Subsequent threats referenced the Al Qaeda “9/11” attacks and plainly stated a warning to moviegoers that theaters showing the film would not be safe, nor would those attending.
At that point, the New York premier for the movie was canceled. When the four largest theater chains in the U.S. and Canada declined to screen the film, Sony caved and pulled the movie. The studio also declined to release the film on video or in any other form.
Two other films set in North Korea being produced by other studios likewise have since been pulled as well.
President Barack Obama, who had been silent throughout three weeks of massive corporate cyber attacks and finally physical threats, chided Sony for giving in.
Obama told reporters in a briefing on Friday that Sony “made a mistake” in giving in to the “cyber vandalism.” He added that if execs “had asked” him, he would have told them “not to pull” the movie.
The president left shortly after for a two-week holiday vacation in Hawaii with his wife and two daughters.
