Sony’s reputation on the ropes as hacking scandal continues to bite
Forget embarrassing movie star revelations, the real damage from the entertainment giant's hacking scandal could drag on for years
The hack of Sony Pictures Entertainment has escalated into a public humiliation as deeply held secrets continue spilling on to the internet in ways experts say could damage the Hollywood studio for years to come.
The architects of the attack have shown little interest in the traditional targets of cyber-intrusions, such as credit cards, choosing instead to use information as a weapon of vengeance for supposed misdeeds by the company.
The troves of stolen information have found a voracious audience online, where Sony long has been a target because of its aggressive anti-piracy efforts.
The consequences have been swift and devastating since the attack became public last month, exposing Sony to potential lawsuits and backlash from key Hollywood players.
The inside drama revealed this week was the unravelling of a high-profile project at Sony to produce a biopic of the late Apple founder Steve Jobs — the movie was eventually lost to a rival studio. Reams of emails were released showing one of the studio's top executives embroiled in a fight with a powerful movie producer, with the producer at one point calling actress Angelina Jolie a "minimally talented spoiled brat", according to emails published by Gawker.
In one exchange between Amy Pascal, Sony Pictures' co-chairman, and Scott Rudin, the producer who brought the Jobs project to the studio, the two are arguing over Jolie, who wants director David Fincher to direct her movie on Cleopatra rather than the Jobs biopic. Rudin is adamantly against letting Jolie have her way.
"She's a camp event and a celebrity and that's all - and the last thing anybody needs is to make a giant bomb with her that any fool could see coming," writes Rudin.