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 Actors Ben Stiller, Steve Carell, Rob Lowe, late-night talk
show host Jimmy Kimmel and filmmaker Judd Apatow, all friends of
"The Interview" stars Seth Rogen and James Franco, criticized
the decision made by movie theaters and Sony.
Lowe, who has a cameo in the film, tweeted "Wow. Everyone caved.
The hackers won. An utter and complete victory for them."
Raunchy satire "The Interview" follows a hapless TV host
(Franco) and producer (Rogen) who score an interview with the
elusive North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and are recruited by
the CIA to assassinate him.
Sony Pictures canceled the film's Dec. 25 release as major U.S.
theater chains decided to postpone screenings after hackers
forced an apparently unprecedented change of plans for a major
movie release.
Kimmel, writing on Twitter, called the decision "an un-American
act of cowardice that validates terrorist actions and sets a
terrifying precedent."
Stiller, who directed and starred in 2001's "Zoolander", about a
male fashion model brainwashed to assassinate a fictional prime
minister of Malaysia, called "The Interview" cancellation "a
threat to freedom of expression."
Carell, who has starred alongside Rogen in numerous comedies,
said "Sad day for creative expression," with the hashtag #feareatsthesoul.
Both Carell and Stiller also tweeted pictures of Charlie Chaplin
playing his Adolf Hitler parody in 1940 film "The Great
Dictator."
Franco and Rogen, who directed, produced and wrote "The
Interview" with filmmaking partner Evan Goldberg, did not make
any public statements on Wednesday.
[to top of second column] |
A U.S. government source said investigators had determined North
Korea was behind last month's cyber attack on Sony Corp's movie
studio, leaking documents that drew global headlines.
One Texas cinema chain, Alamo Drafthouse, said early on Wednesday it
planned to show "The Interview", even as other theaters bailed.
When Sony pulled "The Interview," the chain said it would screen at
its Dallas-Fort Worth theater the 2004 puppet-comedy "Team America:
World Police" in which a U.S. paramilitary force tries to foil a
plot by then-North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.
Sony said it had no plans to release "The Interview" on DVD,
video-on-demand or online streaming platforms, despite support of
the idea from fans on social media.
(Additional reporting by Eric Kelsey and Lisa Richwine; Editing by
Clarence Fernandez)
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