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The Town with Matthew Belloni

Why the Former Sony Head Blames Himself for the Infamous Hack

The Town with Matthew Belloni

The Ringer

Society & Culture

4.31.1K Ratings

🗓️ 20 February 2026

⏱️ 31 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Matt is joined by Michael Lynton, former head of Sony Pictures and current chairman of Snap Inc., to open up about his regrets greenlighting the movie ‘The Interview,' which ultimately led to the infamous Sony hack. Michael walks us through the unique scenario that led to him greenlighting the film, what he should have done differently, and highlights some of the challenges that come with dealing with A-list talent (00:00). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about the Best Actor race for this year's Academy Awards (26:55). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Michael Lynton Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Jon Jones Theme Song: Devon Renaldo ZOOTOPIA 2. FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION FOR BEST ANIMATED FEATURE. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

This episode of The Town is presented by the Walt Disney Animation Studios Zootopia 2,

0:10.6

now nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

0:14.3

The Hollywood Reporter hails Zootopia 2 knocks it out of the park

0:17.7

with this dazzling visuals, sophisticated humor, and genuine emotion.

0:22.2

For your consideration for Best Animated Feature.

0:25.0

It is Friday, February 20th.

0:27.3

Most books written by Hollywood people are all about success.

0:30.9

The iconic movies, the career path to becoming the biggest star in the world.

0:34.9

There's a new book out by a Hollywood person, and it's all about mistakes and failure.

0:40.0

And it's most surprising because it's co-written by a guy who made it all the way to the top

0:44.0

of the business.

0:45.2

Michael Linton was chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures from 2004 to 2017, a very successful run that

0:52.2

also included the devastating Sony hack of 2014,

0:57.1

an act of international cyberterrorism that Linton is now blaming on himself.

1:02.2

In a new book with Joshua Steiner called From Mistakes to Meaning,

1:06.4

Owning Your Pass So It Doesn't Own You,

1:09.0

Linton opens up for the first time about the hack.

1:12.1

And what he says was his grave error in greenlighting the interview, which if you don't

1:16.6

remember was the Seth Rogen movie about two guys sent to killed Kim Jong-un, the leader of

1:22.0

North Korea. It's a silly comedy, but the movie indeed ended with the assassination, a fact that the North Koreans

1:28.4

did not love. And the U.S. government concluded they decided to hack and cripple Sony's computer

1:33.7

systems in retaliation, leading to the release of hundreds of thousands of personal documents

...

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