Another theater chain has decided not to run the risk of showing Sony’s The Interview. After Carmike Cinemas pulled the film, the small Northeast chain Bow Tie Cinemas has decided to do the same.
Bow Tie is “saddened and angered by recent threats of terrorism in connection with the movie,” the company said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter and TheWrap.
The statement continues:
“It is our mission to ensure the safety and comfort of our guests and employees. Given that the source and credibility of these threats is unknown at the time of this announcement, we have decided after careful consideration not to open The Interview on Dec. 25, 2014 as originally planned. We hope that those responsible for this act are swiftly identified and brought to justice.”
Carmike decided to pull the film from its schedules shortly after Sony said it would give chains the right to decide against showing the films themselves.
Bow Tie is based in Connecticut and has 55 locations throughout New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Virginia and Maryland. They also have locations in Colorado.
Although the film’s Los Angeles premiere went off without an issue, the New York one has been cancelled since the threat of violence against theaters showing the movie surfaced on Wednesday. In addition, Sony has cancelled stars James Franco and Seth Rogen’s press tour to promote it.
The two largest theater chains in the country - Regal and AMC - have not said anything about its plans to run the movie on Christmas Day.
The threatening message from the hackers referenced 9/11 and suggested that people stay away from theaters playing the movie. Homeland Security has said that they have found no specific threat against movie theaters in the U.S. yet, but it’s clear that all of Hollywood is on edge at the moment.
image courtesy of INFphoto.com