The hacker group calling themselves “The Guardians Of Peace” recently threatened movie goers who plan on seeing Seth Rogen and James Franco’s The Interview on December 25th.
Yesterday saw a message posted on the anonymous Pastebin website that stated people who see the movie will suffer a “bitter fate” and compared it to 9/11 adding “the world will be full of fear.”
In response, the major movie theaters cancelled screenings, and now Sony has officially yanked the movie and cancelled planned interviews and promotions with the cast.
Sony released the following statement:
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.
