The US government let it out that it believes North Korea was behind the now-infamous hacking attack at Sony Pictures.  That came shortly after Sony announced that it would not released the Seth Rogan-James Franco comedy “The Interview” because of the hackers threatening to attack theaters where it would have been shown.

Several major movie chains informed Sony that they would not screen the movie.  Later on, there was word that Sony may not even release it on cable TV pay-per-view or on-demand.

“In light of the decision by the majority of our exhibitors not to show the film ‘The Interview’, we have decided not to move forward with the planned December 25 theatrical release,” read a statement from Sony.  “We respect and understand our partners' decision and, of course, completely share their paramount interest in the safety of employees and theatre-goers.”

“The Interview” is about two wacky reporters tasked with assassinating the leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un.  There’ve been a few movies out of the US in recent years that directly lampoon the leadership in Pyongyang, but this is the first to make assassination the major plot point. 

US investigators strongly suspect the attack was carried out by a North Korean government hacking team known as “Unit 121” in the General Bureau of Reconnaissance.  That groups is believed to be responsible for hacks directed at South Korean companies earlier this year.

Even before threatening to bomb theaters that showed “The Interview”, the hackers released all sorts of embarrassing documents from Sony’s servers: Snotty emails in which studio executives trash their stars, unreleased scripts and entire movies, personal health records, even the phone numbers and social security IDs of famous actors.

A lot of stars are blasting Sony for apparently caving in to threats from North Korea.  Pundits claimed that Kim Jong-un now has veto power over what moviegoers are allowed to see.

But one of the leaked emails reveals that Sony didn’t have a lot of faith in “The Interview”, with UK Sony Pictures exec Peter Taylor describing the comedy as a “misfire”, “unfunny and repetitive”, with “a level of realistic violence that would be shocking in a horror movie.”

The hackers might have handed Sony a way out for a movie it didn’t want to see light of day.  But on the surface, it could very well be North Korea 1, Sony 0.