The fallout from Sony’s cyber hacking scandal continues.
Sony has announced the cancellation of a major press junket for comedian Kevin Hart‘s new movie Wedding Ringer. It isn’t hard to figure out why the press junket was canceled. Last week, two of Sony’s top execs called Hart a greedy “whore” because he refused to promote one of his movies on Twitter.com.
In response to the “whore” comment, Hart wrote on Instagram.com: “I’m able to brush ignorance off of my shoulder and continue to move forward.”
For those who aren’t familiar with what a press junket is; it’s when a movie studio arranges for journalists and bloggers to meet and interview its biggest stars.
In the old days — when Hollywood was bursting at the seams with cash — publicists flew journalists to exotic locales to meet with the stars of a new film. No expense was spared to make sure journalists gave glowing reviews of movies. But that was in the old days — before the Internet and Napster forever changed the entertainment industry.
From Hollywood Reporter.com:
The press event was set to take place Sunday to promote the forthcoming Screen Gems film, but reporters were informed that it would be postponed until a later date. Screen Gems’ parent company is Sony Pictures Entertainment, which suffered a Nov. 24 breach by hacking group Guardians of Peace.
A reporter from the New York Daily News was informed that the junket was pushed in order to ensure that the focus would remain on the film.
Sony did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This is not the first time Hart’s name has come up in association with the hack. In a leaked email, Screen Gems president Clint Culpepper referred to the Ride Along star as a “whore” for wanting more money to promote one of his films to his Twitter followers.
One of the executives who insulted Hart, producer Scott Rudin, has since apologized. The other exec, Sony Studio co-Chairman Amy Pascal, remains defiant and is reportedly fighting to keep her cushy job.
Photo: Instagram.com
