REPORT: Sony Pictures Asked Employees Whether They Wanted To Stop The Release Of 'The Interview'
The anonymous employee wrote on Gizmodo that Sony Pictures held an all-hands meeting after the hack. In that meeting, the company asked all of its employees whether they wanted the company to stop the release of "The Interview" to "play it safe." The employee goes on to claim that "nobody said yes."
"The Interview" is a comedy movie starring James Franco and Seth Rogen that sees the pair travel to North Korea and attempt to kill the country's leader Kim Jong-un. North Koreans have a fanatical respect for the leader, so the movie's plot was called an "act of terrorism."
There has been speculation that the "Guardians Of Peace" hacking group that targeted Sony Pictures was part of the North Korean government. There's no proof of that theory, but we do know that the hacking group isn't happy about The Interview. In a post on code-sharing site GitHub, someone claiming to represent the group demanded that Sony "stop immediately showing the movie of terrorism which can break the regional peace and cause the War."
Stopping the release of a major Hollywood movie is a rare move for any movie studio. If Sony Pictures was seriously considering that, it shows just how badly the company has been affected by the hack. It's also possible, however, that the company was never seriously considering to halt the release, and instead floated it as a possibility in a staff meeting, knowing full-well that employees would reject the motion.
Despite Sony's consideration of halting its release, The Interview had its premiere last night in Los Angeles. It looks like Sony was being mindful of the recent hack, though, as broadcast journalists were barred from the event, and no print reporters were granted interviews either.