Celebrity Hackings

The FBI is confirming North Korea is responsible for the cyber attack on Sony Pictures -- and it has a ton of evidence to back it up.

The agency says the North Korean government's fingerprints are all over the attack -- which used specific malware and IP addresses connected to previous attacks ... that it knows were carried out by N. Korea.

The FBI is treating the hack as an act of terrorism intended to "inflict significant harm on a U.S. business and suppress the right of American citizens to express themselves."

George Clooney sent a petition to the most powerful people in Hollywood -- asking them to take a stand against the cyber-terrorists and in favor of freedom -- yet not a single person would sign.

Clooney wrote his petition before Sony pulled the plug on "The Interview." It reads, "We know that to give in to these criminals now will open the door for any group that would threaten freedom of expression, privacy and personal liberty ... we will not stand in fear."

The actor told Deadline, no one wanted to be the first to sign their name, and it was clearly out of blind fear. A frustrated Clooney said, "We cannot be told we can't see something by Kim Jong-un, of all f***ing people."

Clooney believes what was really going on is that everyone was afraid their emails would be hacked, so they compromised freedom of expression to save their own hides.

Former NBA All-Star Kenny Anderson says Sony Pictures absolutely did the right thing by pulling "The Interview" out of theaters ... and adds he can't figure out why they made it in the first place.

Kenny actually met Kim Jong-un when he went to North Korea in January as part of Dennis Rodman's goodwill team of ex-NBA players. He tells TMZ Sports ... "I was trippin' when I saw the movie preview. Why would they want to ruffle their feathers? They already hate America."

Kenny says Kim Jong-un actually treated him very well while he was there -- but admits he was ignorant to the atrocities committed by Kim's regime ... until he got back stateside.

He says he's confused about the plan to greenlight 'Interview' .. but adds, "I think they might've been trying to make Americans aware of some of the stuff that happens over there."

Former U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Hunstman, Jr. isn't scared of North Korea and doesn't think Sony should be either ... and he thinks Sony screwed up by shelving 'The Interview.'

Our D.C. photog felt Hunstman was the perfect person to ask, since he's North Korea adjacent, having served as U.S. Ambassador to both Singapore and China.

The former presidential hopeful had some friendly advice for Sony: Don't let anybody stand in the way of what you do best ... making movies.

Al Sharpton is willing to give Sony Pictures chief Amy Pascal a chance to prove she'll do the right thing for African Americans, but he says, "The proof is in the pudding and you don't know until you eat it."

Sharpton tells TMZ he met with Pascal for 90 minutes Thursday in NYC, and she admitted she was "wrong and silly" to engage producer Scott Rudin in speculation that Prez Obama only likes "black movies."

Sharpton says the head of the National Urban League was also on hand and told her they were "outraged" by her comments. She said it was "an isolated incident," but Sharpton retorted it was indicative of a bigger problem in Hollywood ... no blacks at the top.

Seth Rogen is back in the saddle, showing up at Sony Thursday morning, but we're told he feels betrayed by the studio's decision to shelve "The Interview."

If you believe Rob Lowe ... Seth was fuming over Sony's decision Wednesday. Rob -- who was also in the movie -- said he and Seth were in lockstep and that Sony showed cowardice by crumbling.

Sources connected to Seth tell TMZ ... Rob did indeed chitchat with Seth at JFK about the Sony decision, and it wasn't hard to read between the lines that Seth is pissed.

It makes sense ... during the premiere in Hollywood last week ... Seth praised Sony Pictures chief Amy Pascal for having the balls to stand up to the hackers.

The Sony lot probably seems smaller today.

Sony is telling people who signed up for their studio tour to take a walk ... anywhere but on the Sony lot.

Sources at the studio tell TMZ ... their tour has been put on ice since the hacker attack ... and a big reason is that its 2 hour walking could pose a big threat to Sony. The tour is touted as a behind the scenes look at a working studio. The idea of someone straying from the group is too real a possibility.

A stoic Seth Rogen arrived in L.A. Wednesday night ... and however he feels about Sony pulling the plug on his movie ... he's keeping it to himself.

Seth was impassive as photogs peppered him with questions. He didn't respond to a question about Rob Lowe's tweet Wednesday, suggesting he and Seth were comrades in arms over their distaste for Sony's decision.

As Rogen and his pooch made their way to the awaiting limo, a guy who looks like security was by his side.

As for Lowe, he went to Craig's in West Hollywood last night ... a sure fire way for any celeb to get on camera. But for some reason he's more into tweeting than talking.

1:20 PM PDT -- Time.com updated the picture with the right Amy.

Amy Pascal spent Wednesday afternoon tooling around L.A. on the TMZ Hollywood Tour, while Sony was in utter turmoil.

Amy is NOT the same Amy Pascal who runs Sony Pictures, but tell that to USA Today, Time.com and various other media outlets, that have plastered her picture on their publications and dragged her face through the mud.

You gotta see the video ... Amy, a marketing exec, says she was at an AdWeek event a few months ago and had her pic taken on the red carpet. Her pic showed up on Getty Images and was misidentified as the Amy Pascal from Sony.

News outlets took the pic and ran, which pisses her off because she's 41 ... 15 years younger than her namesake.

Now she's getting a torrent of angry tweets from people who think she sent all those emails.

Carl Bernstein has some serious questions about Sony's decision to pull "The Interview" from theaters ... and he's planning on digging for answers.

