It’s over for “The Interview.” After the nation’s five biggest theater chains (Regal Entertainment, AMC Entertainment, Cinemark, Cineplex Entertainment and Carmike Cinemas) cancelled their plans to screen “The Interview” on Christmas Day, Sony has decided to pull the controversial film due to terroristic threats.
Sony Pictures announced in a statement on Wednesday (Dec. 17) the decision cancel the release of the film.
In light of the decision by the majority of our exhibitors not to show the film The Interview, we have decided not to move forward with the planned December 25 theatrical release. We respect and understand our partners’ decision and, of course, completely share their paramount interest in the safety of employees and theater-goers.
Sony Pictures has been the victim of an unprecedented criminal assault against our employees, our customers, and our business. Those who attacked us stole our intellectual property, private emails, and sensitive and proprietary material, and sought to destroy our spirit and our morale – all apparently to thwart the release of a movie they did not like. We are deeply saddened at this brazen effort to suppress the distribution of a movie, and in the process do damage to our company, our employees, and the American public. We stand by our filmmakers and their right to free expression and are extremely disappointed by this outcome.
The hackers announced their plans to attack theaters on Tuesday, comparing it the 9/11 attacks. “The world will be full of fear,” they said. “Remember the 11th of September 2001. We recommend you to keep yourself distant from the places at that time. (If your house is nearby, you’d better leave.)”
The comedy’s plot – Americans go undercover to North Korea to try to assassinate dictator Kim Jong-Un – drew much speculation that the country was behind the massive cyberattack against Sony.
According to The New York Times, American intelligence officials have concluded that the North Korean government was “centrally involved” in the Sony hacking.
The Times reports that officials said it was not clear how the White House will decide to respond to North Korea:
“Some within the Obama administration argue that the government of Mr. Kim must be directly confronted, but that raises the question of what consequences the administration would threaten — or how much of its evidence it could make public without revealing details of how the United States was able to penetrate North Korean computer networks to trace the source of the hacking.” The Times also reports, “It is not clear how the United States came to its determination that the North Korean regime played a central role in the Sony attacks.”
Sony Pictures spokesperson said in a statement today that the studio has “no further release plans” for “The Interview.” This is despite earlier reports that the film would be released via on-demand services or in theaters at a later date.
