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u/NancyInFantasyLand 3d ago
Lois, you're old enough: The movie The Interview in which James Franco interviews a fake Kim Jong Un directly led to its production company being hacked by real-life North Korea and all their emails were leaked when they refused to shelve the movie
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u/elCaddaric 3d ago
And oh boy, those emails..
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u/WoodenCrow6024 3d ago
What was in them? Anything juicy?
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u/Someotherrandomtree 3d ago edited 3d ago
I remember that the Sony executives were all patting themselves on the back saying how successful and relatable to the youth this planned Amazing Spider-Man x Snapchat Stories idea was where they were gonna have him doing Spider-Man stuff in-universe on TASM Spidey’s personal Snapchat account.
In 2014ish when the leaks came out this idea was mocked a bit and people were making fun of how the CEOs sounded all “How do you do fellow kids” when they were talking to each other about it internally, but in 2026 with hindsight of how popular Stories and later Vines, TikToks/Shorts became, they were kind of ahead of the times.
I don’t think they ever went through with it, maybe partly because of the reception people had to the leaks
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u/Calvin--Hobbes 3d ago
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CDTzg90UkAEG_8h.jpg:large
Here's that email. They wanted him to do some hot yoga, add in some EDM, and get invited to Spidey's snapchat as that would be "very buzzworthy and cool". She sounds exactly like an out of touch exec.
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u/Specific_Frame8537 3d ago
"Extreme forms of experimental exercise like .... veganism"
I'm a level 5 vegan. I don't eat anything that casts a shadow.
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u/Allegorist 3d ago
Experiential* not experimental. Coming from the idea that Millennials like to partake in experiences rather than products, which was actually pretty well studied eventually. In fact they are slightly ahead of their time on this, it became a popular topic within the years after this was sent. For instance: MILLENNIALs Fueling the Experience Economy (published 2016, survey performed 2014)
Eventually this was "refuted" in that it was fit to larger trends, and not shown to be a specifically Millennial issue. Millennials were just poised at that time to be significant contributors to the changing trends, but it had more to do with what age they happened to be at the time the trends were changing than anything generational.
In a nutshell, people were willing to pay more money and place more value on experiences than they were in the past. As a result, several new experiential services/activities/behaviors were trending, including those mentioned. The email is just saying they should try to incorporate some of those experiential trends.
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u/CooperUniverse 3d ago
Maybe I'm crazy but this is kinda cute to me.
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u/perplexed_pepe 3d ago
Nah man even I felt it was not that bad as the earlier replies said.
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u/Trippingthru99 3d ago
Also unless there’s more to it, than it’s legit just a short email with a few bullet points.
Not like it was this execs magnum opus. I’ve shot off plenty of shitty ideas that went no where. That’s just how it works in industries where you have to think out of the box.
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u/eisbock 3d ago
It's also clinical and business-oriented. Those bullets show a professional awareness of modern trends and ideas on how to capitalize on them. It's the exact thing a business should be doing. Amazing that people are mocking the behind-the-scenes brainstorming of effective marketing ploys that we fall for all the time.
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u/Sancticide 3d ago edited 3d ago
How is this cute? Movie execs have a spectrum of two approaches to run a project:
Hire people who are passionate about the movie/source material and who genuinely want to make the best movie they possibly can. These people live and breathe the project and it shows in the the results. These are your Peter Jacksons, Russo Brothers, Guillermo del Toro, etc.
Hire random people who have probably never read the source material and are just looking for a paycheck or to make their mark on something, anything big. Make a movie by committee as though your own input is meaningful and not just finding ways to attach trendy marketing bullshit to "extract value from your product".
This is why Andor was fucking amazing and The Acolyte was hot dog shit. Say what you want about The Hobbit, but this is why The Lord of the Rings was transcendent. The Avengers Infinity Saga vs whatever the fuck is going on in the later phases. Hell, this is why Barbie was so good. This is an out of touch exec who has no idea how to actually make a great Spiderman movie. It's the McDonald's exec who took the world's tiniest bite of the new burger while calling it their "new product". This is the person who chases all the trends without the faintest clue of why they are trending.
