underlings. It seems no one remembered to bring the popcorn though.

Making Light Of The Drama

There were several tweets making fun of North Korea and its apparent lack of modern conveniences. This one wins the prize for making light of the situation. Badum-tish.

King Stings

Stephen King pulled no punches with his criticism of Sony, eschewing humor in favor of referencing The Satanic Verses. Which is rather fitting for an author of his repute.

Land Of Confusion

I wonder if this is in any way accurate? Is the average North Korean citizen even aware of Hollywood? If not then they will never have had the pleasure of seeing a Michael Bay film. /sarcasm

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Censorship Sucks

To be absolutely fair to North Korea and the hackers responsible for this, any movie which doesn’t show Kim Jong-un being killed is probably OK. Which is every other movie ever made.

Invading Our Inboxes

There are people who think this is all one big conspiracy theory designed to boost interest in the film before release. It’s entirely possible, but I personally don’t buy it.

No Moore Transformers

It seems Michael Moore really doesn’t like Michael Bay or what he did to the Transformers franchise. And to be fair he isn’t alone.

The Masterplan

Now that’s a conspiracy theory. A movie about an assassination hidden behind an interview is used as the basis for an assassination hidden behind an interview. Genius.

Killing Kutcher

If The Interview is unpopular in North Korea then Two and a Half Men must really offend them. Then again, it offends me as well. Because it’s unfunny nonsense.

Precious Publicity

The change in tone of the conversation surrounding The Interview has been intriguing to see. People either didn’t care about this film or thought it was in bad taste. But no longer.

What’s Ebola Got To Do With It?

While Mitt Romney’s plan for Sony to release The Interview online on a pay-what-you-want basis is a sound one, donating the money to the fight against Ebola Obama Backs Net Neutrality, Google Fights Ebola, & More... [Tech News Digest] Also, the Microsoft Lumia 535, edit captions with new Instagram update, The Who goes mobile, and the hour-long World of Warcraft documentary. Read More seems a little random.

Liam Neeson Leaks

Wait, that’s a plan. Get Liam Neeson on the case and this whole thing will be sorted out in no time. Team him up with Chuck Norris and North Korea will literally wet its pants.

Kim Jung-un Admits The Truth!

We assume this is the real Kim Jong-un. I mean, there is no reason to believe anything other than Kim Jong-un being a regular user of Twitter. And admitting his guilt. In perfect English. Is there?

What’s Your Opinion On The Interview?

So, you’ve seen what the Internet had to say about The Interview, but what’s your personal opinion on the film itself, Sony’s decision to pull it, or the hackers who began this whole sorry saga? Please let us know in the comments below. All will be read, and all but the idiotic ones will be rewarded with a reply.

Image Credit: Karolis Parfeniukas via Flickr

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  1. LiLi
    December 22, 2014 at 3:41 am

    People.  Wake up, they are liars
    It isnot the Koreans hacking and I can prove it
    Listen here, these guys are frauds, the Feds,BILDERBERGS, G 8, dragons white and red, bush, Clinton's, Anonymous hackers and all the ones I named all along are big liars

    Let me tell you the truth about SONY HACKING STORY

    since they rob all my transactions, clients, commissions all I do, as I informed you many times.  
    my computer was new and because they broke my wifi light and I was not able to connect it, I sent the computer to Sony to be fixed! I was in Florida and sent it to Sony California To be fixed and when Sony opened my computer on their premises, they got infected.

    My computer is the P SERIES and all can be verified with Sony and obviously my hard drive which recorded all of their moves

    Sony did not want to hear when I told them that they are the ones and stole trillions and trillions from me and trillions and trillions from other brokers.
    It was too much for them and now they come out with this movie.

    What happened?  The hackers bought Sony?   And they again are trying to pull a dirty misleading trick by accusing the Koreans?????

    Are you surprised?

    They need to be jailed

    We had enough of the liar thieves

    Investigator of investigators, judges, the ones that will help us to do something about this fraud so we can have a decent life

    My number. 1 438 939 4380

    God has His plan and has His anointed that will bring us deliverance from this atrocious abuse on us and our children.

    I allow you all to put this worldwide, TRUTH MUST BE SPOKEN

    Why should we be trampled and lied to by a bunch of good for nothing losers that can succeed by hacking and robbing the hard work of single moms.

    Don't you all agree, it takes low life losers to do such a thing and you know they deserve the guillotine.