The legendary journalist talked to our photog just after the news broke Wednesday afternoon ... saying he hopes Sony made the move because of a credible threat and not out of cowardice.

Bernstein said he'll call his sources to find out if Sony was justified based on real threats ... and the guy clearly has sources.

Rob Lowe just blasted Sony, calling the movie company a spineless sellout and comparing it to the famous British Prime Minister who caved in to Hitler.

Lowe reacted to Sony's decision to pull "The Interview," saying, "Saw @Sethrogen at JFK. Both of us have never seen or heard of anything like this. Hollywood has done Neville Chamberlain proud today."

Chamberlain famously conceded Czechoslovakia to the Nazis in 1938. His policy of appeasement became synonymous with cowardice.

So far no word from Seth Rogen on whether he embraces Rob's statement.

Jimmy Kimmel tweeted, "An un-American act of cowardice that validates terrorist actions and sets a terrifying precedent."

And Newt Gingrich got into the act, tweeting "@RobLowe, No one should kid themselves. With the Sony collapse America has lost its first cyberwar. This is a very very dangerous precedent."

To which Rob retweeted "It wasn't the hackers who won, it was the terrorists and almost certainly the North Korean dictatorship, this was an act of war."

Michael Moore just fired his own salvo saying, "Dear Sony Hackers: now that u run Hollywood, I'd also like less romantic comedies, fewer Michael Bay movies and no more Transformers."

Newt Gingrich wants President Obama to treat the Sony hackers just like Osama Bin Laden -- by tracking them down and getting revenge for what he calls America's first defeat in a cyber war.

We talked to the former Speaker of the House in NYC ... right after Sony announced it was pulling "The Interview" from theaters and he did not try to hide his anger over the hack.

Gingrich says we've now opened the door for foreign terrorists to control American media. As he puts it ... "If they [the Sony hackers] can pull it off, do the Iranians come next?"

3:15 PM PT -- U.S. investigators have determined the Sony hackers were working with, or for, North Korea ... according to CNN.

Sony has pulled the plug on the XMAS release of "The Interview," after a number of theater chains bailed.

TMZ broke the story Thursday morning ... Sony execs felt their out was if distributors yanked the film because of safety concerns. That would give Sony an out without directly bending to the hackers.

Sony just released a statement, saying, "In light of the decision by the majority of our exhibitors not to show the film The Interview, we have decided not to move forward with the planned December 25 theatrical release."

The statement goes on, saying, "We are deeply saddened at this brazen effort to suppress the distribution of a movie, and in the process do damage to our company, our employees, and the American public."

The execs are underscoring the distinction between pulling the film because of the distributors rather than out of fear, saying, "We stand by our filmmakers and their right to free expression and are extremely disappointed by this outcome."

2:00 PM PT -- AMC Theaters has decided to pull the plug as well, saying, "At this time, to best enable AMC guests to plan their holiday movie-going with certainty and confidence, AMC is programming its theatres without 'The Interview.'"

1:15 PM PT -- Canada's top theater chain, Cineplex, has postponed screening "The Interview."

12:10 PM PT -- Two more major movie chains -- Regal Entertainment and Carmike Cinemas -- have now decided to drop the film as well.

10:10 AM PT -- Bow Tie Cinemas became the second major chain to announce they will not be showing the film on any of their 350 screens. Bow Tie CEO Ben Moss said "the safety and comfort of our patrons is foremost in our minds."

Sony execs think there's a way to yank "The Interview" and still not give in to the cyber-terrorists.

Industry insiders with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... studio heads are now banking on a flurry of cancellations from the various movie distributors across the country ... to the point where it would not make economic sense to release it.

We're told the execs are actually viewing the latest threat as having a silver lining ... the threat of a 9/11-type attack will make so many theaters pull the flick themselves -- and Sony won't have to do it. One movie chain has already reportedly folded -- the Carmike Cinemas. ArcLight is mulling over what to do.

We're told Sony execs want the bleeding to stop ... especially attacks against mid and low-level employees whose lives, finances and health issues have been exposed.

Surprisingly ... there's talk about the movie getting play on some sort of pay-per-view platform, but that seems odd if they want the hacking to stop.

With the Sony hackers now threatening violence -- James Franco is applying the old theory go big or go home ... when it comes to the security guard tailing him around NYC.

Franco was leaving a restaurant in Manhattan Tuesday night with his new muscle in tow. He was in town to promote "The Interview" and attend the premiere ... which Sony ended up cancelling last night.

Sony Pictures Chief Amy Pascal will NOT step down ... and we're told there has been a groundswell of celebrity support for her to keep her job.

Our industry sources tell TMZ ... more than 50 showbiz bigwigs -- many of whom are celebrities -- have contacted Pascal and other honchos at Sony voicing support for her. Ironically, a number of the supporters voice their sentiment via email to various execs at Sony.

We're told the celebs who have come forward include Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow, John Singleton, Jack Nicholson and Tyler Perry. As for that pic of Jolie with the steely look as Pascal hugged her ... we're told it was just a moment in time.

We're told Pascal is winning some points by spending much of her time in the last few days focusing on the security and safety of the employees.

Pascal is under fire for her emails with producer Scott Rudin about Prez Obama's film preferences, which Rudin said ranged from "12 Years a Slave" to "Ride Along."