Threats of violence against movie theaters and moviegoers resulted in the cancelation of Thursday's scheduled premiere of The Interview in New York City.
The fallout from the ongoing Sony Pictures Entertainment hack reached a fever pitch Tuesday with threats from the shadowy group claiming responsibility.
Calling themselves Guardians of Peace, the group vowed a massive campaign of violence akin to September 11, 2001 if the movie hit theaters as planned.
The reason hackers are so upset over this absurd-looking comedy?
The film features Seth Rogen and James Franco as television journalists involved in a CIA plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Speculation about a North Korean link to the Sony hacking has centered on that country's rage against the film and earlier threat of "merciless" retaliation.
The Department of Homeland Security said there was "no credible intelligence" to corroborate the threat against movie theaters, but is still analyzing messages.
The warning did prompt law enforcement in New York and L.A. to address security measures, and Sony to allow theaters to pull The Interview if desired.
Right on cue, a spokesperson for Landmark Sunshine cinemas said the NYC premiere of The Interview, scheduled for Thursday night, has been canceled.
Carmike Cinemas, which operates 247 theaters across the country, was the first to nix planned showings of the film, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Rogen and Franco pulled out of all media appearances, canceling a Buzzfeed Q&A and Rogen's planned guest spot on Late Night With Seth Meyers.
GOP (as Guardians of Peace is often dubbed) has released a trove of data files including 32,000 emails to and from Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton.
Two former Sony film production workers filed lawsuits alleging the company waited too long to notify nearly 50,000 employees that data was breached.
Since the hack surfaced late last month, everything from financial figures to salacious emails between top Sony executives has been dumped online.
Here's a look at some of what we've learned so far ...
One email reveals that the studio is hoping to have Jennifer Lawrence, Melissa McCarthy, Emma Stone, and Lizzy Caplan star in the upoming all-female Ghostbusters reboot. Well, "all-female" isn't quite accurate. The ladies will be joined by an A-list male star, who will apparently need to be dragged to the set kicking and screaming...
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