President: Sony Hack Is Serious But 'Go to the Movies'

President Barack Obama told the American people to "go to the movies" Wednesday, though that was before Sony announced that one of the movies they would not be going to was The Interview, the Seth Rogen comedy about assassinating North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

That announcement came after several large theater chains said they would not air the film.

"The cyber attack is very serious. We're investigating it and taking it very seriously," the President told ABC in an interview. "We'll be vigilant. If we see something that is serious and credible, then we'll alert the public."

He was not alerting the public. He suggested that — despite the hackers' veiled threat of a 911-style Christmas Day attack on filmgoers — "for now, my recommendation would be that people go to the movies."

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.