# Sony Pictures: fearmongering for profit **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 8, 2009, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sony-pictures-fearmongering-for-profit/499093 "2009-06-08T14:27:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2009, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sony-pictures-fearmongering-for-profit/499093/21 "2009-06-09T19:05:00Z")
Note- if you see reports about another mission to destroy a killer asteroid, the black President is probably not Barack Obama. I say ‘probably’ because hey, you never know! ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2009, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sony-pictures-fearmongering-for-profit/499093/22 "2009-06-09T19:10:40Z")
> [@TWDuke](#): > > The first “news” story is about White House Chief of Staff Carl Annheuser and President Helmsley Wilson - fat, white President Helmsley Wilson. The fat white guy is Annheuser. Hey! Doesn’t he look a lot like Oliver Platt? Adrian Helmsley is the Science Advisor. He’s black but doesn’t resemble any actor I know. But President Thomas Wilson? I thought sure his name was Barack Obama! And I sure don’t remember him looking that much like Danny Glover! ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2009, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sony-pictures-fearmongering-for-profit/499093/23 "2009-06-09T22:20:21Z")
What’s this about canned tuna? I like canned tuna. I switched to whole white albacore because someone told me it was classier but I think I miss the fishier pink kind I grew up with. I better go hoard some canned tuna. The pink fishy kind, not the whole white albacore because it may be classier but it doesn’t remind me of home and my mom’s cooking. Hmm, three cans a week times how many weeks is it until 2012? but what will I eat the other four days? I don’t want to get sick of tuna but what else is so proteiny and canned? Spam? My mom never really cooked Spam. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2009, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sony-pictures-fearmongering-for-profit/499093/24 "2009-06-09T22:42:08Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > The fat white guy is Annheuser. Hey! Doesn’t he look a lot like Oliver Platt? > > Adrian Helmsley is the Science Advisor. He’s black but doesn’t resemble any actor I know. > > But President Thomas Wilson? I thought sure his name was Barack Obama! And I sure don’t remember him looking that much like Danny Glover! Whoops, you’re right. There’s a picture of him with the names Helmsley and Wilson underneath, and I mistook that for a photo caption. I’m glad to see the proud tradition of African-American movie presidents hasn’t been interrupted by the election of an African-American real president. But Annheuser is certainly no Rahm Emanuel. Apparently the actor who plays Helmsley (Chiwetel Ejiofor? Did his parents smash their fists on the keyboard?) has worked [a lot](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0252230/), but I never heard of him. He was in the Firefly movie though so a lot of Dopers should recognize him. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sony-pictures-fearmongering-for-profit/499093/25 "2009-06-10T00:55:58Z")
> [@TWDuke](#): > > Apparently the actor who plays Helmsley (Chiwetel Ejiofor? Did his parents smash their fists on the keyboard?) has worked [a lot](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0252230/), but I never heard of him. He was in the Firefly movie though so a lot of Dopers should recognize him. He was in _Children of Men_, which was anti-contraceptive _propaganda!_ ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sony-pictures-fearmongering-for-profit/499093/26 "2009-06-10T14:15:03Z")
> [@TWDuke](#): > > Apparently the actor who plays Helmsley (Chiwetel Ejiofor? Did his parents smash their fists on the keyboard?) has worked [a lot](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0252230/), but I never heard of him. He was in the Firefly movie though so a lot of Dopers should recognize him. Notably in **Dirty Pretty Things**. ---
**Author:** ![baluga17](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e0b2c6/32.png) [@baluga17](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/baluga17)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2009, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sony-pictures-fearmongering-for-profit/499093/27 "2009-07-20T19:34:48Z")
Hey guys, just increasing your awareness. there are these things called ARG’s (alternate reality games) where people tell a story using reality as it’s medium, this is a prime example, rather then trying to scare people and make them think it’s real, it is appealing to be an exciting plot and problem solving experience for the ARG community, the more realistic it seems, the more fun it is. Here’s an example, some people go into a haunted house at a theme park, and they enjoy it, they know it isnt real, they know it’s fake, but the more real it seems the more they get a bit scared, and when they walk out, the more they like it. 🙂 It’s all a game, funded by the release of the movie, and sony believes that the more people that play, well, they’ll prolly go see the movie too, because the participated in this. Maybe i shouldn’t be open minded here, it seems like the culture of this board is to talk crap about everything that is hoax-y so you can feel superior to the people who play along with it. :dubious: but if you don’t completely hate this message, check out the wiki about arg’s > **[Alternate reality game](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternate_reality_game)** > > An alternate reality game (ARG) is an interactive networked narrative that uses the real world as a platform and employs transmedia storytelling to deliver a story that may be altered by players' ideas or actions. > The form is defined by intense player involvement with a story that takes place in real time and evolves according to players' responses. It is shaped by characters that are actively controlled by the game's designers, as opposed to being controlled by an AI as in a computer or console... ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2009, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sony-pictures-fearmongering-for-profit/499093/28 "2009-07-20T19:58:00Z")
> [@baluga17](#): > > Maybe i shouldn’t be open minded here, it seems like the culture of this board is to talk crap about everything that is hoax-y so you can feel superior to the people who play along with it Psst. Nobody here really thought it was a hoax. But thanks for setting our minds at ease. ---
**Author:** ![Cowboy\_Moe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Cowboy\_Moe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cowboy_Moe)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2009, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sony-pictures-fearmongering-for-profit/499093/29 "2009-07-20T20:12:51Z")
> [@](#): > > Apparently the actor who plays Helmsley (Chiwetel Ejiofor? Did his parents smash their fists on the keyboard?) has worked a lot, but I never heard of him. He was in the Firefly movie though so a lot of Dopers should recognize him. He was very memorable as [Lola](http://www.imdb.com/media/rm2714474752/ch0050092)in Kinky Boots. ---
