Columbia PicturesWe can't exactly call this round two. More like round...will-this-ever-end?
Leaked-document catch-all Wikileaks announced today the creation of a massive archive containing more than 30,000 pages—including 173,000 emails—from the Sony hacking that so disrupted Hollywood (not to mention cost now-former Sony chair Amy Pascal her job and did nothing for the state of North Korea-U.S. relations) late last year.
And once again, the emails that have been flagged so far (first by Salon) feature eye-opening insight into what really goes into making a big Hollywood movie.
In an email exchange between Pascal and Cameron Crowe from March 31, 2014, that was included in the archive, Pascal says she loves what she's seen so far of his latest film, Aloha, and Crowe writes that he thinks most of the acting trumps any performances given in his coming-of-age classic Say Anything. (Indirect burn to Ione Skye and John Cusack?) But about that...
"Frankly, we have great options on all the performances except Bill Murray...who pretty much is what you saw," Cameron wrote to Pascal in the Say Anything email, time-stamped 10:17 p.m.
"Exactly the movie belongs to [Bradley Cooper] more than I realized in the process," Pascall replied at 10:22 p.m.
While then discussing how audiences should first be introduced to Emma Stone's character in the film in the finished version, Cameron mused, "I have the shot on Emma...It's a movie star intro shot...Maybe time to put it back in...It is very powerful and overshadowed everything around it...But might feel different now."
He wrote in a different email: "Big lesson from today...You don't slip Emma in...Let's give her fanfare again...Movie has now earned it."
"She isn't bigger than the movie," Pascal replied. "Trust that. Now she needs to ignite it to get it to the next level and it's gonna be a cross between an idea she has about herself and an actual self that he makes her pay attention to (much to her shock)."
This particular exchange concludes with Crowe's response: "Frankly Bradley is such an odd bird getting him right is tricky but he's fine now so lets just let him cook where he is and take care of our girl... And her nuances ... Little moves on her are huge as u know."
Still reeling from the hacking scandal, Sony Pictures Entertainment is understandably none too pleased about Wikileaks' massive undertaking.
"The cyber-attack on Sony Pictures was a malicious criminal act, and we strongly condemn the indexing of stolen employee and other private and privileged information on WikiLeaks," a studio spokesperson said in a statement Thursday. "The attackers used the dissemination of stolen information to try to harm SPE and its employees, and now WikiLeaks regrettably is assisting them in that effort. We vehemently disagree with WikiLeaks' assertion that this material belongs in the public domain and will continue to fight for the safety, security, and privacy of our company and its more than 6,000 employees."
Wikileaks of course stands by the creation of the searchable archive, with founder Julian Assange saying in a statement: "This archive shows the inner workings of an influential multinational corporation. It is newsworthy and at the centre of a geo-political conflict. It belongs in the public domain. WikiLeaks will ensure it stays there."