Sony Pictures has officially scrapped its Christmas Day release plans for Seth Rogen and James Franco’s comedy The Interview, after a message sent by the hacker group Guardians of Peace threatened to blow up movie theaters, 9/11-style, if The Interview was released next week. You remember these guys, right? They leaked a ton of information about Sony Pictures employees on the internet over the past couple of weeks, and warned Sony Pictures last week to pull the movie release or else.
Sony didn’t have a lot of other options, after major theater chains across the USA and Canada, including Regal Entertainment, AMC Entertainment, Cinemark, Carmike Cinemas, and Canada’s largest theatre, Cineplex Entertainment, announced that they would not show the film given the circumstances. The cancellations would account for nearly 23,000 screens across both countries.
Here’s the statement from Sony Pictures:
“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.”
Here’s the threat from the Guardians of Peace that was sent to several news organizations:
Warning
We will clearly show it to you at the very time and places “The Interview” be shown, including the premiere, how bitter fate those who seek fun in terror should be doomed to.
Soon all the world will see what an awful movie Sony Pictures Entertainment has made.
The world will be full of fear.
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.)
Whatever comes in the coming days is called by the greed of Sony Pictures Entertainment.
All the world will denounce the SONY.
We think that Sony just opened the floodgates to hell. Because if you think about it, if the GOP got away with this, what’s to stop them from threatening anyone again? Does it really stop with movies? Technically speaking, they can make ANY threats that they want to ANY one, and be completely comfortable thinking that their demands would be met. Way to go, Sony peoples. Way to go.
