What started out as just another political satire movie release quickly turned into one of the biggest entertainment stories of 2014.
Sony Pictures’ The Interview, starring Seth Rogen and James Franco, was scheduled to release on Christmas day but then received many terrorist threats due to the fact that the movie depicts North Korean leader Kim Jon-Un being assassinated.
According to The Variety, hackers made terrorist threats warning that any movie theater that played The Interview would be subject to attacks similar to those of 9/11.
Sony Pictures eventually pulled the movie stating, “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 25th 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.”
But the withdrawal of the movie angered many people, including celebrities, saying that it took away the right of free speech. People also criticized Sony’s decision since there was no true evidence behind the legitimacy of the threats.
Movie producer Judd Apatow tweeted in response to the threats saying “I think it is disgraceful that these theaters are not showing The Interview. Will they pull any movie that gets an anonymous threat now?”
After so much public outcry, Sony released the movie on other media platforms, like Youtube, Google Play and Xbox. Select theaters also released the movie.
Even with the limited release, the movie made 31 million dollars in online revenue in its first two weeks. The theatrical release made 5 million dollars, proving that the public was not afraid to watch the movie, despite the numerous warnings not to.
However the release of The Interview didn’t resolve anything. Sony gave into the threats and the hackers won. The fact that they eventually released the movie makes Sony’s initial delay of the movie almost irrelevant.
The biggest problem with Sony’s response to the terrorist’s threats was that a group was able to somehow control their business plan and delay the release of the movie. This is the first time in recent history that a business with American interest submitted to terrorist threats and many critics agree that this could lead to future attacks or threats of violence.