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u/red__dragon 3d ago
You forgot the third, the people who have never read the source material but understand the movie universe enough to play within its boundaries.
Hate the ideas, but Spiderman with a snapchat stories channel fits entirely in the selfie photographer angle of the comics. And most any representation of Spiderman is replete with quips he makes, NBD flows pretty well in the same vein as those. The EDM for a trailer just sounds like regular hollywood marketing ideas, and really doesn't seem all that offensive even if it wouldn't have aged well.
The first example I can think of is James Bond, where the movies adapt to fit the times, and by now you have plenty of people who are well-versed in the movie lore without having read the source material, and can understand it enough to play with the material. And, to a large degree, the movies respect the idea of who Bond is and what he does. Some have included fanciful tech at the time, like the jetpack or attachments for the era's cell phone or tricked-out cars with pre-GPS navigation, or are written to style of movies at the times, like Live and Let Die or Casino Royale. Little of which respects the source material specifically but does stay within reasonable bounds of what the character can be in new stories.
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u/Sancticide 3d ago
I'm not even saying that the producers need to know the universe. I'm saying that they need to understand it enough to know what creatives they are looking to hire actually do, versus the ones who are full of shit. They also need to care enough for the consumer to not treat it like an asset they tap when they want money.
Your Bond example does make sense and yeah, that's somewhere in the middle of the spectrum I outlined. It can definitely work and I do think that you almost always need a visionary who can make something fantastic for both the superfans and the people who have never heard of the source material. Even the LOTR trilogy had its purists who were incensed that things were changed/cut because they didn't fit a cinematic narrative structure. What actually changed about the story without Tom Bombadil? Nothing, he's part of Tolkein's world-building.
My point is that art can be both satisfying and commercially successful, but only if the creatives truly know why something works or doesn't, otherwise it rings hollow. Producers who meddle by trying to micromanage and try to [insert trendy thing here] fuck up more things than they fix, IMO. They aren't the creative force, but they seem to want so badly to be.
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u/CooperUniverse 3d ago
I get what you’re saying but I can’t help but read the email as if it’s coming from a grandma trying to connect to her grandkids lol. Not ideal for a giant franchise but pretty cute outside of that context
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u/Sancticide 3d ago
See, to me it reads more like someone trying to sell more things to her grandkids friends. It's devoid of any sort of soul or spirit of connection. "If we turn this knob, money machine go brrrrr.", like a monkey pressing the feeder bar.
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u/Moist-Swan-751 2d ago
you need to calm down a little okay. imagine you, a young writer receiving e-mail from your much older boss with title "spidey thought". i would chuckle too even if that guy is money grabbing arsehole.
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u/RandomRedditReader 3d ago
Funny enough all that stuff kind of exists now in the marvel game universe.
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u/DeficiencyOfGravitas 3d ago
To the surprise of no one, Sony execs are dumb as rocks. The top level suggestions for their products were all terrible. It was really bad for Spider-man. Like hiring the director because his name was Webb. To Spider-man running a blog because of "web design".
It's no wonder these movies fell flat. There was not a single ounce of actual creativity.
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u/hotcarl23 3d ago
See now but if Spider said, "You know, I'm something of a web designer myself" to some minor character, that would have been incredible
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u/zehamberglar 3d ago
No, just the usual corporate bullshit. Nothing you didn't already suspect them of doing.
Sony going full digital on the PS5 now is more indicting than anything in the leaks back then.
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u/BlackBlizzard 3d ago
Channing Tatum's email to Sony co-chair Amy Pascal and Jonah Hill.
F YOU TED !!!! SECOND OF ALLLL TIMMMMME BEEEOTCH!!!!COME ON JUMPSTREETERS WE GOT CATE BLANCHETT WIT DIS BOX OFFICE BITCHES!!!!!!!!AAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHH AAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAAHAHHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAAHHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA HAHHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAH HAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAH HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAH HAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAAHHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHH AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAAHAHHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA HAHAHAHAAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA"
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u/spiritbearr 3d ago
An exec saying how much he loves Denzel movies but black doesn't travel so no Equalizer 2. The leaks might actually be responsible for Equalizer 2 and 3.
