Nick Briggs/HBO
It was tempting, admittedly, to just put one story in the column this week, and retitle it “Yes, Sony didn’t release a James Franco movie because of terror threats and the need to fulfill a 30 Rock punchline from five years ago,” but apparently that’s “too easy” and “unprofessional.” Go figure. Here, then, are some other things that happened on the Internet this week.
(Although, really, can we talk about that weird 30 Rock thing? Even stranger, it’s the second time in the last month it’s been revealed that the show accurately predicted future events. Who knew Tina Fey was a modern Nostradamus?)
George R.R. Martin Isn’t Happy Sony Pulled The Interview
What Happened: The Song of Ice and Fire writer was not happy with Sony deciding that The Interview was too hot to handle.
Where It Blew Up: Blogs, Twitter
What Really Happened: Like many, George R.R. Martin was appalled at the decision not to release Seth Rogen and James Franco’s The Interview in any format after terrorist threats led major US theater chains to pull the movie. Also like many, Martin took to the Internet to complain about the decision. Unlike many, he’s George R. R. Martin.
Calling it “a stunning display of corporate cowardice,” Martin wrote on his Livejournal that the decision had been made by companies that “could buy North Korea with pocket change,” adding that “it’s a good thing these guys weren’t around when Charlie Chaplin made The Great Dictator … It astonishes me that a major Hollywood film could be killed before release by threats from a foreign power and anonymous hackers.”
Nobody tell Martin that it was actually more than one Hollywood film; future Steve Carell project Pyongyang was dropped by studio New Regency as well, and screenings of 2004’s Team America: World Police—which also featured the death of a North Korean leader—were cancelled by Paramount.
Martin made an offer to those involved with The Interview: If Sony is down, he’ll screen it at the Jean Cocteau Cinema, the New Mexico theater he personally owns. “Come to Santa Fe, Seth, we’ll show your film for you,” he wrote.
The Takeaway: Yes, Sony choosing not to release The Interview is a bad move on multiple levels (not least of all because it might mean an end to edgy satire if others follow the lead of the hackers responsible for closing this movie down), but throwing “Well, I’ve got a movie theater and I’ll show it” tantrums may not be the answer.
Cards Against Humanity Is Selling You BS (Literally)
What Happened: Cards Against Humanity sold actual boxes of bullcrap for Black Friday. Amazingly, 30,000 people bought them.
Where It Blew Up: Blogs, media think pieces
What Really Happened: Protesting the materialism that is Black Friday for the second year running, the people behind Cards Against Humanity decided that they’d sell crap for the corporate holiday this year, and people bought in. Enough people, it turns out, that the crap sold out in less than two hours. On his blog, CAH co-creator Max Temkin explained the thinking behind the stunt. “I see these pranks as a kind of improv where the public is our scene partner,” he wrote. “Together, we create a spectacle that is simultaneously funny and real.”
The company made 20 cents on each of the 30,000 poop boxes sold (each box cost $6 to the customer); the profits will be donated (appropriately enough) to Heifer International.
The Takeaway: People will apparently buy anything if it’s branded properly (the packaging was made by the same company that creates Apple’s packaging). Whether or not those who bought the crap were true improv partners remains unclear; this Jezebel post sums up the response of many, we suspect.
Movie Studios Versus The Internet: The Inevitable Sequel
What Happened: Hey, remember the Stop Online Piracy Act? Turns out, it might not be as dead as it seemed.
Where It Blew Up: Blogs, Twitter, media think pieces
What Really happened: Hidden in the gossip and bad email etiquette of the leaked material released as a result of the Sony hack was something called “Project Goliath,” which appeared to be a collaboration between Universal, Sony, Fox, Paramount, Disney, and Warner Bros. to create a new push against web piracy. Unnamed in the leaked “Project Goliath” files was a company the studios believed would push back against any efforts, referred to only as “Goliath,” but believed by many to be Google.
On Thursday, Google responded. “We are deeply concerned about recent reports that the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) led a secret, coordinated campaign to revive the failed SOPA legislation through other means, and helped manufacture legal arguments in connection with an investigation by Mississippi State Attorney General Jim Hood,” a statement by the company’s SVP and General Counsel Kent Walker stated. “While we of course have serious legal concerns about all of this, one disappointing part of this story is what this all means for the MPAA itself, an organization founded in part ‘to promote and defend the First Amendment and artists’ right to free expression.’ Why, then, is it trying to secretly censor the Internet?”
Shots, as they say, fired.
The Takeaway: There’s some snark to be made here about it being unsurprising that movie studios would go for an unnecessary sequel to an unpopular campaign, but considering the widespread backlash to the original SOPA, it might be time to brace yourself for a second round of the Secret Wars Behind The Internet in 2015.
J.K. Rowling Reveals That Hogwarts Was As Inclusive as Any Fictional School Could Be
What Happened: J.K. Rowling continues to return to the scene of her most lucrative crimes, sharing new facts about the world of Harry Potter on Pottermore and Twitter alike.
Where It Blew Up: Blogs, Twitter
What Really happened: As Rowling finishes up her work on the Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them screenplay, she continues to spill new beans about the ephemera of Hogwarts and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. This week, she confirmed that everyone is welcome at Harry Potter’s school:
Not everyone appreciated the after-the-fact inclusiveness, however; Time‘s Daniel D’Addario complained that the author should leave well enough alone. “The Harry Potter books are objects that are sold individually, without a packet of disclosures, revisions, and rethinkings from Rowling; she owes it to her creations to allow them to stand or fall on their own,” he wrote. “The more Rowling calls attention to what in her books is missing, the more attention she takes away from what’s actually in her books.”
The Takeaway: Remember when it seemed like we’d have to say goodbye to Harry and Hogwarts? Who could have imagined there would come a time when people would ask Rowling to just shut up already?
Serial Ends, Internet Looks to Uncertain Future
What Happened: Serial, the true crime podcast that broke into the mainstream, finished its 12-week debut season. (Spoilers: the crime remained unsolved, with no last-minute confession on behalf of any of the participants.)
Where It Blew Up: Blogs, Twitter, media think pieces
What Really happened: We all knew the end was coming—although it was only the previous week when we realized that it was quite so close. The final episode of Serial answered few of the long-standing questions listeners longed for. (No, really, there were a lot of questions people wanted answers for. Like, a lot. Maybe a stupid amount.) But it did bring some sense of closure to the series, if not the events that were being investigated.
Response online to the final episode was mixed, and the same was true of the prospect of life without the show. Some suggested different podcasts to fill the void the show leaves behind, while others refused to say goodbye altogether, choosing to keep the magic alive via music. (See also: this and this.)
Still, at least we know that Sarah Koenig enjoyed putting the last episode together…
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