Sony, Theaters Cancel 'The Interview' Release After Threats

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<p>The new controversial comedy <span style="font-style: italic;">The Interview </span>may never see the light of day. Sony Pictures Entertainment&nbsp;announced Wednesday it will not release the movie in theaters Christmas Day as previously planned.&nbsp;</p><p>The move comes after&nbsp;a cyber attack to Sony&nbsp;Pictures sand threats of violence&nbsp;against theaters that show the film.</p><p>The comedy centers around a plot to assassinate North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. Wednesday,&nbsp;federal investigators said they can trace the cyber attack to North Korea.</p><p>In late November, a group calling themselves Guardians of Peace hacked Sony, leaking emails and other information.</p><p>Tuesday, the hacking group posted online threats that read,&nbsp;&quot;The world will be full of fear. Remember the 11th of September 2001.&quot;</p><p>Movie theaters nationwide began cancelling their planned premieres.</p><p>&quot;They’re probably doing it to protect audiences,&quot; said Narith Chhay, a moviegoer from Fresno.</p><p>&quot;I really wasn’t interested in the movie in the first place, however, once you bring up these threats and it involves a foreign country, I think it is serious, to an extent,&quot; said Vanessa Escobar, a moviegoer from Chowchilla.</p><p>At Fresno’s Regal Manchester Theater, an advanced screening was planned Wednesday but was called off after Regal Cinemas across the U.S., along with other major movie theater chains, decided not to show the film.</p><p>It’s an unprecedented move by Sony and theater groups, and some moviegoers said it sends the wrong message.</p><p>&quot;Freedom of speech is extremely important,&nbsp;and&nbsp;I feel like pulling this movie is just something we really shouldn’t do,&quot; said Sean McGuinness, a moviegoer from Fresno.</p><p>Legal analyst Charles Magill said it was a good precautionary move for movie theaters to pull the film from their screens.</p><p>&quot;Because there was threats made, they were published threats, that the theaters, if they didn’t have a really extensive security system in place, they could be liable for someone who was injured in the theater,&quot; Magill said.</p><p>According to the Department of Homeland Security, there was no active threat against theaters in the U.S., but they are now investigating North Korea’s role in the cyber attacks and threats.</p></div>