U.S. officials have reportedly linked a massive cyber attack against Sony to North Korea, which is at the center of the Seth Rogen-James Franco comedy.
“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,” Sony said in a statement. “We stand by our filmmakers and their right to free expression and are extremely disappointed by this outcome.”
In announcing the decision to cancel the holiday debut, Sony also hit back at the hackers who threatened movie theaters and moviegoers and who have terrorized the studio and its employees for weeks.
“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,” the statement reads.
A few hours after making the announcent, a studio spokesman said that Sony had “no further plans” to release the comedy, either on VOD or DVD.
“The Interview” centers on a hapless television host who is recruited to assassinate North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. The country has condemned the film and some cyber-security experts believe that it played a role in the hacking attack on the studio. North Korea has denied involvement in the attacks.
***
Washington (CNN) -- From Hollywood to Washington, the outrage is spreading over Sony Pictures' decision to cancel a movie release following a cyber attack and threats from a group of North Korea-backed hackers.
Politicians urged Sony
not to back down in the face of threats tied to the release of the
controversial comedy "The Interview," and then began lashing out when
the studio made it clear it has no further plans to release the film,
which depicts an assassination plot against North Korean leader Kim Jong
Un.
Republican Rep. Ed Royce,
chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, slammed Sony's
decision Thursday as a "capitulation" to the North Korean dictator and
called for the U.S. to rally the international community and severely
sanction North Korea for carrying out what he called a "cyber war."
FBI investigators tracked
the hackers who broke into Sony's servers, published private
information and threatened moviegoers back to the North Korean regime,
U.S. law enforcement officials told CNN on Wednesday. The North Korean
regime slammed the movie this summer as "terrorism and a war action."
And despite the hackers'
threat to attack movie theaters, the Department of Homeland Security has
said "there is no credible intelligence" supporting an active plot
against movie theaters. And President Barack Obama urged people to "go to the movies."
"Once you capitulate to
one dictator, does that mean that the next dictator or the next
terrorist that says you're not going to make a comedy about -- or a film
at all about ISIS," Royce said. "All of us in public life have a
responsibility right now to speak out and to say, 'No, Sony, you did the
wrong thing' and to say to Hollywood, come behind -- the other studios
should come behind Sony and offer their support."
Royce said the U.S. should get international support to sanction North Korea and cut off its access to financial institutions.
More broadly, Royce said
Sony's decision to "self-censor" undercuts U.S. efforts to promote
freedom throughout the world, including in the hermit kingdom.
"That's what's most worrisome about this decision," Royce said.
Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney also urged Sony, "don't cave, fight" in a tweet on Wednesday.
***
Dr. Evil commentary
*** [12/23/14]
(Reuters) - Sony Pictures will allow "The Interview" to play in some U.S. theaters on Christmas Day, reversing its decision to pull the film, after coming under criticism from President Barack Obama and others for caving into pressure from North Korea.
The White House praised Sony's about-face, which the studio said would result in "a limited theatrical release" of the film, which stars Seth Rogen and James Franco and is about a fictional plot to assassinate North Korea leader Kim Jong Un.
Obama on Friday had called Sony's decision to pull the $44 million movie a mistake, suggesting it could set a precedent in which "some dictator some place can start imposing censorship here in the United States."
Congressional Republicans and Democrats, as well as Hollywood luminaries such as George Clooney, had also assailed the canceled release, with some accusing the studio of self-censorship. Some in Congress called for screenings on Capitol Hill or at the White House.
Franco and Rogen, who also co-directed the film, broke their silence after Sony made the announcement.
"The people have spoken! Freedom has prevailed!" Rogen said, while Franco added, "VICTORY!!!!!!! The PEOPLE and THE PRESIDENT have spoken!!!"
A national security official said U.S. authorities did not rate the threats by hackers against theatergoers as credible and that he was unaware of any plans by U.S. agencies to issue warnings of possible attacks on exhibitors screening the film.
North Korea experienced Internet problems at the weekend and a complete outage of nearly nine hours before links were largely restored on Tuesday; U.S. officials said Washington was not involved.
*** [12/24/14]
The Interview to stream today on youtube, Google Play, XBox Live.
*** [1/21/15] Coming to Netflix
***
Dr. Evil commentary
*** [12/23/14]
(Reuters) - Sony Pictures will allow "The Interview" to play in some U.S. theaters on Christmas Day, reversing its decision to pull the film, after coming under criticism from President Barack Obama and others for caving into pressure from North Korea.
The White House praised Sony's about-face, which the studio said would result in "a limited theatrical release" of the film, which stars Seth Rogen and James Franco and is about a fictional plot to assassinate North Korea leader Kim Jong Un.
Obama on Friday had called Sony's decision to pull the $44 million movie a mistake, suggesting it could set a precedent in which "some dictator some place can start imposing censorship here in the United States."
Congressional Republicans and Democrats, as well as Hollywood luminaries such as George Clooney, had also assailed the canceled release, with some accusing the studio of self-censorship. Some in Congress called for screenings on Capitol Hill or at the White House.
Franco and Rogen, who also co-directed the film, broke their silence after Sony made the announcement.
"The people have spoken! Freedom has prevailed!" Rogen said, while Franco added, "VICTORY!!!!!!! The PEOPLE and THE PRESIDENT have spoken!!!"
A national security official said U.S. authorities did not rate the threats by hackers against theatergoers as credible and that he was unaware of any plans by U.S. agencies to issue warnings of possible attacks on exhibitors screening the film.
North Korea experienced Internet problems at the weekend and a complete outage of nearly nine hours before links were largely restored on Tuesday; U.S. officials said Washington was not involved.
*** [12/24/14]
The Interview to stream today on youtube, Google Play, XBox Live.
*** [1/21/15] Coming to Netflix
