SONY-CYBER SECURITY/THEATERS-NYC The New York premiere of "The Interview" is cancelled following threats

Record ID: 451733

  • Title: SONY-CYBER SECURITY/THEATERS-NYC The New York premiere of "The Interview" is cancelled following threats
  • Date: 17th December 2014
  • Summary: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (DECEMBER 17, 2014) (REUTERS) VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF SUNSHINE CINEMA VARIOUS OF STATEMENT FROM NATO (THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF THEATRE OWNERS)
  • Embargoed: 1st January 2015 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA5HQHRBV56Y74YHRRVOUMQ3NT2
  • Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: UPDATED WITH NEWS THAT ADDITIONAL THEATERS WILL ALSO DELAY THEIR SHOWINGS OF "THE INTERVIEW"
    The New York premiere of "The Interview", a Sony Pictures comedy about the assassination of North Korean President Kim Jong-Un, has been cancelled as various theater chains say they'll delay or scrap plans to show it, after threats from a hacking group.
    The hackers, who said they were also responsible for seizing control of Sony Corp's computer system last month, on Tuesday (December 16) warned people to stay away from cinemas showing the film starring James Franco and Seth Rogen, and darkly reminded moviegoers of the Sept. 11 hijacked plane attacks on the United States in 2001.
    "We recommend you to keep yourself distant from the places at that time," the hackers wrote.
    "(If your house is nearby, you'd better leave.)"
    A spokeswoman for Landmark, which was to have hosted a premiere of the film at its Sunshine Cinema in Lower East Side, New York, on Thursday (December 17), said by email that the screening had been cancelled, but did not explain why.
    A Sony spokeswoman had no immediate comment on the threat.
    Sony executives had earlier told theater owners it would not pull the film but added they would not object if they decided to cancel screenings, according to a person familiar with the discussions.
    Carmike Cinemas, operator of 278 theaters in 41 states, informed Sony late on Tuesday that it would not show the film, the person said. Carmike executives were not immediately available for comment on Tuesday evening, a spokesman said.
    Movie theater chain Regal Cinemas also said on Wednesday (December 17) it will delay showing Sony's North Korea parody "The Interview," while trade publication The Hollywood Reporter said AMC, Cinemark and Cineplex would also not screen the film, citing an unnamed source.
    "Due to the wavering support of the film 'The Interview' by Sony Pictures, as well as the ambiguous nature of any real or perceived security threats, Regal Entertainment Group has decided to delay the opening of the film in our theatres," Regal Cinemas said in a statement.
    "So we are in week three. Some of the hackers have posted messages saying they are going to keep on leaking information. They have made threats against families. But again, there are no credible intelligence to support any physical threat right now. That's very important to know because it's easy to hear hacker claims and let things kind of spiral out of control. But again, right now, Department of Homeland Security has said they have no credible intelligence of any physical attacks," said cybersecurity expert Emilian Papadopoulos from Good Harbor Security Risk Management.
    Police departments in Los Angeles and New York, however, said they were taking the warning seriously.
    Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck told a news conference that officers would be taking extra precautions to make sure movie theaters were "as safe as we can make them". He said the threats were "done to put terror" into U.S. audiences.
    But some people walking past the theater where the New York premiere was set to be held said they're not taking the threats seriously.
    "To me as a cynic I originally thought that Sony created the hacking attack to generate more hype for the movie and as it got more serious and I learned that their employees are suing them for privacy issues it just became one of those things were the fall out was probably bigger than the movie itself, which is a comedy with James Franco and Seth Rogen. Two people that I think have a hard time offending America let alone North Korea," said Joe Moller who is visiting New York from Los Angeles.
    "I think that's just doing that for, you know, like to scare people I guess, so people wouldn't go see it. But I don't think nothing is going to happen, honestly," New Yorker Dejean Robinson said.
    Canadian Isaac Laurent feels the studio shouldn't be intimidated by the threats.
    "No, actually I think Sony should release the film regardless of e-mails, they are just e-mails."
    New Yorker Michael Vasquez is still looking forward to seeing the comedy.
    "I love seeing different movies. I just like watching movies. But I wouldn't let anything like that stop me from seeing it."
    The North Korean government has denounced the film as "undisguised sponsoring of terrorism, as well as an act of war" in a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
    Internet news company BuzzFeed reported that Franco and Rogen had cancelled all planned media appearances on Tuesday, the day they were scheduled to appear at a BuzzFeed event. Representatives for the actors did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
    U.S. security agencies are investigating a hacking group that carried out the cyber attack in November that severely damaged the movie studio's network and published damaging internal emails, unreleased films and employee data online. The group published what appeared to be more internal emails on Tuesday.
    Sony is already reeling from the disclosures in documents released by the hackers, which have publicly exposed internal discussions important to the company's future.
    "For Sony right now knowing who is behind this is of some value but actually there are other priorities for them. They've got to keep on going with business. Keep on releasing movies. They've got to deal with controlling the damage. They've got to deal with securing their network going forward. So who is responsible for this is actually not the top priority for them," said Papadopoulos.
    Reuters has not been able to verify the authenticity of the more than 100 gigabytes of documents that have been distributed via the Internet. The company has confirmed that at least some are authentic, apologizing for the loss of sensitive employee data and some comments made by executives.
    The newest file published on Tuesday appeared to be emails from Sony studio chief Michael Lynton. One email showed Lynton consulted with a senior official in the U.S. State Department in June this year, days after North Korea threatened "merciless countermeasures" over the release of the film.
    Several rounds of leaks of emails have prompted apologies for disparaging remarks that executives made about celebrities. The leaks have included a James Bond script, high-quality digital copies of films that have yet to be released and private employee data.
    Sony has also been sued by self-described former employees who accuse Sony of failing to properly protect their personal data. Sony declined comment on the lawsuit.
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