• North Korea Tightening Ban on Music With House-to-House Searches

    North Korea is reportedly tightening the noose on banned music by ordering house-to-house searches to find and confiscate cassettes and CDs. Permanently paranoid, the ruthless Kim Jong-Un regime is looking to keep his vice-like grip on the North Korean people and extending the ban on music (both foreign and local) will do just that in their minds.

  • Sony's Salary Leaks Have Made Contract Negotiations Nearly Impossible

    We have spent the last few weeks dishing on the grand-scale hacking of Sony and the impact that it has had in the entertainment world. While learning that the FBI had officially determined that North Korea was ultimately the starting point for the hack, dealing with that situation may prove to be the very least of the company's problems. All the focus has been on The Interview, finally getting it into theaters and then what if any, repercussions would be. Sony still has to contend with a bunch of angry employees and that is a situation that's not going away any time soon.

  • Sony Will Release 'The Interview' in Theaters, on VOD

    If you are one of the growing number of people who wanted to see "The Interview" simply to defy North Korea's attempt to block its distribution, then it looks like you are in luck. Sony is reportedly gearing up to announce that the film, which was canceled a few days ago, will see the light of day. The plan as of now is to release the film in participating theaters as well as through video on demand simultaneously. The list of distributors is expected to be released at some point today, with theaters in both Atlanta and Austin, Texas, already on board to show the film. Talks between Sony and Dish Network reportedly fell apart over the weekend, and other possible distributors have expressed concern over the possibility of also being hacked if they agreed to show the film.

  • Sony Will Release 'The Interview' in Theaters, on VOD

    If you are one of the growing number of people who wanted to see "The Interview" simply to defy North Korea's attempt to block its distribution, then it looks like you are in luck. Sony is reportedly gearing up to announce that the film, which was canceled a few days ago, will see the light of day. The plan as of now is to release the film in participating theaters as well as through video on demand simultaneously. The list of distributors is expected to be released at some point today, with theaters in both Atlanta and Austin, Texas, already on board to show the film. Talks between Sony and Dish Network reportedly fell apart over the weekend, and other possible distributors have expressed concern over the possibility of also being hacked if they agreed to show the film.

  • Is the United States to Blame for North Korea's Internet Being Completely Crashed?

    It looks like the United States might be giving North Korea a taste of their own medicine. The country's state-run internet began experiencing connectivity issues over the weekend and now according to various news outlets it has been completely down for about three hours now. This development comes on the heels of the FBI confirming that North Korea is responsible for the hacking of Sony that has lead to a business crisis of epic proportions for the company.

  • Due to Pressure, Sony Will Eventually Release 'The Interview'

    It is kind of amazing how divided the United States is over racial issues, law enforcement and good ol' political agendas, but when a film studio gets hacked, it is fairly easy to get everyone on the same page — and quickly! Sony canceled everything in connection with its film "The Interview" last week, fearing that the group that has successfully hacked the company would make good on its threats of violence. Once it was confirmed that North Korea was responsible for the large security breech, the studio decided not to take any unnecessary risks and even the White House disagreed with the decision. First, Hollywood as a whole chimed in collectively, not wanting to feel like its business was being controlled by Kim Jong Un's regime. Then political leaders such as U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Newt Gingrich started rallying for the film's release. By this morning, Dec. 22, Sony started contemplating exactly what the best way to release "The Interview" might be. While the logical possibility was either video on demand or Netflix, some other companies might be more than a little skittish, fearing that they, too, will be hacked.

  • North Korea Speaks of 'Merciless Punishment' in New Threats Targeting the U.S.

    Back in 2008, North Korea was officially removed from the U.S.'s list of state sponsors of terrorism after spending two decades of being listed on it. Thanks to the fallout from the Sony hacking and due to the fact that the FBI has confirmed that it was indeed North Korea that was behind the huge breech in security, our government is now pondering whether or not to put the nation back onto that list.