**Author:** ![gladtobeblazed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@gladtobeblazed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gladtobeblazed)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2009, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sony-pictures-fearmongering-for-profit/499093/30 "2009-07-20T20:14:18Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > What’s this about canned tuna? I like canned tuna. I switched to whole white albacore because someone told me it was classier but I think I miss the fishier pink kind I grew up with. I better go hoard some canned tuna. The pink fishy kind, not the whole white albacore because it may be classier but it doesn’t remind me of home and my mom’s cooking. Hmm, three cans a week times how many weeks is it until 2012? but what will I eat the other four days? I don’t want to get sick of tuna but what else is so proteiny and canned? Spam? My mom never really cooked Spam. I think canned albacore is a scam. It only tastes slightly better than regular tuna (and not any better at all in a sandwich) but it’s twice the price! Fuck albacore. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sony-pictures-fearmongering-for-profit/499093/31 "2009-07-21T00:47:11Z")
They’re not the only ones: a lot of fiction as well as other media are focusing on the idea that the world will end in 2012, due to the fact that the Mayan Calendar ends on December 21, 2012- which makes a lot of people assume that the Mayans believe the world would end on that date. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sony-pictures-fearmongering-for-profit/499093/32 "2009-07-21T01:23:57Z")
> [@TWDuke](#): > > I was about to jump in with something about how even stupid and ignorant people - \*especially \*stupid and ignorant people - should not be cynically and cruelly exploited to sell movie tickets, but I decided to actually look at the site first. Of course it’s just to sell movie tickets to the gullible. You might even say the producers saw c-notes glittering in the dorks near the Annhauser State. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Man\_With\_The\_Golden\_Gun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@The\_Man\_With\_The\_Golden\_Gun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Man_With_The_Golden_Gun)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sony-pictures-fearmongering-for-profit/499093/33 "2009-07-21T01:32:03Z")
Any movie that showed what really is going to happen in 2012 would be a lot more boring than this one, and unlike the movie that IS getting released, I wouldn’t go see it. Then again if the 2012 election has a surprise ending, like Sarah Palin getting elected POTUS, then that one might be worth seeing, too. What can I say? This movie looks really stupid, but I’m a sucker for shit getting destroyed. ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sony-pictures-fearmongering-for-profit/499093/34 "2009-07-21T02:02:54Z")
> [@The\_Man\_With\_The\_Golden\_Gun](#): > > What can I say? This movie looks really stupid, but I’m a sucker for shit getting destroyed. And this looks like the mother of all disaster movies. An aircraft carrier getting pushed by a tsunami into the white house. How fucking cool is that? I know this movie will be just astoundingly bad, but c’mon. Lloyd Dobler driving an RV that’s getting pelted with asteroids or rocks spewed from an exploding super volcano (not sure which)and later driving a luxury sedan out of the back of a crashing plane onto a glacier. That’s some top notch mess making. Oh, and fuck Sony for doing that thing what’s making people angrified and all that. ---
**Author:** ![Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uosdwis_R.Dewoh)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sony-pictures-fearmongering-for-profit/499093/35 "2009-07-21T02:36:58Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > No. Harry Stamper was. Bruce Willis went on to make _Breakfast of Champions_ and _Disney’s The Kid_. Don’t forget _The Whole Ten Yards_. The movie that has the dubious pleasure of being the least wanted sequel of all time. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sony-pictures-fearmongering-for-profit/499093/36 "2009-07-21T03:32:58Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > the world is GOING TO END in 2012. Attention all planets of the Solar Federation: We have assumed control. **We have assumed control.** ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sony-pictures-fearmongering-for-profit/499093/37 "2009-07-21T04:14:04Z")
Did I see that right in the trailer? Some bullshit about how it was predicted by “the earliest civilization”? The Mayans started around 2000-600 BC, depending on where you start. They followed the Olmecs. Sumeria, sometimes considered the first culture, was like 6000 BC. The Mayans were nowhere near the first culture. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sony-pictures-fearmongering-for-profit/499093/38 "2009-07-21T06:55:01Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > You might even say the producers saw c-notes glittering in the dorks near the Annhauser State. I wish I had written this. Muchas kudos to you. ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sony-pictures-fearmongering-for-profit/499093/39 "2009-07-21T06:55:03Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > Attention all planets of the Solar Federation: We have assumed control. > > **We have assumed control.** Sorry, but you’re 100 years too early. 😉 > [@mobo85](#): > > They’re not the only ones: a lot of fiction as well as other media are focusing on the idea that the world will end in 2012, due to the fact that the Mayan Calendar ends on December 21, 2012- which makes a lot of people assume that the Mayans believe the world would end on that date. The Mayans didn’t believe that at all; it’s more like the universe would “shut down and reboot” on that day. And besides, they were four years off – the universe already reset itself on October 23, 2008. Were you there? Did you feel it? My ears are still ringing from the time/space disruption, especially since I was trapped in a wormhole at the time. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sony-pictures-fearmongering-for-profit/499093/40 "2009-07-21T08:29:29Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > Because deliberately increasing the world’s level of ignorance is bad. And obviously people will be fooled, and some of them will just have a moment’s panic before they figure out they’d been fooled, and others of them will have to be talked down by one of their net-savvy, straght dope- or snopes-reading younger relatives, and so on. When I saw the ads for Cloverfield I totally thought that New York was under attack by a giant monster. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sony-pictures-fearmongering-for-profit/499093.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sony-pictures-fearmongering-for-profit/499093.md?page=3)