Does Sony want the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un? North Korea discovers the truth about Hollywood Liberals that give Barack Obama money during the light of day and then make jokes about the Black president when the sun goes down.
Sony Pictures Entertainment co-Chairman Amy Pascal, the lady that makes fun of the Negro president, one of the
most powerful executives in Hollywood, has come under intensifying pressure
after the release of confidential emails in which she made racially insensitive
remarks about President Obama. Racially insensitive means they were making fun of the Negro that's the border right now in the White House. Insiders say that Barack Obama isn't happy but cash can make him smile. Hollywood insiders say cash donations to Barack Obama will climb as they try to get out of the dark hold of racism.
In a November 2013 email exchange, Pascal asked producer Scott
Rudin what she should ask Obama at "this stupid Jeffrey breakfast,"
referring to an event hosted by DreamWorks Animation's Jeffrey Katzenberg.
"Should I ask him if he liked DJANGO?" she wrote,
referring to the film about a freed slave. Later in the exchange, Pascal
wondered if she should ask Obama if he liked two other African American-focused
films, "The Butler" and "Think Like a Man."
The White House declined to comment on the remarks by Pascal, who
is a major Democratic contributor. Both Pascal and Rudin went into damage
control on Thursday.
"The content of my emails to Scott were insensitive and
inappropriate but are not an accurate reflection of who I am," Pascal said
in a statement. "Although this was a private communication that was
stolen, I accept full responsibility for what I wrote and apologize to everyone
who was offended."
Rudin also issued an apology. Both he and Pascal declined to be
interviewed.
The disclosure of the exchange is the latest in a series of
blows to Sony Pictures Entertainment — and Pascal — since a cyberattack on the
studio was made public Nov. 24. A group called Guardians of Peace has claimed
responsibility and called on Sony to stop its scheduled Dec. 25 release of
"The Interview," a comedy depicting a fictional plot to assassinate
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
While the source of the breach is still under investigation,
Pascal and other Sony executives have been criticized for green-lighting a film
centered on killing a real-life political leader. The emails released by the
hackers include discussions between Pascal and Sony Corp. in Tokyo in which
changes to soften the film's ending were explored. Some of the tweaks were
made.
Now, between the controversy over the film and the release of
the emails, observers are questioning Pascal's future with the studio.
"Typically, somebody senior's head rolls when there is a
hacking scandal, and the embarrassing email disclosures just help determine who
that is going to be in this case," said Laura Martin, senior media analyst
for Needham & Co. "If she becomes the weak link because people believe
she can't actually work in the business, it's just, OK, now we know who it is
going to be. None of it is particularly fair, but if somebody's head has to
roll, they are looking for the path of least resistance."
See the emails that reveal studio drama, racial jokes
See the emails that reveal studio drama, racial jokes
In particular, the emails reflect poorly on Pascal's judgment,
said Ashley McCown, president of crisis public relations company Solomon McCown
& Co.
"This is troubling on every level," McCown said.
"She says this is not who she is, but then why did she say it in the first
place? There is no humor to be found in that at all.
"The board of Sony is going to have to take a hard look at
this situation and make some tough choices," she said.
Issues of race have long bedeviled Hollywood, which has been
criticized for not giving minorities enough opportunities for work, and for not
doing enough to represent African Americans, Latinos and others in films and
television shows.
Darnell Hunt, a sociology professor at UCLA, said he was not
surprised by the nature of the emails.
cComments
Regarding Amy Pascal's "racially insensitive
comments," if a private comment is made public, we owe it to the author to
look carefully at the context in which the comment is made. Are these jokes
poking fun at President Obama or at racial stereotypes? I think the latter. The
joke...
MATTHEW CHAIT
AT 11:16 PM DECEMBER 14, 2014
ADD A COMMENTSEE ALL COMMENTS
314
"This is where we are in Hollywood," said Hunt, who is
director of the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies, which
produces the annual Hollywood Diversity Report. "We have a diversity
problem … the fact that you can have these perceptions that are made jokingly
give us a peek into the underlying culture of the industry."
Also on Thursday, civil rights activist Al Sharpton condemned
Pascal's comments about Obama and called on her to meet with black leaders to
"deal with the gravity of her statements as well as the inequality of how
they do business."