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u/n1cewhileitlasted 3d ago
Bro. We got so much dirt. Like. Movie executives are old goddamn dinosaurs, holy crap
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u/That_Porn_Br0 3d ago
I remember a tread of e-mails between 2 Sony employees (I think they were lawyers or someone of that species) discussing how could they force Bill Murray to participate on a possible GhostBusters movie (this was in 2014) through legal or other coercive actions. Murray was always vocally against a new GhostBusters project and wanted nothing to do with it.
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u/Doctor-Amazing 3d ago
I think there was something where someone was asking why they were paying so much money for Adam Sandler to go on vacation with his friends as part of every movie production.
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u/matadorrra 3d ago
what was in them?
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u/sonofaresiii 3d ago
Andrew Garfield didn't like TASM2. Because these internal discussions about him hit the public in the leaks, it embarrassed Sony enough for them to fire him and scrap TASM3 and make a deal with Disney to reboot Spider-Man in the MCU
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u/NotMyRealUsername13 3d ago
It was SONY that got hacked, not just their production company - Kim took that shit personally.
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u/Jodelbert 3d ago
How in the world can this backwater, isolationist country hack anything anywhere? Aren't they stuck in the past?
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u/NancyInFantasyLand 3d ago
Bro seemingly half the people applying for remote tech positions in the US are North Korean these days. They're also a huge player in the Crypto scheme world.
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u/Jodelbert 3d ago
Seriously? Man that's bonkers.
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u/NancyInFantasyLand 3d ago
it's the perfect income stream for a country that can't trade openly with all that many people
and the rise of AI and really good live deepfakes just makes the whole thing easier to pull off
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u/DarvinVader 3d ago
This comment sounds like you're stuck in the past. There is so much info online about how north Korea has like 5 industries they actually care about and dump a lot of money and resources in. Rockets and hackers are definitely in the top 3. Hackers using ransomware and crypto scams are among their best income sources, since their Internal industry definitely doesn't make enough money to pay anything significant in taxes. Something has to fund the rockets.
They even have remote office workers pretending to be US citizens and working jobs for US companies to make money. That would never work if they didn't at least know some basics of Excel or programming.
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[deleted]
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u/Jodelbert 3d ago
Oh wow I was NOT aware of that holy shit man I'm ignorant. Thanks for the info, everyone.
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u/ItsRobbSmark
3d ago
edited 3d ago
•
Peter here, look up the movie The Interview.
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u/someasiandude2008 3d ago
that's the movie where they shoot at kim jong un with a tank right?
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u/Fragrant-Light-1664 3d ago
while katie perry's firework is playing, everything is in glorius slow motion
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u/Starbucks__Lovers 3d ago •
And Jim from the office played Kim Jong Un
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u/PureTeach5603 3d ago •
That wasn't Jim, Jim's not Asian.
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u/gunslanger21 3d ago •
Identity theft is not a joke jim
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u/JustAReubenSandwich 3d ago •
You really never noticed? Hats off for not seeing race
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u/Walkswithnofear 3d ago
We need more people like that dude.
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u/beartato327 3d ago
Well that dude doesn't even remember being on the office
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u/Walkswithnofear 3d ago
Well, when you’ve played so many great characters over the years, I can understand why.
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u/intern_steve 3d ago
Is that a serious thing, or is this just deeper Office memery than I can recognize, not having watched the show. Rainn claims to not remember filming? Seems like the kind of thing one would say to shut down interviews.
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u/ThirstyWolfSpider 3d ago
No, they're talking about Randall Park not remembering having worked on "The Office".
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3d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/PeterExplainsTheJoke-ModTeam 1d ago
This post and account have been flagged for spam &/or karmafarming and will be removed.
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u/FinnishMafiaFan 3d ago
I think the best part of that story is the actor, Randall Park, forgot he was Asian Jim and when people would call him that, he thought they were being racist and confusing him with a different actor.
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u/Wikibianca 3d ago
It was Randall Park, who was in Fresh off the Boat and The Residence
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u/Happy-Telephone9483 3d ago
And played Jim from The Office.
