Sony Entertainment's decision not to push through with "The Interview" movie's previously planned Christmas release was met by uproar from fans and several celebrities.
"Game Of Thrones" author George RR Martin called the move a "stunning display of corporate cowardice." He even offered to screen the controversial film in his own independent theatre in Santa Fe if Sony won't push through with the deal.
According to CBS News, Sean Penn heavily criticized the movie studio in a statement for Mother Jones magazine. He accused the company, as well as the cinemas who succumbed to the terroristic threats that the Guardians Of Peace (now revealed to be North Korean hackers) issued, of opening Pandora's box for other terrorist groups such as ISIS.
Josh Groban, Lisa Kudrow and Billy Eichner also reportedly reacted to the situation.
However, it was President Barrack Obama's statement that Sony had to "disagree" with.
According to the US president, the conglomerate's decision to cease "The Interview" movie's theatrical release was a "mistake."
"We cannot have a society in which some dictators some place can start imposing censorship here in the United States," Obama said as he addressed the media during the end-of-year news confernce at the White House.
He added, "Imagine what they start doing once they see a documentary that they don't like or news reports that they don't like."
However, Sony's CEO Michael Lynton disagreed with Obama's opinion, telling CNN host Fareed Zakaria "the president, the press and the public are mistaken."
"I don't know exactly whether he understands the sequence of events that led up to the movie not being shown in the movie theaters," He added. "Therefore I would disagree with the notion that it was a mistake."
He also revealed that Sony has "a number of options open to us and we have considered those and are considering them."
The company followed up Lynton's response with a statement regarding the movie: "It is still our hope that anyone who wants to see this movie will get the opportunity to do so."
Do you think President Obama was right to call out Sony for deciding to not release "The Interview" movie in theatres? Would you have watched the film if the cinema release had actually pushed through?
