Sony Cancels December Release of THE INTERVIEW

The terrorists have won. Sony Pictures announced on Wednesday afternoon that it was canceling the Dec. 25 release of The Interview. Threats of violence against theaters showing the movie had prompted major theater chains like Regal, AMC and Cinemark to pull the movie before Sony made the move itself.

Here's Sony's statement regarding its move:

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.

Part of me hates that Sony has canceled the release of The Interview. This is exactly what the hackers wanted. They were allowed to escalate their threats, from hacking and releasing Sony emails to threatening violence on theaters. In the end, those cyberterrorists got exactly what they wanted: The Interview pulled.

The freedom of speech side of me thinks this is ridiculous. This is America. We shouldn't be afraid to run a movie. However, I do understand why Sony had to make this move. What does a theater chain have to gain from playing The Interview with even the slightest chance it would put theatergoers in danger?

Hopefully Sony and the government can bring these hackers to justice. Sure, I love the leaked emails revealing Channing Tatum's email skills and news of negotiations over Spider-Man rights between Sony and Marvel Studios, but when you cross the line to threatening the lives of people who simply want to see a movie, that's too much.