Entertainment

Leaked Channing Tatum Email Only Makes You Like Him More

by Sohrab Osati | Dec 17, 2014 | 0 comments

In my book, it’s kind of hard not to like Channing Tatum. I don’t know the man nor have I ever met him but, from what I can tell, not only is he good at what he does, but he’s having fun while doing it. This is an important thing because when you tend to enjoy what you do, you also bring joy to those around it. I’ve made it quite clear that we won’t be posting any leaked emails and till now we haven’t. You can read my reasonings here. This email however is an exception because it’s short (kind of, you’ll see why) but just shows you his attitude towards things, and doesn’t reveal anything other than Tatum’s fun personality.

When the box office returns for the opening weekend of 22 Jump Street were announced, the action comedy starring Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill came in second on the list of best-ever opening weekends for R-rated comedy. Till that point, Seth MacFarlane’s Ted held the number two spot. Channing’s email to Sony Pictures co-chair Amy Pascal and other studio execs awaits you after the jump.

Should You See “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1?”

by Joel Dale | Dec 16, 2014 | 0 comments

So I disappeared for a while from writing movie reviews because I was busy writing and producing a web series. I was putting in sixteen hour days on set writing on the fly, helping direct scenes, and various odd jobs that needed done. The process was incredible with a huge team of awesome people working as hard as any crew could work with only the best of attitudes. And in the end, despite all the incredible effort, I won’t be totally sure of how people will react until it goes public.

What is completely sure is how much work and time and effort went into even a small film shoot like that. So when I watch a film like The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, I can’t even understand how it’s even possible. These things are herculean efforts of unreal complexity. The sheer enormity of just things like managing all the people involved is unfathomable. You add up a huge cast, massive sets, CGI of gigantic proportion, huge sound design, lighting, etc…. And to have it be as enjoyable and interesting as Mockingjay 1 is pretty incredible.

Sony Pictures Hackers Graduate From Cyber Terrorism to Real Terrorism

by Sohrab Osati | Dec 16, 2014 | 0 comments

The group behind the Sony Pictures hack that has devastated the Hollywood studio with unknown repercussions that will likely be felt for years has, until now, remained in the realm of the internet. That is to say that, while their attacks have had an enormously negative impact on Sony Pictures and its staff members that are caught in all of this, all of their actions have existed in the cyber world. As we approach December 25th, the release date for The Interview, a comedy by Seth Rogan and James Franco where the two attempt an assassination on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, #GOP, the group believed to be behind the attacks, has steadily upped their threats.

Just yesterday, the group revealed that they have a “Christmas gift” for Sony that will be their biggest one yet. Unfortunately, we know what they mean by that as the group has decided to graduate from cyber terrorism to real terrorism. Details after the jump.

Hackers Preparing “Christmas Gift” For Sony Pictures

by Sohrab Osati | Dec 15, 2014 | 0 comments

The hacker group ~~country?~~ ~~North Korea?~~ behind the Sony Pictures hack doesn’t seem to be done with the Hollywood studio quite yet. Since the original hacking which took place three weeks ago, the group has steadily released sensitive data from Sony Pictures. The released documents have ranged from embarrassing emails between executives with less than flattering language to financial results and accounting practices on films. While we’ve done our best to keep you up to date on this ongoing saga, we’ve decided to not post any of the revealed private information as we’d simply be furthering and helping the hackers in our opinion. You can read about our decision here.

Despite multiple massive data dumps which have included five films from Sony Pictures, four which are unreleased, the group promises more to come with the biggest one yet to be released on Christmas.

We are preparing for you a Christmas gift

After the jump, more details.

Sony Considered Selling Crackle to ‘Save the Year’

by Sohrab Osati | Dec 12, 2014 | 0 comments

One of the lesser reveals from the hacking incident from Sony Pictures that frankly I feel is far more important than what Entertainment Chairman Amy Pascal said privately to somebody else in an email is the fate of Crackle. For those unfamiliar with Crackle, Sony’s free streaming service, I encourage you to read our previous in depth take on the service to really get a feel for it. According to information, Sony Pictures considered selling Crackle as late as November though since that time, the deal seems to be off. Who considered purchasing Crackle and for how much? All those details after the jump.

Why Posting Private Sony Pictures Information Is An Attack On Our Privacy

by Sohrab Osati | Dec 11, 2014 | 0 comments

There seems to be a very disturbing trend among mega sites like The Verge, Gawker (surprised?), and others where every information that’s revealed from the Sony Pictures hack is turned into a full blown, multi-thousand word article. As you likely know by now, Sony Pictures was hacked over two weeks ago by what’s likely a state sponsored attack by North Korea. While the reasoning behind it is unclear, many believe that it’s due to Sony Pictures upcoming comedy The Interview in which Seth Rogan and James Franco attempt to assassinate the country’s leader.

