The top five theatre circuits in North America have decided to drop The Interview, the Seth Rogen/James Franco comedy about assassinating Kim Jong-Un that has been under scrutiny after hackers released a trove of Sony Pictures’ emails and files claiming to be a retaliatory North Korea.
This week, after a threat of 9/11 scale violence on theatres playing the film, Regal Entertainment, AMC Entertainment, Cinemark, Carmike Cinemas and Cineplex Entertainment all chose to drop the movie, according to the Hollywood Review. We are contacting Sony to find out more about the decision.
Sony has confirmed to @KPCC the top five North American theater chains have decided not to show “The Interview.”
— Ben Bergman (@thebenbergman) December 17, 2014
The Department of Homeland Security has released a statement indicating that there’s no credible threat to safety known at this time, and between this and Franco/Rogen pulling out of press, these decisions are giving the hackers exactly what they want in the face of little evidence to suggest the public is actually in danger.
Obviously when there is evidence that a terrorist attack might occur, precautions should be taken. But so far, there is nothing that the Guardians of Peace (the group who hacked Sony) have done to indicate that they are capable of unleashing a physical attack on anyone.
There is also no evidence that the group is actually affiliated with North Korea, and giving into their poorly written Pastebin demands is an embarrassment. It’d be one thing if these theatres were ditching The Interview because its a $US44 million stink bomb, but it’s another to decide to believe in incredible threats sent by trolls. This sets a precedent that gives hackers undue power. I never thought I’d say this, but it seems downright un-American to keep James Franco’s smarmy mug of our screens.
Update: Variety is reporting that Sony is considering a VOD release of The Interview. [Hollywood Reporter]