The Interview: Sony seeks different channels to release North Korea movie

Sony Pictures Entertainment is looking at different channels to release The Interview after scrapping its opening following a cyber-attack blamed on North Korea.

The studio said it had only canceled the film’s Christmas Day release after cinemas pulled out.

Sony said it was considering releasing it “on a different platform”.

President Barack Obama called the cancelation “a mistake”.

North Korea denied involvement and has now urged a joint inquiry with the US.

The FBI said on December 19 that the Pyongyang government was responsible.

The Interview depicts the fictional assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Responding to the president’s comments, Sony Pictures chief executive and chairman Michael Lynton said the studio had not made an error in canceling the release.

“We have not given in, we have persevered,” he told CNN.

A Sony statement said the decision had been based on “the majority of the nation’s theatre owners choosing not to screen the film”.

“Without theatres, we could not release it in the theatres on Christmas Day. We had no choice,” the statement added.

“It is still our hope that anyone who wants to see this movie will get the opportunity to do so.”

Script details, salary data and private email correspondence were leaked in the wake of November’s huge cyber attack.

Hackers then issued a warning referring to the 9/11 terror attacks, saying “the world will be full of fear” if The Interview was screened.

North Korea earlier this month denied allegations that it was responsible for the hack. An article in the state-run KCNA news agency, quoting the country’s top military body, called the suggestions “wild rumor”.

The Interview features James Franco and Seth Rogen as two journalists who are granted an audience with Kim Jong-un.

The CIA then enlists the pair to assassinate him.

The Interview‘s canceled release drew criticism in Hollywood, with some calling it an attack on the freedom of expression.