I just finished watching The Interview. The outcome of the movie is now clear, but a question lingers.
Did North Korea succeed or fail by hacking Sony Entertainment’s computers in an effort to embarrass Sony and suppress the release of the film?
The movie was an unusual example of life imitating art, because the movie had not been released when real life events overtook the movie.
Movies have been overtaken by real world events before, The China Syndrome was overtaken by the events at Three Mile Island and the Sum of All Fears was rumored to be delayed in deference to 9/11.
However, the Interview stands in its own class because the North Korean government intervened to prevent the movie’s release using methods as contrived as the plot of the movie.
In the movie, two tabloid TV American journalists played by Seth Rogen and James Franco, are tasked with assassinating the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
In the real world, North Korean hackers allegedly infiltrate Sony Entertainment’s computers to prevent the release of the movie.
Undoubtedly, a great deal of damage was done to Sony’s stock price, its reputation among industry insiders who were embarrassed by leaked emails, employees had their personal data released to the public and Sony’s plans to release the movie in more profitable venues were sidelined.
But I am caused to wonder if the scorecard for this wrestling match between North Korea and Sony is less clear than the formulaic ending of the movie.
Scorecard – Kim Jong-un v. Sony
1. Visibility – Unless North Korea profited in a monetary fashion (they could have shorted Sony stock before perpetrating the hack – but there are no reports in this regard), the only prize available to North Korea was in the realm of Public Relations (PR).
Ironically, the movie received much more publicity than it would ever have garnered had North Korea not intervened. Without the help of North Korea, this was an inconsequential movie that would have quietly disappeared after its Christmas release.
Kim Jong-un 0 – Sony 1
2. Distribution – The movie was released directly to a digital format on platforms like YouTube, Xbox Video and Google Play and has already been viewed by over a million people on Torrent sites.
It is doubtful the movie would have been seen this widely this quickly and in as many countries had the digital release been delayed until a conventional release in theaters.
Kim Jong-un 0 – Sony 1
3. Embarrassment – North Korea often engages in muscle flexing exercises, such as its nuclear program and occasional acts of provocation toward South Korea, so it’s plausible their goal was to stir fear in the hearts of Western governments and people.
While Sony is a big company and there was an initial shock factor as we all learned that a senior executive at Sony had written a snide remark about Angelina Jolie and another had insulted President Obama, the fact remains that Sony was a soft target not a military of civilian installation of critical importance (my apologies in advance to fans of Ms. Jolie or President Obama). Sony will recover from the technical challenge and everyone will learn from this experience.
While Sony lost out in this respect, the fact North Korea had to content itself with such an inconsequential target is an indication of the very limited impact North Korea has on the world stage.
Kim Jong-un 1 – Sony 0
4. The Aftermath – The majority of the damage in PR fiascos tends to occur after the fact. Had Sony tried to cover up or minimize the situation, they could have made things much worse. Michael Lynton (Sony CEO) did a remarkable job of laying out his case on CNN this week and it is likely most people will have completely moved on with their lives by the New Year.
Frankly, picking a media organization in a PR battle was perhaps the biggest mistake North Korea could make. It’s doubtful any organization on the planet would have better PR advisors than a company that specializes in PR.
Kim Jong-un 0 – Sony 1
5. History – The simultaneous release of The Interview at independent theaters and on a variety of digital platforms will serve as a milestone that will be remember long after the particulars of embarrassing emails.
In this regard, Sony comes out as a pioneer not a victim.
Kim Jong-un 0 – Sony 1
Final score of the match Kim Jong-un 1 – Sony 4.