The Interview Movie on Kim Jong-un: Sony Shelves Worldwide Release
BBC, 19 Dec 2014
Comic caper The Interview stars James Franco and Seth Rogen
Sony has confirmed it has no plans to release the satirical film The Interview internationally, in any form, following threats from hackers.
Cinemas in the US cancelled screenings of the film, about a plot to kill North Korea's leader, prompting Sony to shelve it altogether.
But there has been dismay in Hollywood, with Ben Stiller calling the move "a threat to freedom of expression".
Hackers had issued a warning to cinema-goers who planned to watch the movie.
President Obama recommended that "people go to the movies", but stressed that the hack was "very serious".
Speaking to US television network ABC, he added: "We'll be vigilant - if we see something that we think is serious and credible, then we'll alert the public."
Sony had little choice but to bow to the demands of the hackers, says the BBC's Alastair Leithead
Several other famous names have criticised the decision to shelve the movie, accusing the studio of caving in to the hackers' threats.
Oscar-wining screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, who has already attacked the media for spreading information leaked by the hackers, said:
"Today the US succumbed to an unprecedented attack on our most cherished, bedrock principle of free speech."
Actor Steve Carell called the move a "sad day for creative expression".
On Wednesday it emerged that Carell's planned film project, a thriller called Pyongyang about a Westerner working in North Korea, was scrapped ahead of Sony's announcement.
Sony's decision to pull the release of The Interview is viewed by industry insiders as a game changer.
Films have been pulled from cinemas before, but the set of circumstances around
The Interview are unprecedented.
One of the best known cases was when Stanley Kubrick withdrew A Clockwork Orange from British cinemas in 1973 after protests about the violence in the film. It was unseen in UK cinemas for 27 years.
Sony's decision came after major US cinema chains had yanked the film from their Christmas schedules over security fears.
What's surprised some is why Sony pulled the film completely. It has confirmed there are no further release plans, including on DVD or a VOD launch - which would have helped recoup
The Interview's estimated $42m (£27.5m) budget.
In recent years, studios have had to take tough decisions due to unforeseen circumstances. Following a mass shooting in a Colorado cinema during a 2012 screening of The Dark Knight Rises, US cinemas tightened security and Warner Bros scaled down its promotional plans. The film went on to box office success.
But in the case of
The Interview, it looks as if it will not be coming to a cinema near you any time soon.
Comedian Jimmy Kimmel tweeted that the decision by theatres to refuse to show the film was "an un-American act of cowardice that validates terrorist actions and sets a terrifying precedent."
Film producer Judd Apatow, meanwhile, offered a different slant on the move, saying: "This only guarantees that this movie will be seen by more people on earth than it would have before. Legally or illegally all will see it."
David Oyelowo - who plays Martin Luther King in the film Selma - says he can understand why Sony made its decision
'Extremely Disappointed'
Sony said it was "deeply saddened at this brazen effort to suppress the distribution of a movie".
"We respect and understand our partners' decision and, of course, completely share their paramount interest in the safety of employees and theatre-goers," the studio said.
It added: "We stand by our film-makers and their right to free expression and are extremely disappointed by this outcome."
The cancellation comes after hackers calling themselves Guardians of Peace released emails and data stolen from Sony in late November.
In a later warning to cinemas screening The Interview, they referred to the 9/11 attacks, claiming "the world will be full of fear".
Stars of The Interview have pulled out of media appearances
Quote:
"Remember the 11th of September 2001. We recommend you to keep yourself distant from the places at that time," the hacker group wrote, in a message on Tuesday.
"Whatever comes in the coming days is called by the greed of Sony Pictures Entertainment."
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Sony had given theatres in the US and Canada the option to bow out of showing
The Interview in the wake of the threats.
Regal Cinemas, AMC Entertainment and Cinemark Theatres - the top three theatre chains in North America - subsequently announced they were postponing screenings, and Canada's biggest theatre firms also pulled out, leaving Sony seemingly no choice but to postpone the film.
However, the Alamo Drafthouse cinema in Texas has decided to replace
The Interview with a screening of Team America, a film featuring a marionette of late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, the father of Kim Jong-un.
The FBI has linked North Korea to the Sony Hacking Attacks
Sony Cancels Kim Jong-un Movie >HACKER='Easy to Hack' Sony Release
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Ex-hacker: 'It's Easy to Break into Companies like Sony'
BBC, 19 December 2014
The White House has described the cyber attack on Sony Pictures as a serious national security matter.
So just how easy is it to hack into a conglomerate like Sony?
The BBC's Alistair Leithead went to meet Marc Maiffret, a former hacker who is now an internet security expert.
Ex-hacker:'It's Easy to Break into Companies like Sony'
UPDATE
FBI Blames North Korea for Sony Hack
…FBI formally accuses North Korea of launching cyber attack on Sony Pictures
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation says North Korea was behind a cyber-attack on Sony Pictures over a film about its leader Kim Jong-un.
The agency said analysis of malware showed links to North Korea.
Sony withdrew the film
The Interview following threats from hackers, who had earlier also released sensitive information stored on Sony computers.
CNN quoted the hackers as welcoming the withdrawal and warning Sony not to release the film in any form.
Sony's decision has outraged many artists. Actor George Clooney told the trade website Deadline on Thursday that the film should be released online.
Earlier the White House labelled the Sony breach a serious national security matter.
On Thursday, White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters US officials had held daily discussions about the Sony cyber-attack and were considering an "appropriate response".
The duo play journalists enlisted to kill Kim Jong-un
Sony cancelled the holiday release of the comedy film after national theatre chains refused to show it.
The movie features James Franco and Seth Rogen as two journalists who are granted an audience with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
The CIA then enlists the pair to assassinate him. The film was due to have been released over Christmas.
Hackers had earlier issued a warning referring to the 11 September 2001 terror attacks, saying "the world will be full of fear" if the film was screened.
The film's cancelled release drew criticism in Hollywood, with some calling it an attack on the freedom of expression.
Actor George Clooney told the trade website Deadline on Thursday the film should be released online, saying Hollywood shouldn't be threatened by North Korea.
North Korea says the film hurts the "dignity of its supreme leadership"
In November, a cyber-attack crippled computers at Sony and led to upcoming films and workers' personal data being leaked online.
The hackers also released salary details and social security numbers for thousands of Sony employees - including celebrities.
North Korea earlier this month denied involvement in the hack - but praised the attack itself as a "righteous deed".
An article on North Korea's state-run KCNA news agency, quoting the country's top military body, said suggestions that Pyongyang was behind the attack were "wild rumour".
However, it warned the US that "there are a great number of supporters and sympathisers" of North Korea "all over the world" who may have carried out the attack.
In the article, Sony Pictures was accused of "abetting a terrorist act" and "hurting the dignity of the supreme leadership" of North Korea by producing the movie.
FBI Blames North Korea for Sony Hack
'The Interview' -MOVIE TRAILER: