North Korea Accuses President Obama of Blackmailing Theatres to Release THE INTERVIEW

North Korea's National Defence Commision has decried President Obama for his support of Sony's release of their film THE INTERVIEW and even accused him of blackmail.

They issued a statement on Saturday morning, saying, "U.S. President Obama is the chief culprit who forced the Sony Pictures Entertainment to 'indiscriminately distribute' the movie and took the lead in appeasing and blackmailing cinema houses and theatres in the U.S. mainland to distribute the movie."

The statement then attacked the film itself, calling THE INTERVIEW a "dishonest and reactionary movie hurting the dignity of the supreme leadership of the DPRK [North Korea] and agitating terrorism."

In addition, the Korean-run Korean Central News Agency said, "If the U.S. persists in American-style arrogant, high-handed and gangster-like arbitrary practices despite the repeated warnings of the DPRK, the U.S. should bear in mind that its failed political affairs will face inescapable deadly blows."

President Obama had called Sony's cancellation of the release of THE INTERVIEW "a mistake" last week.

Sony eventually decided to release THE INTERVIEW in select movie theatres on Christmas Day, as BroadwayWorld previously reported.

Last week, Somy decided to pull the James Franco-Seth Rogan led film from theaters following threats of violence from hackers working for North Korea. In a speech last week, President Obama criticized the studio for being "intimidated by these kind of criminal attacks.' Sony responded that the cancellation came only after theater chains and other streaming sites refused to show the film.

THE INTERVIEW follows Dave Skylark (James Franco) and his producer Aaron Rapoport (Seth Rogen) who run the popular celebrity tabloid TV show "Skylark Tonight." When they discover that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is a fan of the show, they land an interview with him in an attempt to legitimize themselves as journalists. As Dave and Aaron prepare to travel to Pyongyang, their plans change when the CIA recruits them, perhaps the two least-qualified men imaginable, to assassinate Kim Jong-un.

Source: EW

To post a comment, you must register and login.