Leading American actors have criticised Sony's decision to cancel the release of a satirical film about North Korea following threats from hackers, the BBC reports.
The FBI is leading the investigation on the destructive hacking attack on Sony Pictures, and Sony shelved the comedy film The Interview. The film is about a fictional plot to kill North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
The decision was made after many cinemas refused to screen the film because hackers had issued a warning to filmgoers.
There has been dismay in Hollywood, with Ben Stiller calling the move “a threat to freedom of expression”, the BBC reports.
Steve Carell said Sony's decision was a sad day for creative of expression and Rob Lowe called it a “victory” for the hackers.
On Wednesday it emerged that Carell's planned film project, a thriller called Pyongyang about a Westerner working in North Korea, was scrapped ahead of Sony's announcement.
Several other famous names have criticised the decision to shelve the movie, accusing the studio of caving in to the hackers' threats.
Oscar-wining screenwriter Aaron Sorkin has already attacked the media for spreading information leaked by the hackers and said the US had succumbed to an unprecedented attack on "our most cherished, bedrock principle of free speech.