WATCH ABOVE: The group that says it’s responsible for the cyber-attack is threatening violence against movie theatres showing The Interview. Don Champion is at a theatre in New York where the premiere of the movie has been cancelled.
Update (Dec. 17): The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said it is aware of the latest threats made by the Guardians of Peace; however, the agency added there is no credible evidence of an active terrorist plot against any movie theatres in the U.S.
“We are still analyzing the credibility of these statements, but at this time there is no credible intelligence to indicate an active plot against movie theatres within the United States,” read a statement issued Tuesday.
Sony has also responded to the threats, giving theatre owners the green light to scrap plans to show the film.
Some U.S. theatres have started to pull The Interview in the wake of the threats. The film’s New York premiere at Sunshine Cinema, scheduled to take place Thursday, has also been cancelled.
According to a report by the LA Times, Carmike Cinemas, the fourth-largest theatre chain in the U.S., was the first to scrap plans to show The Interview.
On Wednesday afternoon, listings for The Interview were pulled from the websites of both Cineplex and Rainbow cinemas. Cinplex released a statement Wednesday saying the company was postponing showing the movie.
“Cineplex takes seriously its commitment to the freedom of artistic expression, but we want to reassure our guests and staff that their safety and security is our number one priority,” read the statement.
READ MORE: Cineplex to postpone showing ‘The Interview’
The film is due to hit theatres on Christmas Day.
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TORONTO – The hacker group claiming to be behind the devastating Sony Pictures hack released a statement Tuesday threatening the premiere of Sony’s upcoming comedy The Interview and any theatre that chooses to show the film.
In a statement posted to an anonymous information sharing site, the group known as the Guardians of Peace (GOP) said, “We will clearly show it to you at the very time and places The Interview be shown, including the premiere, how bitter fate those who seek fun in terror should be doomed to.”
“Soon all the world will see what an awful movie Sony Pictures Entertainment has made. The world will be full of fear,” the statement continued.
The group went as far as to reference the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 in its statement.
“Remember the 11th of September 2001,” the group said. “We recommend you to keep yourself distant from the places at that time. (If your house is nearby, you’d better leave.)”
READ MORE: Hackers demand Sony cancel The Interview release
The GOP has demanded that Sony cancel the release of the film, in which Seth Rogen and James Franco star as journalists who are enlisted by the CIA to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un during an interview.
The hackers claimed responsibility for an attack on Sony Pictures’ systems two weeks ago, which knocked corporate email and other internal systems offline. Sony workers reportedly saw a message appear on their computer screens that read, “Hacked by #GOP.”
Since then, a bevy of internal information has been leaked online, including unreleased Sony Pictures films, employee salary information, layoff strategies, thousands of employee social insurance numbers and private emails from Sony executives.
WATCH: ‘Night at the Museum’ stars talk hacking of Sony Pictures
READ MORE: Producer apologizes for calling Angelina Jolie ‘spoiled brat’ in leaked emails
Sony is working with the FBI and Silicon Valley security firm FireEye to investigate the attack.
The latest statement from the group was accompanied by more internal data from Sony, this time targeting the company’s chief executive officer Michael Lynton.
Before the attacks, North Korea threatened “merciless retaliation” against the U.S. and any other country that allows the film to be played.
The FBI said in a statement released Tuesday it is aware of the threats and “continues to work collaboratively with our partners to investigate this matter.”
There has been much speculation that North Korea was involved in the attack. The country recently released a statement denying responsibility, but also harshly condemning the movie.
Last week, FBI investigators said they had not yet determined who was responsible for the attack and added they had no evidence that North Korea was involved.
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