Sony Pictures announced it will no longer release the controversial comedy The Interview on Christmas Day.
According to a spokesperson, Sony has "no further release plans" for the film after Sony hackers, also known as the "Guardians of Peace," sent 9/11-style cyber threats on Tuesday that caused five major movie theater chains in the U.S. and Canada (AMC Entertainemnt, Cinemark, Cineplex, Regal Entertainment and Carmike Cinemas) to pull the film.
"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," Sony says in a statement. "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 Interview stars Seth Rogen and James Franco. The film follows the comedic duo, who play journalists, as they are hired to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. North Korea has been suspected in the cyber attack since the Sony hack scandal started in late November. It was confirmed on Tuesday that the North Korean government was "centrally involved" in the attack.
"Well, the cyber attack is very serious," President Obama said in an ABC interview that aired on Wednesday. "But for now, my recommendation would be that people go to the movies." Americans just won't being seeing The Interview anymore.
But even though the film has now been completely pulled, it will not prevent North Koreans from seeing the film. Human rights activist are reportedly planning to send DVDs of the film to North Korea via air balloons.
The New York-based Human Rights Foundation has helped fund air balloon drops organized by Park Sang Hak, a former North Korean propagandist who escaped to South Korea, and his group of activist called Fighters for a Free North Korea for the past two years.
Although The Interview won't be out on DVD for their next drop in January, Human Rights Foundation creator Thor Halvorssen says they will smuggle in copies as soon as possible.
Fighters for a Free North Korea organize the balloon drops, not simply to entertain the people of Korea, but to introduce them to the outside world.
"Despite all of that there is a huge thirst for knowledge and information from the outside world," Halvorssen says. "North Koreans risk their lives to watch Hollywood films ... and The Interview is tremendously threatening to the Kims. They cannot abide by anything that portrays them as anything other than a god. This movie destroys the narrative."
It's estimated that 74 percent of North Koreans have a TV, with 49 percent owning a DVD players, although its only legal to watch government pre-approved shows and movies.
"When I got the part, I remember thinking, 'This will be a great way to let people learn what's going on over there because I don't think enough people know," actor Randall Park who played Kim Jong-Un in The Interview says. "I think it's a great movie and aside from the obvious stuff - like him getting killed - I think Kim might like it," Park said. "I don't know. He's kind of a cool character, you know?"
Now that the film has been pulled, another Hollywood film that was set in North Korea also cancelled production. New Regency announced it has cancelled a "paranoid thriller" that would have starred Steve Carrell. Developed by Pirates of the Caribbean's Gore Verbinski, the movie was supposed to begin production in March. It was canned due to the "current circumstances," regarding the threats associated with the Sony hacks.
