Hollywood stars have been reacting to Sony’s decision to cancel US movie The Interview, a comedy about a fictional plot to kill North Korea’s leader.
Ben Stiller called the move “a threat to freedom of expression”, while Rob Lowe called it a “victory” for hackers who launched the cyber attack on Sony.
Hackers warned cinema-goers against seeing the Christmas Day release.
President Obama recommended that “people go to the movies”, but stressed the attack was “very serious”.
Speaking to US television network ABC, he added: “We’ll be vigilant – if we see something that we think is serious and credible, then we’ll alert the public.”
The US government said it was considering a “range of options” on how to respond.
“We know that criminals and foreign countries regularly seek to gain access to government and private sector networks – both in the United States and elsewhere,” a National Security Council statement said, adding that the FBI was leading the investigation.
“We take very seriously any attempt to threaten or limit artists’ freedom of speech or of expression.”
The statement came after US media quoted anonymous officials as saying that the FBI had linked North Korea to the attacks.
‘Deeply saddened’
Earlier on Wednesday, the New York premiere of The Interview was cancelled. Sony says it understands its partners’ decision.
However, in a statement it said it was “deeply saddened at this brazen effort to suppress the distribution of a movie”.
“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,” it said.
“We respect and understand our …read more
Source:: BBC Entertainment