While there have been some interesting tidbits like Sony attempting to work with Marvel in order to bring Spider-Man into the Marvel Cinematic Universe alongside Captain America and the gang, there has also been no shortage of articles covering private email exchanges between Sony staff members and executives. Instead of treating Sony Pictures as the victim of this attack where hackers illegally stole all this information, sites are now doing the dirty work by revealing every piece of information they can get their hands on and furthering their agenda. It should be made clear that there is a clear difference between journalists uncovering information and simply releasing private emails between Sony employees and spinning a story around them. Furthermore, with each new article covering some private exchange, sites are basically putting a price on our privacy.

Lets me explain after the jump.

Sony Pictures to Officially Name North Korea As Source of Hack?

by Sohrab Osati | Dec 3, 2014 | 0 comments

While still unofficial, it’s believed that Sony Pictures, along with security firm Mandiant, will later today announce North Korea as the hacking culprit. Nearly 10 days ago, Sony Pictures Culver City campus was the target of a brutal hacking incident which took down the studio’s computers and networks. Since that time, the Hollywood studio has made headway with getting their systems up and running though they’ve yet to fully get everything fixed. Beyond crippling their network structure, #GOP, the group which has taken responsibility for the hack, is believed to be the culprit of releasing 5 Sony Pictures films on file-sharing websites, including Fury which is still in theaters. The other four titles have yet to be released.

More details after the jump.

Hacker Group Won’t Give Up Till “Sony Pictures Collapse to the End”

by Sohrab Osati | Dec 2, 2014 | 2 comments

As the legendary Ron Burgundy himself would say, “well that escalated quickly.” Filling this under holy shit, #GOP, the group behind the Sony Pictures hack which devastated the studios computers and has resulted in 5 movies being leaked to file-sharing websites isn’t done with Sony yet. In fact, the group has now upped the ante against SP and released the following statement:

We won’t give up this attack unless Sony Pictures collapse to the end.

To make matters worse, there now appears to be a North Korean connection, further complicating the matters. Depending on how all of this goes down, Sony might as well turn it into a movie because this story is starting to have more twist and turns than a Hollywood production. After the jump, the full details, including a lengthier response from the group behind the attack.

5 Films Leaked from Sony Pictures After Hacking Incident

by Sohrab Osati | Dec 1, 2014 | 0 comments

Exactly a week ago, Sony Pictures network was completely compromised by a group of hackers known as #GOP. While not a lot is known about the group, ‘Guardians of Peace’ claims that they want ‘equality’ for employees. In addition to crippling Sony Pictures internal networks which meant internet among other things, the group claimed to have taken sensitive data from the studio. #GOP threatened that unless SP would met their demands, they would release “damning” information on the company.

While that did not or has not yet come to fruition, over the last few days, five movies from Sony Picture have leaked online, including 4 unreleased titles.

Sony Pictures Hack Partially An Inside Job?

by Sohrab Osati | Nov 25, 2014 | 0 comments

When Sony Pictures employees arrived at their Culver City campus early yesterday morning, they were greeted to a less-than-ideal situation. A group going under the name of #GOP had successfully hacked the entire studio, bringing work to a screeching halt. As a result of the hack, all computers at Sony Pictures displayed an image of a blood red skeleton with links to where Sony could find proof of the hack’s extent. That’s because, besides all computers being down and unable to even reach out to the web, the group claims that they were all able to find damning information that Sony Pictures does not want people to see.

Despite claiming that unless Sony met their demands by 6:00PM EST that they would release the given information, there appears to be no leaked documents yet. However, computers at Sony Pictures remain to be down in what appears to be a partial inside job with a goal towards ‘equality’ for employees.

Plot twist, right? Details after the jump.

Massive Security Breach Hits Sony Pictures

by Sohrab Osati | Nov 24, 2014 | 1 comment

Hot on the heels of – and likely unrelated to – the fake hacking of Sony Mobile earlier today, Sony Pictures has been hit by a massive hacking attack. According to reports, when Sony Pictures employees came to their computers this morning, they were greeted with the picture above when they attempted to log in. Since that time, all computers on the Culver City campus appear to be down. As the image above shows, the creepy skeleton image reads “Hacked by #GOP”and demands that “requests be met” along with links to leaked data to show how legitimate their hack is.

