Hollywood producer Scott Rudin is totally over the Sony Pictures hacks. The producer, whose emails with former co-chair Amy Pascal were leaked, says that he’s over the whole thing.
In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter , Rudin said, “I don’t think anyone’s still grappling with it, honestly.” While some saw these emails as a real look inside the Hollywood system and the natural paradigm, Rudin saw himself as a victim. He stated to the outlet, “We were victims of a crime. I don’t think there’s anything to change.”
A Year Later, Scott Rudin “Over” Sony Hack http://t.co/yyhL6bVEHb pic.twitter.com/oxD4lQeo5q
— Hollywood Reporter (@THR) October 15, 2015
If you don’t remember, some of the most shocking things that were leaked in the emails all came from the producer’s side. He bashed Angelina Jolie, calling her a “minimally talented spoiled brat,” and even joked about what kind of movies President Barack Obama would like based on his race. This all came from a very powerful producer, who calls the shots for a lot of films we know and love. Just a glance at his resume and you’ll see movies like No Country for Old Men, The Social Network, The Truman Show, The Grand Budapest Hotel — just to name a few.
If anyone is feeling the effects of the hacks a year later, Scott Rudin isn’t letting on that it’s him. Then again, he was never the name behind Sony. The chance of someone like Brad Pitt bringing a film to Sony after Rudin’s email about Angelina Jolie was leaked is slim to none. It’s a huge loss for the company, seeing as Pitt’s works as a producer, notably 12 Years a Slave and Selma , have all won big at the Academy Awards. When the leak about Jolie went out, Brad Pitt addressed the situation in a general way.
“I don’t see a difference in News Corp. hacking phone calls and hacking emails. I don’t think we should be able to participate. I think someone’s conversation, whether in email or in person, should be private. We shouldn’t be participating and these sites that are disseminating them should stop. They won’t.” Pitt also went on to say that the public shouldn’t indulge in reading these emails, saying it was an indictment on the public as well.
Private information from Sony Pictures was leaked as a response to Sony planning to release the satirical comedy The Interview starring James Franco and Seth Rogen. In the film, the two plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. North Korea didn’t take this too lightly and an anonymous group of hackers, who allegedly had ties to the country, decided to hack into Sony Pictures and expose employee salaries, private emails, and more.
Sony pulls The Interview from theaters. Reminder when it eventually arrives: it’s hilarious. http://t.co/EYQi8eye1k pic.twitter.com/PK2vgc1fLB
— ThePlaylist (@ThePlaylist) December 17, 2014
Despite the hack, Sony originally had plans to carry out the wide release, which was scheduled for Christmas Day. However, that plan was nixed when the anonymous group called Guardians of Peace said that they would bring violence to screenings. Sony handed over the decision to the large chain movie theaters to decide whether or not they wanted to house the screenings — all of them pulled out. After massive outcry from the public, Sony decided to release The Interview on VOD on Christmas Day, and it went on to become the highest earning VOD film ever.
At the time of the controversy, Rogen told Howard Stern , “everyone is doing exactly what these criminals want.”
Eventually, Amy Pascal stepped down from her position at Sony Pictures due to the hacks.
[Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images]