Tom Wiggins, Letter Carver & Writer

It’s hard to imagine a film pre-release period as problematic as the one that faced The Interview .   A hack might have at least proved manageable for Sony Pictures Entertainment, but that was just the tip of the iceberg in a much wider hack that spelled an utterly torrid 2014 for the company.   As for writer-director partnership of Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogan ("This is the End", "Superbad"), they could only sit and watch as a series of unfortunate events that would disrupt the film's release.   What followed were terrorist threats from a hacker group that had supposed links to North Korea, a pulled theatrical release, resulting condemnation from the President, and a collective silence of opinion from the Hollywood elite.   Sony’s withdrawal and Hollywood’s shuffling of feet was a sign that it found itself in uncertain territory.   Hollywood vs. Communist Russia used to be as simple and as inoffensive as a Rocky IV montage, but Hollywood vs. North...

Korean 1: Now that Kim Jong-Il is dead, do you want to join me in overthrowing our country’s tyrannous regime? Korean 2: I would, but… Korean 1: But what? Korean 2: I’m not insane. And I’d rather just shoot myself in the face. Korean 1: I think you’re- Korean 2: Or jump on a landmine. Korean 1: Look, this- Korean 2: But not before I watched my entire family jump on a landmine. Korean 1: You’re- Korean 2: Then all of my friends, and then all of their friends. Korean 1: See, it’s- Korean 2: And everyone I’ve ever spoken to. Ever. But only if it was systematic, emotionless and dead quick. Either alphabetically or by height - I haven’t decided yet. Korean 1: All I’m saying is that if the Arab and Middle Eastern uprisings can be so successful, then why can’t a North Korean one? Korean 2: Dude, you must be on crack.