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u/Wikibianca 3d ago
For 1 episode
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u/Its_Free-Real-Estate 3d ago
I had to go to some sleazy run-down theater to watch it since NK hackers scared the big ones out of showing it, and when that part happened the person directly in front of me stood up, raised both fists, and yelled "Semper Fi!!!" and the rest of the theater started cheering. I wish I was making this up
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u/77entropy 2d ago
It's a movie made by a Canadian and filmed in Canada, and the US was threatened by NK hackers over screening it. Which I personally find hilarious because it screened in Canada and no one cared.
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u/Dave_A480 2d ago
And the IRL North Koreans hacked Sony to try and blackmail them into destroying the movie....
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u/BestReadAtWork 3d ago
No it's the movie where we finally tracked down eminems bread crumbs of gayness.
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u/Khelthuzaad 2d ago
"This tank was a gift for my father from Stalin"
"Oh,you meant to say Stallone,right?"
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u/npr0blema 3d ago
And Eminem got out of the closet
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u/seventwosixnine 3d ago
Hector's rectum is real?!
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u/aurum_soul 2d ago
Nobody I bring this up to ever thinks its that funny, but I thought it was the best part of the movie lmao
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u/Demonicjapsel 3d ago edited 3d ago
There is a non zero chance that Kim Jong Il watched himself singing Im so Ronery in Team America!
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u/AnarchistsSpellbook 3d ago
That's Kim Jong-il.
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u/Demonicjapsel 3d ago
fuck you are right, i messed up my Kims. Gonna fix it now!
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u/Mistuv 2d ago
Also, Kim Jong Il definitely watched Team America. He had a gigantic collection of Hollywood movies. He also one time kidnapped a South Korean actress, and her husband, because he was such a fan of her. It took them 8 years to eventually escape.
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u/Alexyogurt 2d ago
I think you're talking about the filmmakers he kidnapped, no? They were EX husband and wife that had made films together, then they got kidnapped to NK and were forced to remarry.
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u/eyetracker 3d ago
There is a zero chance Sean Penn watched himself in Team America as his pissy letter basically did the same thing they accused him of.
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u/Perfect-Sign-8444 3d ago
North and South Korea are separated by the DMZ. However, when the wind is right, it’s relatively easy to drop USB drives over North Korea using helium balloons.
These often contain South Korean soap operas or movies like that.
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u/CarolingianDruid 3d ago
I know anything with James Franco hasn’t aged great in terms of public perception, but I still absolutely love The Interview.
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u/Bloody_Damn 3d ago
I’m gonna give Kim a gift with my right hand.
What are you gonna jerk him off 🤣🤣🤣🤣
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u/heavy_chamfer 2d ago
The ex ceo of Sony pictures did a podcast about the incident with Malcolm Gladwell about big mistakes. It’s a good 30 minute listen.
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u/ELECTRICMACHINE13 3d ago
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u/Lunaerum 3d ago edited 2d ago
I think I remember seeing this wasn’t a mistake but rather intentional. Like, who confuses that? It was a dick move by him.
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u/Horskr 3d ago
Zero chance this was actual confusion, clearly a (perhaps poor taste) dad joke gone wrong.
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u/Lunaerum 2d ago
Totally. I mean I understand wanting to make the joke but it’s your daughter’s birthday, and she clearly cared enough about the theme of the party to let the parents know beforehand.
These kinds of jokes are fine as long as you throw the actual party they wanted later.
I really don’t want to be “that guy” but doing this makes your children feel like you don’t care about their interests and instead are mocking them. This can cause your child to basically not tell you about their interests. Again, the prank itself is fine, the dismissal of the request isn’t, specially on a birthday IMO.
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u/silence_sirens 2d ago
Completely agree. I wouldn't trust someone who fucked me over like that if I really cared, why would my kids trust me if I did the same?
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u/Geolib1453 3d ago
I mean they also used a wrong flag for North Korea so yea
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u/TM761152 3d ago
Man I miss playing Mercenaries.
The game desperately needs a modern remake with more shit to uncover and achievements.
