New York Premiere of 'The Interview' Canceled after Threats
PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: But now developing, a person close to the situation says Sony would not object if theaters decide to pull it from their box offices.</s>FRANCO: You want to go kill Kim Jong-Un?</s>ROGEN: Totally.</s>BROWN: Carmike Cinemas reportedly the first movie chain to pull the plug from their more than 270 theaters across more than 40 states. Landmark Theaters also bailing, canceling Thursday's premiere in New York. Even the film's stars, Seth Rogen and James Franco, dropping out of all media appearances this week. This fear in the movie industry prompted by a new threatening message, purportedly from the Sony hackers. The FBI investigating their promise of a bitter fate to anyone who sees the controversial North Korean comedy. The message says, "Soon all the world will see what an awful movie Sony Pictures Entertainment has made. The world will be full of fear. Remember the 11th of September 2001."</s>CRAIG A. NEWMAN, MANAGING PARTNER, RICHARDS KIBBE & ORBE: Now they've got all these threats against people. You know, if you go see the movie, be careful. They're threatening the families of Sony employees. This has taken hacking to a level that we've never seen before.</s>BROWN: This week, a leaked scene from the film was posted, showing the gruesome assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, something the country condemns as an act of war. U.S. law enforcement sources tell CNN the strong suspicion is that the reclusive country is the instigator of the hack and possibly outsourced it to a group elsewhere as retaliation for the controversial film. The FBI is scrubbing Sony's computer system, trying to gather enough evidence to be able to definitively point the finger at the hacking culprit.</s>NEWMAN: It is a complex, nuanced investigation. The more sophisticated hackers have gone through multiple, multiple infrastructures to get to where they've gotten to. So it's not something that Sony is going to solve in a day or a week or a month.</s>BROWN (on camera): And sources tell us that the hackers had access to the Sony computer system for several months before the FBI was brought in in November. So a lot of damage was done in that timeframe, making it harder for investigators to get to the bottom of it. And Alisyn and Chris, you may be wondering why the U.S. government isn't speaking out more. They first want to be certain who the instigator is, who the hacking culprit is and then figure out what to do once they announce it.</s>CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Pamela. Thank you very much. Let's continue our coverage with Will Ripley in Tokyo, because that's where Sony is headquartered. And by the way, the film will not be shown there -- Will.</s>WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Chris, we know that Sony executives are likely to be facing tough questions from the Japanese government over why they allowed this production to even happen, considering the geopolitical ramifications. We have some new pictures coming in from North Korea from Pyongyang, a city that I visited just a few months ago. And I can tell you they almost worship their leaders like gods there. And right now, tens of thousands of people are turning out, marking the three-year anniversary of the reign of their young leader, Kim Jong-un, and also mourning the passing of his father, who died unexpectedly. This shows just how deadly serious the North Koreans are about their leaders and may explain the motive, if indeed North Korea is behind this cyberattack, an attack that has paralyzed an American company, creating so much fear that theaters are now, as you see in the United States, canceling these screenings. But that fear is nothing new to people here in Japan, who have always taken North Korea seriously for decades. Ever since the country kidnapped Japanese citizens and forced them to train spies and launch projectiles into the Sea of Japan. And now with this apparent new vulnerability to cyberattacks, there are more fears here in Tokyo about what could happen next, as the film premiere is just days away -- Chris.</s>CUOMO: Will, thank you very much. Alisyn, over to you.</s>ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Let's talk about more about this with Dawn Chmielewski. She's the senior editor of Recode, a tech news website; and Tom Fuentes, CNN law enforcement analyst and former assistant FBI director. Good morning to both of you. Tom, in the last 24 hours this whole hacking scandal feels as though it's taken a much more ominous turn. It's no longer just about salacious emails that have been hacked and released. It's now about threats along the lines of 9/11. Let me read to you what the hacking group has posted on its website. It says, "The world will be full of fear. Remember the 11th of September 2001. We recommend you to keep yourself distant from the places at that time." They mean the premiere of the movie. "If your house is nearby, you'd better leave." They mean if your house is nearby the theater, you'd better leave. What do you make of these threats, Tom?