  • 'The Interview' Has Been Shelved but Sony Leaks Keep Coming as Amy Pascal Slams Adam Sandler

    Sony may have decided to appease the Guardians of Peace and not let "The Interview" premiere on Christmas Day or any other day in the near future, but that does not mean the hackers are finished wreaking havoc on the studio. Instead, newly leaked emails keep coming which indicate that the GOP's actual agenda involves quite a bit more than just making sure that one film does not see the light of day. Once again, Amy Pascal and her opinions are under fire. This time around, the subject of her disdain is Adam Sandler, who wanted a huge chunk of cash for a movie version of the board game Candyland. According to the leaked emails, Sandler asked the studio for $200 million for that flick and he also rallied to have his co-producer on "Hotel Transylvania 2," Allen Covert, get an extra $100,000. "Adam is an a--hole and this is more his fault than anyone's but what we did was not communicate with each other and make assumptions," said Pascal, indicating that Sandler is not one of Sony's favorite people to deal with.

  • The FBI Officially Accuses North Korea of Successfully Hacking Sony

    Earlier this week the news broke that the FBI was reportedly linking North Korea to the high level hacking of Sony and this morning the government agency issued a full statement that officially points the finger at that country's government. Even while under the sharpest of microscopes, the hackers who refer to themselves as Guardians of Peace, again reached out to Sony officials, sending another email overnight that made it clear that they weren't the least bit intimidated even if their identity has been outed.

  • Sony Faces Backlash After Shelving 'The Interview' Amid Terror Threats

    It seems Sony has found itself in the kind of a situation that offers no easy solution. After weeks of being hacked and embarrassed on an international level, it has finally been confirmed by the U.S. government that North Korea is behind the cyber attack, and the effect has been all but crippling for the movie house. Ultimately, the hackers were working hard to scare Sony into shelving its comedy "The Interview," which was scheduled to hit theaters Christmas Day, and as of now their efforts have worked. The film, a comedy about taking out North Korea's Kim Jong Un, seems to have been put to rest permanently, and much of Hollywood seems furious about it. Aside from having to crawl out from the initial humiliation, not only of actually being hacked but then the mortification that the contents of various emails have been leaked, the company was left with a huge problem on its hands. Within the last week Seth Rogen and James Franco began canceling different media interviews that were intended to promote "The Interview," and as of yesterday both actors had been photographed with bodyguards. The stars connected to the project have feared for their own safety, so it makes sense Sony would proceed with extra caution.

  • NYC Premiere of 'The Interview' Canceled After 9/11-Type Threats; Homeland Security Investigates

    The Sony hacking scandal just keeps getting more complicated each day, and what seemingly began as a plot to embarrass some of the studio's top brass is really beginning to cut into business. "The Interview," slated for an official Christmas Day release and starring Seth Rogen and James Franco, is about a plot to kill North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and this one film seems to be at the center of the turmoil. The hackers, officially dubbed as the shady Guardians of Peace, are going out of their way to scare the studio into shelving this film, and their tactics seem to be working. Rogen and Franco have canceled various promotional interviews in connection with "The Interview" and the film's official New York City premiere, slated for Thursday night, Dec. 18, has been canceled. Why the fear? Well, the GOP issued an ominous statement yesterday, saying in part: "Soon all the world will see what an awful movie Sony Pictures Entertainment has made. The world will be full of fear. Remember the 11th of September 2001. We recommend you to keep yourself distant from the places at that time. (If your house is nearby, you'd better leave.)" The FBI has been pulled into the investigation, and it claims that there has been no chatter that leads them to believe that the direct threats against movie theaters are legitimate, but no one is taking any chances. So far, Carmike Cinemas and Los Angeles's ArcLight Cinemas have canceled screenings of the film. Homeland Security claims to be inching closer toward figuring out not only who is behind the threats, but also what part of the world they are coming from.

  • Classicalite's Top 10 of 2013: James Inverne on the Headlines

    Any year brings its share of joy, sadness, triumphs, tragedies and just plain weirdnesses. We journalists are there to document them all. And yet we enjoy a good story, or feel emotion at a heart-wrenching one, as much as anyone, so in looking back at 2013 these are what

  • North Korea Executes 12 Prominent Musicians, Including Kim Jong-Un's Ex-Girlfriend Hyon Wong-sol

    North Korea has reportedly executed twelve individuals, all musicians and performers labelled as "dissidents," on August 20. The musicians involved members of Chinese performance group the Unhasu Orchestra, the Moranbong Band and the Wanjaesan Light Music Band. The most prominent of those killed was Hyon Song-wol, a Chinese singer who became popular in North Korea, and recorded the nation's 2005 hit "Excellent Horse-Like Lady," and other patriotically-themed music.
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