18 Dec – The latest update from Sony Pictures reveals that "The Interview" is now officially cancelled. Originally scheduled for release in North American cinemas this coming 25 December, Deadline now reports that the film will not be making it onto the big screen or any small screen anytime soon. After receiving a threat promising an attack reminiscent of the 11 September tragedy of 2001, five of America's largest cinema operators have decided to pull the film from their screenings. The decision has led to Sony scrapping the film's release altogether, stating, "We respect and understand our partners' decision and, of course, completely share their paramount interest in the safety of employees and theater-goers." Sony also reveals that there are no further release plans for the film, even though earlier there were talks of a Video-On-Demand release but now it seems that the film will not be released to the public in any form.
According to TIME, it has been confirmed by U.S. officials that North Korea is connected to the Sony hack attack. This comes as no surprise since the film is about a celebrity journalist and his producer who got the chance to interview North Korea's Kim Jong-Un but is unexpectedly recruited by the C.I.A. to assassinate the supreme leader. North Korea has previously voiced displeasure with the film and even threatened war if it was released. The fact that other Sony movies have been leaked on piracy sites but not "The Interview" was what put the Asian country under suspicion even in the initial stages of the investigation. Another update in the film industry reveals that New regency has cancelled its plans to produce Steve Carell's "Pyongyang," a paranoid thriller set in North Korea. Even though this collaboration has come to no fruition, Franco and Rogen will at least still appear together, albeit only vocally, on Rogen's 3D animated film "The Sausage Party", due out in 2016.