</s>TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, I think at that point, Alisyn, the threats, you know, they're beyond the pale, and it makes you wonder. You know, al Qaeda itself and ISIS itself don't have the capability of that large-scale of a bombing attack on the United States. So -- and they want to more. But this has gone from you know, in the beginning, an extortion and a hacking case to now this, to now serious threats. So this -- these are crimes that are serious crimes in the U.S., even though it's an attack on a private company initially. It's still a major extortion, affecting the commerce of the U.S. and of the company. And it's not to be tolerated. And the government is doing the best it can, as quick as it can, to try to identify and neutralize the people responsible for this.</s>CAMEROTA: And Dawn, of course theaters have to listen to this. They can't ignore a threat of this magnitude. So late last night, the New York premiere of the movie, called "The Interview," was canceled. What is Sony saying about all this?</s>DAWN CHMIELEWSKI, SENIOR EDITOR, RECODE: Well, Sony is actually saying nothing publicly. But you're absolutely right. I mean the theater owners up until this point have been supportive of Sony and Sony's desire to exercise its free speech rights, to not have cyber criminals determine what films it can or cannot release. But this threat that evokes the terror of 9/11 really caused exhibitors to begin to reassess the situation. I mean, the theatrical, the theater owners have employees. They have audience members, people coming into their theaters. And no one -- there's some real concern about putting people potentially at risk. Even though the Homeland Security Department has said that there's no credible threat here. Tom, when you read this threat, the grammar of it is very peculiar. It's very strained. It says, "though," as if English is not the first language of whoever the hackers are. But of course, that could all be a ruse. Do we believe today that North Korea is behind this?</s>FUENTES: I think that, you know, many people think they do. They have the most interest in doing it. So you know, motive, opportunity, the skill set. And they could have help from, you know, their big brother. Hackers in China. So you know, you don't know for sure. And they won't say so for sure until they have the evidence. But you know, all indications show that that's probably true.</s>CAMEROTA: Dawn, the larger issue here is that this is a movie. This is Hollywood. This is fiction. This is our entertainment. Since when do we let hackers dictate our media and what we're allowed to see?</s>CHMIELEWSKI: That's -- that actually has been the point that Sony has been making all along. You know, the -- you know, Sony corporate has been sensitive, though. We've seen a number of email exchanges between Kaz Harai and the studio chief, Amy Pascal, indicating that they recognized there were certain sensitivities. And the studio was trying to walk this fine line between acknowledging that this is a sitting leader of a country, and also allowing artists to create a comedy. You know, and but these grave threats seem to have taken it out of this academic debate about free expression.</s>CAMEROTA: Tom, there have been other movies about world leaders that have caused some hand-wringing, but is this level unprecedented?</s>FUENTES: I think so. And you know, what we don't realize or forget in this country is that, you know, our comedians every night of the week on various shows criticize our leaders, make fun, spoof, satire. It's been a way of humor. I mean, you can go back to the revolution, and humorists have made fun of political leaders. But in other parts of the world, it's not allowed. I mean, remember when Putin locked up a rock-and-roll band for lyrics critical of him. So -- so there's a number of countries that, if you open your mouth and criticize the government, that's it. You're going to prison and maybe worse than that. So in that sense, this one is a little more unprecedented, because it's hitting here against us in the U.S. or against a company doing considerable business in the United States. But there's a bigger implication here, Alisyn. You know, CNN has showed clips from that movie how many times a day? The other news networks also. What if they turn this hacking attack on one of the news networks and start censoring our news? Tell CNN that "we're going to release your emails and your -- and destroy data in your network if you don't stop showing the clips and stop promoting this movie?" Because, you know, I mean, the reality is that many people, nobody I know had any intention of ever seeing this movie. But now curiosity may lead this to become a blockbuster.</s>CAMEROTA: Well, if it's allowed to be released. I mean, Dawn, what is going to happen with this movie?