Sony cancelling 'The Interview' release a mistake: Obama
December 20, 2014 03:02
President Obama says Sony Pictures Entertainment made a "mistake" in canceling its planned release of the movie "The Interview" following a destructive cyber attack the US government says was launched by North Korea.
"Sony is a corporation. It suffered significant damage. There were threats against its employees. I am sympathetic to the concerns that they faced," Obama said. "Having said all that, yes I think they made a mistake."
"We cannot have a society in which some dictator in some place can start imposing censorship in the United States," Obama said, referring to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
"I wish they'd spoken to me first," Obama said of Sony. "I would have told them: Do not get into the pattern in which you are intimidated."
Michael Lynton, CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment, responded to Obama's comments in an interview with CNN, saying the president was "mistaken."
"The movie theaters came to us one by one over the course of a very short period of time and announced that they would not carry the movie," Lynton said. "At that point in time, we had not alternative to proceed with the theatrical release.
"We have not caved, we have not given in, we have not backed down," he said.
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