--- --- # Obama Tells America to 'Go to the Movies' by [Entertainment Weekly / C. Molly Smith](https://time.com/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Entertainment Weekly / C. Molly Smith Dec 18, 2014 4:10 AM UTC by [Entertainment Weekly / C. Molly Smith](https://time.com/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Entertainment Weekly / C. Molly Smith Dec 18, 2014 4:10 AM UTC In an interview with _ABC News_ that aired Wednesday, President Barack Obama addressed the recent cyber attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment. He recognized the severity of the situation, but suggested people still go to the movies. “Well, the cyber attack is very serious,” Obama said. “We’re investigating it. We’re taking it seriously. You know, we’ll be vigilant. If we see something that we think is serious and credible, then we’ll alert the public. But for now, my recommendation would be that people go to the movies.” Moviegoers, however, won’t be able to see the film believed to be at the center of it all: _The Interview_. Unknown hackers recently broke into Sony’s computer system and released sensitive information: emails, Social Security numbers, salary figures, projects in development, etc. It was thought to be a move against Sony’s Kim Jong-un-assassination comedy, _The Interview_. On Tuesday, that thought was confirmed. The [hackers threatened a 9/11-style attack](http://news-briefs.ew.com/2014/12/16/sony-hack-911-threat/) against those going to see the film, prompting Sony to[cancel its release](http://insidemovies.ew.com/2014/12/17/sony-cancels-christmas-theatrical-release-of-the-interview/). Shortly after, it was revealed that the [North Korean government was “centrally involved” in the attack](http://news-briefs.ew.com/2014/12/17/intelligence-officials-north-korea-sony-hack/). [_This article originally appeared on EW.com_](http://news-briefs.ew.com/2014/12/17/sony-obama-the-interview-movies/) Obama Tells America to ‘Go to the Movies’ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3639394/obama-the-interview-sony-hack/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3639394/obama-the-interview-sony-hack/"},"headline":"Obama Tells America to 'Go to the Movies'","datePublished":"2014-12-18T04:10:28.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T02:57:54.569Z","description":"After Sony pulled The Interview amid threads","url":"https://time.com/3639394/obama-the-interview-sony-hack/","keywords":["White House"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Entertainment Weekly / C. Molly Smith"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/white-house/","name":"White House"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3639394/obama-the-interview-sony-hack/","name":"Obama Tells America to 'Go to the Movies'"}}]}] ```