![\"The](\"http:\/\/www.digital-digest.com\/blog\/DVDGuy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/the_interview_poster.jpg\")
<\/a>The mishandling of The Interview’s release has been more damaging than the hack itself. Well, maybe not …<\/p><\/div>\n
I’m still not 100% convinced North Korea was actually behind the hack\u00a0(many<\/a>\u00a0others<\/a> have similar doubts), and so any subsequent terror threats from the group will not be\u00a0genuine (and there’s no evidence that the group, even if it is NK backed, has the capability to carry out their threat). So the decision by cinema chains to abandon the film, and for Sony to not use its power\u00a0and influence to force cinema chains to reverse their decision, and especially in the light of all the free publicity the film has gotten, seems all very cowardly and unnecessary to me.<\/p>\n Instead of a win-win, Sony chose a lose-lose solution, and by limiting screenings of the film people really want to watch, even if it’s just to prove a point, the inevitable happens: piracy<\/a>! Within hours of the film hitting the digital platforms, pirated versions sprang up at the usual places and people are downloading like crazy. This time, many feel morally justified to do so, first to stand up for freedom of speech and against\u00a0threats and intimidation (from NK, or whomever); second to protest the weak decisions made by spineless corporations. “Why should Sony profit from their cowardly move”, some will say.\u00a0I’m not so sure that’s a valid excuse though, and this comes from a guy who’s not a big fan of the company, even before these events. So don’t\u00a0give Sony the opportunity to say “piracy is not an availability problem” because it’s still being pirated despite being on\u00a0digital platforms without a release window,\u00a0if you\u00a0were going to pay for a ticket before or have the capability to pay for the movie, you can find out how to buy the film by\u00a0visiting the film’s official website<\/a>.<\/p>\n MPAA’s $80 million victory over Hotfile, was more like a $4 million minor one<\/p><\/div>\n So while\u00a0The Interview stuff is still making all the headlines, some of the other more interesting stuff have been buried in the news cycle. This includes the interesting\u00a0revelation that the MPAA\/Hotfile settlement wasn’t the $80 million headline grabbing deal<\/a> that the studios wanted it to look like, but a much smaller\u00a0$4 million\u00a0under the table settlement deal<\/a>, with Hotfile agreeing to a $80 million settlement\u00a0judgement being entered. The bigger bogus amount was needed by the MPAA to scare others into submission, although Hotfile did come up with the $4 million in three separate payments. Probably not enough to even cover the MPAA’s legal bills, but whatever.<\/p>\n ——<\/p>\n<\/a>