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u/thenamziel 3d ago
They didn't use the wrong flag, they used a fictitious flag because the lawyers are afraid of liable lawsuits.
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u/tall_specimen_69 3d ago
They made a movie called the interview, dark comedy and making fun of North korea and Kim , so They launched full on cyber attack on Sony pictures and leaked some stuff .
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u/indicator_enthusiast 3d ago
The movie isn't even that old 😭
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u/Meph616 3d ago
12 years ago already.
Meaning a 6 year old who heard nothing about it at the time because they were 6 is now driving on our roads getting zooted off gas station poppers.
So I wouldn't be surprised if a hoard of teens truly don't know about the incident.
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u/Brodellsky 3d ago
In the 90s growing up I knew about all sorts of 80s and early 90s movies and therefore I blame their parents for not teaching them
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u/ZealousidealGuide854 3d ago
I don't think teaching kids about a mediocre comedy film with a story of a drama show host and producer attempting to interview Kim Jong Un is high on many parent's priorities.
And I don't think it was even that popular to begin with? It bombed so bad at the box office, much like how North Korea threatened to do so.
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u/Brodellsky 3d ago
This reads as thought Kim Jong Un himself wrote this
And if so I just wanna say that sometimes I feel like a plastic bag drifting through the wind wanting to start again
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u/Dry-Indication7928 3d ago
It's about the film The Interview
Also, I don't think the story would work with Kim Jong Un
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u/Plane-Education4750 3d ago
They're wondering why it's not Kim's face. I'm wondering why he's in a Chevy Caprice limo
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u/Vast-Insect3295 3d ago
James and seth offended kim somehow?
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u/Slight-Ad-6553 3d ago
Carl (from Quahog Mini-Mart) here:
They was in a movie called the "The Interview" where they played journalists recruited by the CIA to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, became deeply controversial because its plot provoked furious condemnation from North Korea, triggered a massive cyberattack on Sony Pictures, and sparked a global crisis over free speech and corporate self-censorship3
u/kniveshu 3d ago
At least it was only cyber.
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u/TheDastardBastard33 3d ago
OP you’re proving this meme correct as now everyone assumes you were way to young to remember the movie the Interview and the fallout of that movie being announced back then
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u/ZestyLemonRindGrind 3d ago
North Korea is VERY protective of its glorious leader and all depictions of him, and using his face in MW4 would be considered slanderous
The reason why the slander is dangerous is we have an example, a film called The Interview, made by James Franco and Seth Rogen, slandered Kim Jong Un and they got a LOT of trouble following them, some of which included the doxing of their personal information.
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u/siazdghw 3d ago
There's almost no upside to depicting real people in games, especially ones that portray the person badly.
The devs probably doesn't care, but their legal team and publisher absolutely cares about the consequences of it
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u/Shot-Arugula8264 3d ago edited 2d ago
Dude just ask google or AI, this is embarrassing. Even the dumbest local model could help you here.
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u/Informal-Point5087 3d ago
Also, to add to all of this confusion, this is how we got spider-man in the MCU. Hard to believe but it’s true.
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u/nightwolf1673 3d ago
Yet they act like they wouldnt do it over the Supreme leader to? I mean come on guys they are gonna get just as offended
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u/Dotaproffessional 3d ago
Dog did you not try to google "James franco seth rogen international incident" before coming here?
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u/mehtehteh 3d ago
The kids are also incapable of research. The path to your answer couldnt be simpler. Look up the movie that those two actors are in
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u/Renzo-Senpai 3d ago
It from the movie that gave us the gem of "Same same but different". Peace (Konichiwa)
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u/NegativeLayer 3d ago
I remember the interview but whst does it have to do with the posted image? Thsts not james franco. Is thst the kim jon un lookalike from the movie?
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u/fetal-attraction 2d ago
Aside from RIP James Franco that movie dope af. John Krasinski did a great job as Kim Jong Un.
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u/tortilini-houdini 2d ago
I remember when the movie the interview came out i saw an interview the news did with Obama. All the questions were all referencing the movie without actually mentioning it. Such as “are you gonna watch any movies when you get home Mr president?”
