The premiere of Seth Rogen and James Franco’s comedy “The Interview” in New York was canceled after the Sony hackers threatened a 9/11-style attack on theaters showing the film. Now, the film will not be showing anywhere.
Hollywood took to Twitter Wednesday and Thursday to slam the decision by Sony Pictures Entertainment (NYSE:SNE) to cancel the release of the movie “The Interview” starring Seth Rogen and James Franco. Judd Apatow, the producer of the movie, tweeted Wednesday that he thought it was “disgraceful,” then asked the obvious question Hollywood will almost assuredly have to ask itself again in the future.
I think it is disgraceful that these theaters are not showing The Interview. Will they pull any movie that gets an anonymous threat now?
— Judd Apatow (@JuddApatow) December 17, 2014
Apatow had been vocal via Twitter since the ominous threat from the hackers became public, but has been relentless since the decision was announced.
“I am not going to let a terrorist threat shut down freedom of speech,” Apatow tweeted. “I am going to The Interview.”
In a message emailed to media, which included the latest leaks of employee emails, the North Korean-backed hackers who call themselves “Guardians of Peace” threatened an “11th of September”-style attack on movie theaters showing an upcoming film “The Interview” starring Seth Rogen and James Franco, which is a comedy that pokes fun at North Korea’s communist dictatorship.
As a result, the Georgia-based Carmike Cinemas, which operates 278 theaters across the country, canceled showings of the movie in its theaters following Sony’s decision to cancel the New York premiere. The company is the fourth largest cinema chain in the nation behind Regal, AMC, and Cinemark, all of whom will now not be showing “The Interview.”
Apatow retweeted several celebrities weighing in on the developments, including comedian and actor Steve Carell, who now has become the latest to be impacted by the fallout.
https://twitter.com/SteveCarell/status/545360994923323392
New Regency has decided not to produce a paranoid thriller starring Steve Carell, which they planned to set in North Korea.
Really hard to believe this is the response to a threat to freedom of expression here in America.#TheInterview
— Ben Stiller (@RedHourBen) December 18, 2014
Actor Rob Lowe even had a brief exchange with the former Republican Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. Lowe
Saw @Sethrogen at JFK. Both of us have never seen or heard of anything like this. Hollywood has done Neville Chamberlain proud today.
— Rob Lowe (@RobLowe) December 17, 2014
.@RobLowe it wasn't the hackers who won, it was the terrorists and almost certainly the North Korean dictatorship, this was an act of war
— Newt Gingrich (@newtgingrich) December 17, 2014
The former speaker followed up his tweet with another that characterized the Sony decision as a “dangerous precedent,” tweeting that this was the first real cyberwar test American has faced and the U.S. lost.
No one should kid themselves. With the Sony collapse America has lost its first cyberwar. This is a very very dangerous precedent.
— Newt Gingrich (@newtgingrich) December 17, 2014
The actor retweeted Gingrich’s 140-characters or less comment, along with over 4,170 other twitter users.
