Although Sony plans to continue to distribute their Seth Rogen-James Franco comedy The Interview after cyber terrorists threatened 9/11-type catastrophes at theaters showing the film, hundreds of theaters have decided not to show the movie. Carmike Cinemas, who own nearly 300 theaters, have backed out on the film. ArcLight Cinemas, and Landmark Cinemas, have also cancelled screenings. UPDATE: The five biggest movie chains have decided not to screen the film.
The New York premiere of the film has been cancelled, and Rogen and Franco have bowed out of multiple scheduled press interviews to promote the film. Just a few days ago, however, they discussed the possibility of North Korea being involved in the hacks with Howard Stern.
“No one has definitively told us that North Korea is who did the hack,” Rogen said. “One day, I’m like, ‘It’s f**king for sure them.’ And the next day I’m like, ‘There’s no way it’s them’” because it seems “too savvy of Hollywood politics.” He also added that he thought it was “f**cked up” that everyone was doing what these hackers asked.
Meanwhile, an activist group led by a former North Korea propagandist, has a plan to drop copies of The Interview into North Korea using hydrogen balloons. Since he escaped to South Korea, Park Sang Hak founded Fighters for a Free North Korea, which uses these balloons to drop DVDs, transistor radios, and other items in an attempt to connect the population to the outside world.
