Is Artistic Freedom Jeopardized by Sony’s Decision?
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Hollywood cannot believe that Sony decided to pull The Interview from all platforms after receiving threats from hackers. Filmmakers, screenwriters and actors are slamming the studio’s move, claiming that the decision endangers artistic freedom and First Amendment Rights.
Game of Thrones author George R. R. Martin called it a “stunning display of corporate cowardice”, while Alchemist author Paulo Coelho offered 100K for the rights to the movie. He said that he would post it on his blog for the entire world to see.
He explained his motives in an email to USA Today:
‘’Freedom of information/distribution is important for me. When I posted that tweet, I was conscious that now I am also in the line of fire. But either you stand for your values, or you don’t deserve the freedom you have.”
Further, George Clooney and his agent Bryan Lourd asked other studios to support Sony, but no one would sign the petition.
“This was a dumb comedy. But the truth is, what it now says about us is a whole lot. We have a responsibility to stand up against this.”
Offer to @SonyPictures stands till Fri 12:00 AM. You recover 0,01% of the budget, & I can say NO to terrorist threats pic.twitter.com/ZAqWpgm6fe
— Paulo Coelho (@paulocoelho) December 18, 2014
