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‘Interview’ premiere canceled after Sony terror threat

Sony’s hackers are vowing a 9/11-style attack on moviegoers who attend “The Interview” — a threat so chilling that Thursday’s New York premiere of the film has been canceled.

“Warning. We will clearly show it to you at the very time and places ‘The Interview’ be shown, including the premiere, how bitter fate those who seek fun in terror should be doomed to,” read a note purportedly written by the anonymous hacker group Guardians of Peace.

“Soon all the world will see what an awful movie Sony Pictures Entertainment has made. The world will be full of fear. Remember the 11th of September 2001.
We recommend you to keep yourself distant from the places at that time. (If your house is nearby, you’d better leave.) Whatever comes in the coming days is called by the greed of Sony Pictures Entertainment. All the world will denounce the SONY.”

The message was sent out at around 9:30 a.m. and was accompanied by the release of another set of files linked to Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Sony took the immediate and unusual step of telling theaters they can opt out of their commitments to show the movie.

Then, late Tuesday, Landmark Theatres said it was canceling the movie’s New York premiere, scheduled for Thursday night at the Sunshine Cinema on the Lower East Side. No explanation was given for the cancellation, news of which was broken by Deadline Hollywood.

Although the note is threatening, “There is no credible intelligence to indicate an active plot against movie theaters within the United States,” a federal law enforcement source told The Post.

Likewise, the risk that a terrorist attack would have unfolded during this week’s much-anticipated premiere of “The Interview” was also extremely unlikely, another source added.

What the hackers are instead trying to do is hit Sony where it could hurt most — in its wallet.

Because North Koreans claim the controversial film casts leader Kim Jong-un in a negative light, computer experts from the rogue state are simply trying to use intimidation tactics to steer people away from theaters, according to the source.

But two people who weren’t ready to call the hackers’ bluff were Seth Rogen and James Franco, the movie’s co-stars.

They slammed the brakes on their promotional tour for “The Interview” on Tuesday, scrapping all public appearances.

NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence and Counterterrorism John Miller insists that authorities will be out in full force at theaters across the city that show the movie.

“We have been down this road before with other films, about bin Laden and others,” Miller said Tuesday. “We will be beefing up security anywhere there’s a marquee, with patrols, critical response vehicles and the Hercules teams.”

Miller said the increased security detail should help people feel secure.

“I think our primary posture is going to be to have a police presence and a response capability that will reassure people who may have heard about this and have concerns,” he said.

Additional reporting by Aaron Feis