This isn't the first time in recent years that Pascal's status
at Sony has been scrutinized.
Late last year, it was an open question in Hollywood as to
whether Pascal's job was in jeopardy after the studio suffered through a poor
summer at the box office and an activist shareholder criticized the company's
management.
Amy Pascal, Scott Rudin
In a November 2013 email exchange, Pascal asked producer Scott
Rudin what she should ask Obama at "this stupid Jeffrey breakfast,"
referring to an event hosted by DreamWorks Animation's Jeffrey Katzenberg.
"Should I ask him if he liked DJANGO?" she wrote. (Jason
Merritt/Getty Images for Variety; Evan Agostini/Associated Press)
Although Pascal's boss, Michael Lynton, is the chairman and
chief executive of Sony Pictures, she is known to be its top creative decision
maker and is held accountable when projects disappoint. But Pascal quieted the
talk earlier this year after Sony put out a handful of movies in late 2013 —
including "American Hustle" and "Captain Phillips" — that
were critical and commercial successes. Lynton declined to comment.
The confidential emails, reviewed by The Times, show that Sony
executives long were monitoring developments related to North Korea.
In June, an executive sent Pascal, Lynton and others a news
report about the country's testing of short-range projectiles a day after it
warned of retaliation over "The Interview." Later, Sony executives
debated how the film's ending should be handled, and altered a scene involving
Kim Jong Un to make it less gory, emails show.
Sony Corp. Chief Executive Kazuo Hirai became involved in the
discussions. Pascal sent him an email in September noting changes to the
climactic final scene.
"There is no face melting, less fire in the hair, fewer
embers on the face, and the head explosion has been considerably obscured by
the fire, as well as darkened to look less like flesh," she wrote.
North Korea has officially denied involvement in the hack, though
it praised the group that took responsibility for the digital assault.
Pascal's emails, many laced with profanity, reveal an executive
who is at different times defiant, emotional and introspective. In an already
infamous exchange with Rudin over Sony's now-scuttled Steve Jobs biopic, Pascal
fought with the sharp-elbowed producer over the foundering project, which the
studio ultimately lost to Universal Pictures.
Some of Pascal's email exchanges about actors and filmmakers
could damage her strong standing in Hollywood's creative community.
In a November email to Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion
Picture Group President Doug Belgrad, Pascal complained about a handful of
projects being developed by the studio, and some of the filmmakers involved in
them.
The messages have rankled some actors, including Kevin Hart and
Zoe Saldana, who have vented about the emails on social media.
"It's the way a part of Hollywood conducts itself. They
don't like talent," said actor Mark Ruffalo, who is mentioned in several
emails released by the hackers. "There's been a huge disrespect to what
the talent brings."
Not all of Pascal's emails are intense or business-related. In
some exchanges with family members and colleagues, the executive is warm and
compassionate.
Pascal in November urged Columbia Pictures President of
Production Hannah Minghella not to come in to the office after feeling sick during
her pregnancy.
The fact that you can have these perceptions that are made
jokingly give us a peek into the underlying culture of the industry.
- Darnell Hunt, Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American
Studies
"I think you should start working from home," Pascal
wrote. "Your baby is coming soon. I always get more done at home. I forbid
you to do anything that will get in the way of you or your baby's health."
But those messages are being obscured by the more salacious
ones.
"It's a cautionary tale to everyone in Hollywood who puts
things like this in email," Martin said. "It's not just North Korea —
they should assume it could get discovered in litigation or by hackers for
fun."
The cyberbreach, which could cost Sony Pictures tens of millions
of dollars, has humiliated the studio. Among the leaks have been the Social
Security numbers of thousands of current and former employees, the purported
million-dollar salaries of 17 studio executives and code names used by
celebrities when they travel. Five films, including the upcoming musical
"Annie," were also leaked online.
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The studio's business affairs executives have spent the last few
days on the phone with managers and agents of the top stars in an effort to
soothe jagged nerves — but also to alert them of the possibility of further
embarrassing disclosures, according to a Sony insider.
Employees, meanwhile, have spent hours changing bank passwords,
canceling credit cards and enrolling in fraud protection services. Workers who
describe themselves as shell-shocked have been most concerned about the leak of
their Social Security numbers — which cannot be changed.
