One of the things I was most looking forward to this Christmas was going to the movies. The Interview was going to be one of the movies I saw that day, but Sony has just decided to pull the movie from its release date following several theater chains deciding not to screen the film following several threats of attacks against theaters that show the film by the hacker group Guardians of Peace (Side-note: change your hacker group name, you’re not earning the title like this). No new release date has been announced at this time. Below is the statement released by Sony:
“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.”
It’s beyond me to sit here and judge Sony for how they respond to threats, but…..I’m about to do just that. “We stand by our filmmakers and their right to free expression…” Then show it. Put your money where your mouth is and release it. I get that they were kind of arm-wrestled into this after theater chains declined showing the film, and I get why theater chains would do that after getting violent threats. The question is, how long and how far does this all go? After this move, what else can the hackers get them to do? At some point Sony has to stand up for themselves and not cave to ridiculous threats and demands, because if they don’t, I don’t see anybody doing it for them.
Source: The Dissolve
