Sony cancels ‘The Interview’ after hackers’ 9/11 threats

Sony Pictures canceled its planned Christmas release of "The Interview" Wednesday after a series of theater chains said they wouldn't show it amid threats of violence connected to a massive hack of Sony's network.

Citing anonymous U.S. sources, CNN and AP reported Wednesday that U.S. investigators have connected the hack to North Korea.

In a statement that ran in Variety and elsewhere, Sony said: "We respect and understand our partners’ decision and, of course, completely share their paramount interest in the safety of employees and theater-goers."

The statement went on: "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."

Over the past two days, the New York premiere of "The Interview" and most theater screenings, including many in San Diego, had been canceled following an anonymous, threatening message that invoked 9/11 and seemed to warn patrons away from the film that has TV news characters played by Seth Rogen and James Franco attempt to assassinate North Korea leader Kim Jong-Un. The five biggest theater chains in the country -- Regal, AMC, Cinemark, Carmike and Cineplex -- decided not to show it, The Hollywood Reporter said.

The movie's Los Angeles premiere went off without a hitch as Rogen arrived in good spirits and publicly thanked Sony executive Amy Pascal for standing by the film despite the hack that some speculated two weeks ago was connected to North Korea. But the new threat, coming hours after radio host Howard Stern caught flack for comparing the hack to 9/11, has the industry on edge and in unknown territory.

The movie's stars canceled a number of public appearances and interviews and seemed to be discussing the film less on Twitter. Yet the film attracted high-profile supporters, including director Judd Apatow and actor Rob Lowe, and the attention of the U.S. government.

The Department of Homeland Security is analyzing the credibility of the new threat, but has found no evidence of an active plot against theaters. Wednesday, The Daily Beast reported that, according to some of the hacked Sony emails, "at least two U.S. government officials screened a rough cut of the Kim Jong-Un assassination comedy The Interview in late June and gave the film—including a final scene that [Editor's note: spoiler deleted] —their blessing."

The movie cost $44 million to make and was scheduled for a wide release, which would put it in 2,000 to 4,000 theaters, according to USA Today.

Here, via BuzzFeed, is the latest threat from the group calling itself "Guardians of Peace," which was posted Tuesday as a message on file-sharing services with links to the latest hacked Sony documents:

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.

Los Angeles Police Department chief Charlie Beck was quoted in The Hollywood Reporter, saying: "We take those threats very seriously, and we will take extra precautions during the holidays and at theaters."

The Los Angeles Times published a statement from U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) that said: "Today's threat against moviegoers is unconscionable and the perpetrators must be brought to justice. Law enforcement is investigating these threats and will do everything possible to keep the public safe."

The Times said the decision by Carmike, the first chain to pull the movie from its theaters, "followed an emergency meeting of the National Assn. of Theatre Owners, where Sony executives told theater owners that they would be free to drop 'The Interview' from their holiday schedules without breaching their contractual agreements or jeopardizing future bookings of Sony films, according to people familiar with the meeting."

Other theater owners said they were not intimidated by the threat, the Times reported.

"We have an absolute right to play it," said Tom Stephenson, a partner in Dallas-based Look Cinemas. "We'll take every appropriate precaution."

A column by Bryan Bishop in The Verge argued that Sony Pictures should release "The Interview" online "right now."

"Almost from the beginning," Bishop wrote, "the hacks have been about stopping people from seeing the movie. It’s such a bizarre tactic that if the stakes were lower you’d almost think it was an elaborate PR stunt — the kind of thing that would fit right in with a story about a TV personality recruited to kill the leader of North Korea. But threats of physical violence can’t be taken lightly, not by theater owners worried about legal liabilities nor by Sony Pictures itself. This is a post-9/11, post-Aurora America, and frankly a movie premiere being attacked doesn’t sound all that implausible. So while it’s tempting to flip a jingoistic middle finger and chant "We won’t let the terrorists win!" the realities of huge corporations looking out for their own best interests is another matter."

The movie did draw high-profile supporters, including Apatow and actor Ike Barinholtz, who said they won't let terrorists keep them away. Both Apatow and Barinholtz have worked with Rogen previously. Fair warning: Barinholtz's tweet featured some free speech of his own, with a capital F or two, if you know what I mean.

We closed the first poll we had Wednesday in light of Sony Pictures' decision. Here are the final results and a new poll for you.