</s>CHMIELEWSKI: There's a considerable amount of hand-wringing, and I think it remains to be seen whether exhibitors are going to stand by it and open it. And there's an ongoing discussion between other film distributors and other studios and the theatrical community about whether or not adjacent films might be hurt. If people decide to stay home at Christmas time, which is a period -- one of the most popular times of the year for families to go out and see movies, this film -- the fears about this film could ripple over and affect other movies that are showing in theaters at this time. So there's a good deal of anxiety at this moment. We'll find out soon,, perhaps, what happens.</s>CAMEROTA: Tom, let's end on a law enforcement note. As a law enforcement officer, do you think that theaters should show this movie?</s>FUENTES: I think they have to make their own decision. But you know, I cannot imagine the terror attack, you know, going after how many tens of thousands of movie theaters we have in the United States.</s>CAMEROTA: Maybe just one. I mean, even just one.</s>FUENTES: Maybe just one. But we have that every day of the week. We have just one. I mean, we have -- we have to worry about crazy people, you know, doing something like what just happened in Sydney, Australia, every day of the week. That can happen. So you're right. But in this case, a major extortion possibly, you know, as a result of a foreign state carrying this attack against us, that's serious business. And I think that, you know, I think obviously the FBI, homeland security, the authorities here and with the partners around the world are going after this as hard as they can. But I don't personally believe that there will be a bombing in a movie theater over this movie.</s>CAMEROTA: Let's hope you're right.</s>FUENTES: That's my opinion, and I hope I'm, you know, right on that.</s>CAMEROTA: We hope you're right, as well. Tom Fuentes, Dawn Chmielewski, thanks so much for this conversation. Of course, we want to hear from you. Would you go see this movie, despite the threats? Should it be released at all? Go to Facebook.com/NewDay or you can tweet us @NewDay. We'd love to hear your thoughts. We'll share them later. Let's get over to Michaela now.</s>MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Alisyn. Thanks so much. Let's give you a look at your headlines. Funerals are under way as Pakistan begins three days of mourning after that deadly Taliban siege at the military school in Peshawar. At least 145 people were killed, among them 132 schoolchildren. In response to the heinous attack, Pakistan's prime minister has now lifted a moratorium on the death penalty for terrorism cases. Also breaking overnight, Australia's prime minister has now pledged an urgent joint review into the deadly hostage situation in Sydney. Prime Minister Tony Abbott said a wide range of issues will be examined, including why the gunman was granted Australian citizenship and how he was able to legally obtain a gun. The full report is expected to be released sometime in January. In the meantime this: a makeshift memorial for the two victims continues to grow. Flowers and cards pile up near the Lindt cafe on Martin Place in Sydney. Government shutdown avoided. Overnight President Obama signed $1.1 trillion spending bill, which would fund most government agencies through September of next year. One big exception, the Department of Homeland Security, which will get a funding extension only through the end of February. A bit of a mystery here. A pickup truck once owned by a plumbing company in Texas has somehow made its way to the front lines of Syria's civil war. A picture of the vehicle was posted online. It shows that this vehicle has been converted into an anti-aircraft weapon for Islamic militants. The owner of the plumbing company said he traded his truck in last November, assuming that the dealership would remove the decal. He also said he had no idea that it would end up in terrorist hands and has no idea how it got there. He says that his business is being flooded with nasty calls and he's quite stupefied about how this happened. He can't figure it out, either.</s>CAMEROTA: How did it get there?</s>CUOMO: It's not surprising he's getting a lot of nasty calls, and it's also not surprising that we are seeing more and more of the adaptability of militants in that area. They're using everything they can to become a weapon. And we're going to see more of it.</s>CAMEROTA: Lay off the calls to that guy. He didn't do anything.</s>PEREIRA: That's why he wanted to come out and say, "Look, I had no idea."</s>CAMEROTA: All right. Well, back to one of our top stories. In the wake of that deadly siege at the school in Pakistan, will the country change its tactics on the Taliban, making it enemy NO. 1? Christiane Amanpour joins us live to talk about that. How did this situation happen? What does it mean about how little control the Pakistan government and military may have? That answer could lead to more U.S. involvement abroad.