The Interview, the controversial movie that has cause a lot of problems lately is now officially canceled. Sony has issued a statement saying that The Interview premiere on December 25 is no longer happening and the company doesn’t plan on releasing the movie whatsoever. That means that The Interview direct to DVD or BluRay, VOD or subscription streaming release will not be happening.
The decision comes after Sony Entertainment was hacked by #GOP and employees have received threats to their families and their lives. The hackers have also issued a warning for Sony Entertainment, saying that any theater that would run The Interview would be subject to terrorist attacks. The hackers went so far as to bringing up 9/11 as an example of what would happen if the company didn’t comply to their demands. Since things got really serious, the investigations into the matter have also intensified. According to major news agencies, the U.S. government and agencies have closed in on the source of the hack, and indeed, the perpetrators acted on orders from North Korea.
The U.S. government publicly announced that North Korea is at fault and to blame for the Sony hack and subsequently, for the death threats made. The Interview sparked controversy because the story of the film revolves around the assassination of the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un. It seems that the #GOP found Seth Rogen’s and James Franco’s portrayal of North Korean society offensive and the North Korean government found the portrayed assassination of their leader as an affront or insult to their government and society. Since the death threats have been made, various cinemas and theaters have backed out of showing The Interview premiere, and consequently, Sony decided that the matter had go too serious and dangerous.
While the death threats and the whole Sony hack has been quite the ordeal, it seems that if North Korea is at fault, the U.S. government as well as governments around the world will take action to try and prevent further incidents that would be similar. The fact that a movie like The Interview caused such outrage in North Korea and prompted people and hackers to make death threats proves that the situation and relationship between the U.S. and North Korea is getting more and more tense by the minute.