Sony CEO Responds to Obama: 'We Have Not Caved'

Sony Pictures Entertainment Chairman Michael Lynton hit back after President Obama faulted the Hollywood studio for canceling the Christmas release of The Interview.

“We have not caved. We have not given in. We have persevered,” Lynton told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria in an interview that will air on AC360, according to a producer at the network.

“We would still like the public to see this movie,” he added. “Absolutely.”

The studio was responding to the president’s remarks on its decision to pull the movie amid threats of violence from hackers who were linked to North Korea.

“Yes, I think they made a mistake,” Obama said at a press conference, in response to a question about whether he agreed with Sony’s decision.

“We can not have a society in which some dictator some place can start imposing censorship in the United States,” he said.

Lynton and Sony Pictures Co-Chairman Amy Pascal have been longtime supporters of the president and Obama held a fundraiser on the studio’s Culver City lot for his re-election campaign.

Sony cancelled the film’s Christmas debut on Wednesday after a majority of theater owners declined to exhibit the picture. The hackers who hit Sony evoked the memory of 9/11 while threatening to strike movie theaters that showed the film.

“The President, the press, and the public are mistaken as to what actually happened,” Lynton said. “We do not own movie theaters. We cannot determine whether or not a movie will be played in movie theaters.”

The Interview centers on a hapless talk show host (James Franco) and his producer (Seth Rogen) as they attempt to assassinate North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. As Variety reported exclusively, the film’s cancellation could end up costing Sony $75 million, only part of which will be covered by insurance.

Despite the financial hit, Lynton refused to second-guess the decision to greenlight the film.

“Yeah, I would make the movie again,” he said.

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Image credits: AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, AP Photo/Danny Moloshok, File