In an explosive front-page story The New York Times said Monday that Sony’s CEO Kazuo Hirai himself intervened to tone down elements of “The Interview,” and erased much doubt that North Korea has played a role in the paralyzing hack attack on the Hollywood studio.
The article, reported by nine contributors from around the world, amounts to a damning indictment of Sony Pictures Entertainment, suggesting that studio naivete lay the groundwork for catastrophe in making what was supposed to be a light buddy comedy with Seth Rogen and James Franco.
The article makes clear that Tokyo was seriously concerned about the implications of the movie, and that Hirai intervened in the moviemaking process for fear of reaction by North Korea for the first time since owning the movie studio.