The New York premiere of Sony’s ‘The Interview’, a comedy about the assassination of North Korea’s president, has been cancelled amid threats from hackers.
A spokesman for Landmark, the cinema chain due to host the New York premiere, confirmed the showing had been cancelled but gave no reason, Reuters news agency reported.
As of Wednesday AMC Entertainment, Regal Cinemas, Cineplex and Cinemark had opted to drop the movie after the hackers issued threats that implied the theaters showing the movie were terror targets. According to TMZ, Bow Tie Cinemas also canceled planned showings of the movie.
The Sony hacking saga took a sinister turn on Tuesday when hackers named Guardians of Peace sent a message and threatening to target theaters showing “The Interview” in a 9/11 type attack.
The Hackers who said they were incensed by the film attacked Sony Corp (6758.T) last month, leaking documents that drew global headlines and distributing unreleased films on the Internet.
Washington may soon officially announce that the North Korean government was behind the attack, a U.S. government source said.
Though North Korea has denied it was behind the hacking, but security experts in Washington said it was an open secret Pyongyang was responsible.
“Sony has no further release plans for the film,” a Sony spokeswoman said on Wednesday when asked whether the movie would be released later in theaters or as video on demand.
In its statement, Sony also said the company was “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.”
It added, “we stand by our filmmakers and their right to free expression and are extremely disappointed by this outcome.”
Actors James Franco and Seth Rogen already canceled all media appearances promoting their film.