    We had enough of the mean detestable terrorists because they are the terror
    Of terrors, imagine how gross their actions are

    They made so much from robbing us they have millions of servers where they host our bank accounts, phones, computers, tvs and are pushing for more control so they are not tried in a court of law.

    They should be tried and given the guillotine

    YOU ALL KNOW YOU WILL ANSWER TO GOD FOR ALLOWING THESE RATS TO MAKE US ALL HOMELESS

    People.  Wake up, they are liars
    It isnot the Koreans hacking and I can prove it
    Listen here, these guys are frauds, the Feds,BILDERBERGS, G 8, dragons white and red, bush, Clinton's, Anonymous hackers and all the ones I named all along are big liars

    Let me tell you the truth about SONY HACKING STORY

    since they rob all my transactions, clients, commissions all I do, as I informed you many times.  
    my computer was new and because they broke my wifi light and I was not able to connect it, I sent the computer to Sony to be fixed! I was in Florida and sent it to Sony California To be fixed and when Sony opened my computer on their premises, they got infected.

    My computer is the P SERIES and all can be verified with Sony and obviously my hard drive which recorded all of their moves

    Sony did not want to hear when I told them that they are the ones and stole trillions and trillions from me and trillions and trillions from other brokers.
    It was too much for them and now they come out with this movie.

    What happened?  The hackers bought Sony?   And they again are trying to pull a dirty misleading trick by accusing the Koreans?????

    Are you surprised?

    They need to be jailed

    We had enough of the liar thieves

    Investigator of investigators, judges, the ones that will help us to do something about this fraud so we can have a decent life

    My number. 1 438 939 4380

    God has His plan and has His anointed that will bring us deliverance from this atrocious abuse on us and our children.

    I allow you all to put this worldwide, TRUTH MUST BE SPOKEN

    Why should we be trampled and lied to by a bunch of good for nothing losers that can succeed by hacking and robbing the hard work of single moms.

    Don't you all agree, it takes low life losers to do such a thing and you know they deserve the guillotine.

    We had enough of the mean detestable terrorists because they are the terror
    Of terrors, imagine how gross their actions are

    They made so much from robbing us they have millions of servers where they host our bank accounts, phones, computers, tvs and are pushing for more control so they are not tried in a court of law.

    They should be tried and given the guillotine

    YOU ALL KNOW YOU WILL ANSWER TO GOD FOR ALLOWING THESE RATS TO MAKE US ALL HOMELESS

    Anonymous which are the Feds and all their allies have been hacking into us for 15 years and stealing all our clients, all our transactions all our commissions
    Now you know the truth jail them and seize all they own it belongs to me nd all the brokers working in large financial transactions.

    We need deliverance from these gangsters
    They put Trojans in our emails and now are hosting the whole world
    They did buy all the equipment with the funds they made from defrauding us

    I pray God will make you all bring truth and justice forums and for the world

    They are evil demonic men

    Reply
  2. mush
    December 21, 2014 at 2:42 pm

    @Thanksforyourreply: The statement "Honestly, who cares if all the whiny Americans are upset because someone told them they can't watch a bad movie?" speaks volumes as to your conception of FREEDOM and your anti-American bias. Unfortunately, respect for freedom (of thought, expression, etc.) doesn't have a strong track record in the "context in regard to Asian politics." You might as well have said "What you've really covered is a modern (and as far as I can tell, New England) response to the South refusing to free their slaves, with no context in regard to the Southern economy and politics. Honestly, who cares if all the whiny negroes are upset because someone told them they can't leave the plantation?" Thanks for your backwards-ass noncontribution to a modern debate.

    Reply
  3. Thanksforyourreply
    December 21, 2014 at 2:16 am

    You use the words "the internet" as if the whole is represented here. What you've really covered is a western (and as far as I can tell, American) response to Sony pulling the movie, with no context in regard to Asian politics. Honestly, who cares if all the whiny Americans are upset because someone told them they can't watch a bad movie? If I'm not mistaken, Sony is an Asian company, is it not? Their loyalties lie elsewhere. And I don't mean with Kim Jung-un.

    Reply
    • Dave Parrack
      December 21, 2014 at 11:28 am

      I didn't purposely exclude tweets from any part of the world. I don't speak Japanese, or Korean for that matter, so it would have been a tough job including tweets from that region. This is meant to be a lighthearted roundup of the funny tweets, not a serious political post.

      Reply