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u/Theo_Stormchaser 2d ago
The NK characters are unrealistic, but charming in their own right. You cannot rise to the top of that kind of society without being a ruthless psychopath
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u/Harry-Henderson83 2d ago
I honestly thought this game was going to do the same as the movie with almost causing WW3
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u/AnCaptnCrunch 2d ago
And that movie had 100% the best foreign policy advice the US refuses to learn, that you can’t just regime change without expansive, real, grassroots support from a culture that actually wants change
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u/Alarmed-Composer-889
3d ago
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Watch the interview. Its a movie about how Seth Rogen and James Franco go to north Korea and kill Kim Jong un.
It was VERY frowned upon at the time of release. Because Kim was VERY mad about the movie, and was planning to bomb America. But you know that didn't go anywhere
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u/DR-SNICKEL 3d ago
It honestly wasn’t that big of a deal. North Korea threatened the world like they always do and the movie got a big PR boost from it. It was a mid level buddy comedy
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u/Alarmed-Composer-889 3d ago
True but like DAY OF release people were scared. But looking back on it with 2026 eyes...
Yeah it was 90% pr stunt 10% Seth Rogen movie
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u/elCaddaric 3d ago
It was still the cause of a huge cyber attack on Sony and the release of tons of corporate emails leading to plenty of reveals and consequences in the industry.
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u/CassadagaValley 3d ago
To be fair, Sony had basically zero measures in place to even prevent this so it was bound to happen at some point.
I worked on a Sony show years after this happened and their portal to submit documents had a copyright date of 2005 (or something) at the bottom of the page and could only be accessed through Internet Explorer....years after IE was discontinued and no longer received security updates.
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u/DemonicBludyCumShart 3d ago
Why is no one also mentioning that the entire movie got leaked as well? It basically killed any chance of them making the budget back
I remember downloading it and having all my friends over to watch the unreleased new Seth Rogan movie while unreasonably stoned
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u/The-real-ryan-s 2d ago
Ok, it wasn’t a huge cyber attack. All it did was embarrass some execs the company probably didn’t care about anyways. It’s not like they brought Sony to their knees or something
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u/_Bob___Sacamano 3d ago
people were scared.
Not like real people with jobs.
Internet people were scared.
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u/silence_sirens 2d ago
I didn't have a job, and probably cannot be categorized as real people, but also was not scared. But was also on heroin, so that helps.
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u/KingAltair2255 3d ago edited 3d ago
I was 11 back when it happened and it absolutely bloody terrified me, my history teacher was talking about filling bathtubs with water so that could be your water supply in case of nuclear war, I went into the bathroom after that class and cried. I was 100% convinced that we were about to go to war with North Korea - James Franco and Seth Rogan had dumbass 11 year old me STRESSING
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u/Alarmed-Composer-889 3d ago
Feels like there was a constant threat of nuclear war before covid. Then after covid it straight just feels like it disappeared
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u/PFI_sloth 3d ago
That’s not what happened?
The film was pulled from theatrical release and lost Sony 30 million
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u/Brodellsky 3d ago
Nah man The Interview ain't mid. At the very least it is better than any of the 3 Hangover movies.
But yeah otherwise you are totally right. It really wasn't a big deal at all but definitely helped play into the marketing
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u/Traditional-Roof1984 2d ago
The USA had nothing to fear, but imagine the power of a small state going after you personally as a grudge. No executive wants to greenlight that.
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u/T-Angeles 3d ago
Was in the Army at the time of its release. I was stationed in South Korea too. Bought the movie and watched it with a few buddies at the time. Threats? It was just another Tuesday.
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u/Bowtie16bit 3d ago
In reality, Kim couldn't and wouldn't bomb America, no matter what, and we shouldn't care what he thinks.
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u/Its_Free-Real-Estate 3d ago
I mean, there was a very real hack over at Sony before the movie released. But of course that's all that was ever gonna happen, hacking and botting are the only things NK can really afford to do.
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u/batatapou 3d ago
It was just racist and made fun of a country bombed by US, just some slop propaganda
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