Don’t Hide From ‘The Boxtrolls?’

by Joel Dale | Oct 22, 2014 | 0 comments

I wasn’t sure how much I wanted to see The Boxtrolls. I am not familiar with the story it is based on (Here Be Monsters!), but I was definitely intrigued by the animation quality and the inventive characters. And on that front it delivers big time. Where it fails is the marketing and a little bit of its metaphorical choices.

Super cute... but turn that frown upside down and whoa.

Super cute… but turn that frown upside down and whoa.

My hesitation in going was that the trailer shows these incredibly cute, industrious, if still somewhat scary looking creatures called the Boxtrolls being hunted down by some ugly villain with a kill everything kind of zeal. And I was put off with yet another animated story, ostensibly for kids, that involves nothing less than the end of life for an entire species. It seemed loud, brash, and kind of tired for a storyline. The reality wasn’t very far from my predictions. The Boxtrolls themselves are nicely inventive, with an underground home and lifestyle which they fill with the random articles they steal from the upper world each night to build strange and harmless machinery that makes their living situation fun and comfortable. They are shy tinkerers at heart wearing boxes that act as camouflage at the first sign of danger. But being they look like… well… trolls, the upper world finds them repulsive and has trumped up stories of the man-eating, blood thirsty nature of the trolls. The legend was fueled further by the fact that the trolls took a human child years ago and raised it as their own.

Disney, Fox, and Viacom Board Sony’s Internet TV?

by Sohrab Osati | Sep 16, 2014 | 0 comments

Last we heard about Sony’s internet TV plans were in 2012 where Sony Network Entertainment VP Michael Aragon has confirmed that the company has flirted with the idea of offering TV over the internet. At the time, Aragon believed that lack of bandwidth and proper business model was hindering Sony’s ability to full invest in the vision. Now, reports are popping up once again that not only has Sony not forgotten about their internet TV ambitions, but that Disney, Fox, and Viacom might be onboard. If true, between the 4 mega studios (with Sony Pictures automatically being on board), the service could offer a compelling platform for those looking to cut ties with their cable provider.

In the case of content, Viacom from a TV standpoint would be a big gain for the yet to be announced platform with 22 of their channels coming on board. Those include stations like Comedy Central, TV, VH1, BET, CMT, and Nickelodeon. Now lets talk about the service itself.

Should You See ‘The November Man?’

by Joel Dale | Sep 8, 2014 | 0 comments

I wonder if Pierce Brosnan had to read the script fourteen times before deciding to make The November Man. Because it’s kind of convoluted. Brosnan plays Devereaux, a top notch CIA agent that quits the business after his protege’, Mason, screws up a mission. He gets brought back in by best friend and ex-boss, Hanley, to protect his current CIA lover who has secrets on a Russian politician. That’s two sentences and already I’ve mentioned five characters. But not all is as it seems. It’s a spy movie… of course not all is as it seems. We obviously have to have Devereaux pitted against protege Mason in a duel. Cause you know, student vs. teacher. But it doesn’t stop there. Of course not. This is a modern spy movie.

Sony Pictures Crackle Offers Hollywood Without Being Hollywood

by Sohrab Osati | Aug 28, 2014 | 5 comments

Last week on Sunset Boulevard, Sony Pictures held a premiere party for Sequestered and The Cleaners: Season 2. Both shows are original series in the vein of House of Cards on Netflix and star some noteworthy actors. In the case of Sequestered, you can find Jesse Bradford (Flags of Our Fathers), Summer Glau (Firefly), Patrick Warburton (Rules of Engagement), and Bruce Davison (X-Men) on the freshman 30-minute show while Cleaners, going on season 2, has Robin Thomas Grossman (Pacific Rim) and David Arquette (Scream). As you’d expect with any red carpet event, there were plenty of beautiful people and enough camera flashes to make you dizzy with a fun premiere party to follow that, with full disclosure, we attended.

When you step back and look at Crackle and the event, you notice something interesting – it’s a media platform from Hollywood that isn’t Hollywood. Yes, we attended a red carpet event, but it wasn’t on Hollywood Boulevard. Yes, the shows have star power, but they are not Kevin Spacey, and yes, the service is available on just as many devices that support Netflix, yet their business model is completely different and that’s when it hits you. Crackle, from a distance, is a lot like the establishments we know, yet it’s completely different from them. Instead of creating a Netflix clone, Sony Pictures is taking a different approach with Crackle that gives it the Hollywood ties when it requires it to produce compelling content, and yet also keeps it away from them to give you something different.

So what the heck is Crackle and its shows, like Sequestered? Let’s talk after the jump.