Sean Penn, Others in Hollywood Continue to Slam Sony's Decision to Shelve 'The Interview'

Originally published Dec. 17; updated Dec. 19

The drama surrounding the hack attack on Sony (which federal sources are now linking to North Korea) to derail the Seth Rogen-James Franco comedy The Interview came to an unexpected climax Wednesday when Sony announced that it would no longer release the movie on Christmas Day. And many of the actors? Hollywood colleagues are perplexed and/or downright furious with the studio?s decision, which follows threats of violence against theaters screening the film and the decision by five major movie chains not to run it.

You know it?s bad when Rob Lowe and Newt Gingrinch are both attacking you. Here are some of the most notable reactions we?ve seen from Hollywood so far:

Sean Penn (in a letter to Mother Jones): “The damage we do to ourselves typically outweighs the harm caused by outside threats or actions. Then by caving to the outside threat, we make our nightmares real. The decision to pull The Interview is historic. It?s a case of putting short term interests ahead of the long term. If we don?t get the world on board to see that this is a game changer, if this hacking doesn?t frighten the Chinese and the Russians, we?re in for a very different world, a very different country, community, and a very different culture.”

George Clooney (in an interview with Deadline): “This is a silly comedy, but the truth is, what it now says about us is a whole lot. We have a responsibility to stand up against this. That?s not just Sony, but all of us, including my good friends in the press who have the responsibility to be asking themselves: What was important? What was the important story to be covering here? The hacking is terrible because of the damage they did to all those people. Their medical records, that is a horrible thing, their Social Security numbers. Then, to turn around and threaten to blow people up and kill people, and just by that threat alone we change what we do for a living, that?s the actual definition of terrorism.”

Aaron Sorkin: “The U.S. succumbed to an unprecedented attack on our most cherished, bedrock principle of free speech by a group of North Korean terrorists who threatened to kill moviegoers in order to stop the release of a movie. The wishes of the terrorists were fulfilled in part by easily distracted members of the American press who chose gossip and schadenfreude-fueled reporting over a story with immeasurable consequences for the public?a story that was developing right in front of their eyes. My deepest sympathies go out to Sony Pictures, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and everyone who worked on The Interview.?

Ben Stiller: ?Really hard to believe this is the response to a threat to freedom of expression here in America.?

Mia Farrow: ?Damn. Bad guys won.?

Judd Apatow (Tweeted after the theater chains pulled out but prior to Sony?s decision): ?I think it is disgraceful that these theaters are not showing The Interview. Will they pull any movie that gets an anonymous threat now??

Jimmy Kimmel (in response to Apatow): ?I agree wholeheartedly. An un-American act of cowardice that validates terrorist actions and sets a terrifying precedent.?

Rob Lowe: ?Wow. Everyone caved. The hackers won. An utter and complete victory for them. Wow.? (Tweeted politician Newt Gingrich in response to Lowe: ?It wasn?t the hackers who won, it was the terrorists and almost certainly the North Korean dictatorship, this was an act of war.?)

Rob Lowe (again): ?Saw @ Sethrogen at JFK. Both of us have never seen or heard of anything like this. Hollywood has done Neville Chamberlain proud today.?

Steve Carell (whose upcoming North Korea-set film, Pyongyang, was also canceled today in reaction the events at Sony): ?Sad day for creative expression. #feareatsthesoul?

Michael Moore: ?Dear Sony Hackers: now that u run Hollywood, I?d also like less romantic comedies, fewer Michael Bay movies and no more Transformers.?

Zach Braff: ?Canceling ?The Interview? seems like a pretty horrible precedent to set.?

Patton Oswalt: ?THE INTERVIEW is now poised to shatter the world record for ?spite viewings.?

Neil Gaiman: ?So SONY fight back by canceling The Interview, thus proving to the hackers that hacking & threats work very well? That may prove an error.?

Josh Gad: ?The precedent of letting a nation state get away w cyber terrorism is 1 that will set the tone for anyone who wishes 2 suppress our freedoms.?

Dax Shepard: ?While I understand the necessity to pull The Interview, it makes me furious. Free speech is the most admirable tenet in our constitution.?

Damon Wayans Jr.: ?We do not negotiate with terrorists. We just do exactly what they say.?

Bill Maher: ?Is that all it takes - an anonymous threat and the numbers 911 - to throw free expression under the bus? #P***yNation?

Tom Bergeron: ?North Korean hackers are the new Siskel and Ebert. Instead of thumbs they use the middle finger.?

Arsenio Hall: ?Waiting in line & I bought a cheap pair of sunglasses, and bootleg copy of Sony?s ?The Interview? in front of Roscoes Chicken And Waffles!?

Photo: Associated Press