Sony Hackers

Ben Affleck is owning up to coercing "Finding Your Roots" producers to omit the fact one of his ancestors owned slaves -- and admits he was embarrassed by the discovery.

Affleck copped to lobbying the PBS show to hold the slavery -- which it did -- because "the very thought left a bad taste in my mouth." In the apology, posted on Facebook, he says participating in the show makes you vulnerable ... and he assumed it would not "include things you think would embarrass your family."

The cover-up only came to light when WikiLeaks posted hacked Sony emails between Ben and show execs.

Amy Pascal is leaving her position as Sony Pictures chief.

We're told she will transition out of her current role in May. Pascal and Sony CEO Michael Lynton struck a deal in which she will get a major production deal, focusing on movies, TV and theater.

Pascal has been embroiled in the Sony leak scandal, where some of the things she wrote privately in emails ruffled lots of feathers both inside and outside the studio.

Pascal's contract was up in March, but our sources say the deal between Pascal and Lynton was struck in the last few weeks.

It may have pissed off his BFF Kim Jong Un ... but Dennis Rodman didn't seem to have a problem with "The Interview."

The Worm was leaving Talesai restaurant on Sunset when we asked if watched the Seth Rogen comedy that became an international political issue over a death scene involving Un.

Unclear if Rodman actually saw the flick, but when we asked him how he felt about the situation as a whole ... he told us, "It's all good."

No anger. No outrage. Nothing.

Interesting note ... Thursday was Kim Jong Un's birthday.

Last year, Rodman celebrated the occasion by singing "Happy Birthday" to Un in person. This year ... Thai food in Hollywood.

Wonder what changed?

President Obama is doubling down on the U.S. government's claim that North Korea was behind the hack on Sony ... by punishing North Korean officials where it hurts -- in the wallet.

The Department of Treasury cut off ties with 10 North Korean officials Friday and 3 entities who have direct ties to the North Korean government -- despite claims of the hack being an inside inside job -- saying they can no longer have financial dealings with America.

However, during a press briefing ... U.S. officials said they couldn't establish whether the men/entities being punished had been directly involved in the Sony hacking.

The Sony Pictures hack was masterminded by a former Sony employee -- at least partially -- according to a security firm which is now refuting the FBI's claim that North Korea was responsible.

Cybersecurity firm Norse Corp says its identified six suspects directly involved in the attack on Sony's records -- and they live in Canada, Thailand, Singapore ... but the former employee is based in the U.S.

According to the Daily Caller ... Norse Corp says the ex-staffer -- a woman identified as "Lena" -- has "extensive knowledge of the company's network and operations" and was laid off in May.

The information flies in the face of the FBI ...which firmly pointed the finger at Kim Jong-un last week.

Important to note ... Norse Corp was not hired by Sony and was conducting its own independent probe into the hack. We've contacted Sony to see if they're now working with Norse Corp ... so far no word back.

Sorry, Seth Rogen -- but no one is pulling for "The Interview" more than Sony Pictures honcho Amy Pascal ... because a flop could mean it's curtains for her at Sony.

Pascal fielded a bunch of questions -- about the Sony hack, yanking the movie, only to release it after all -- when she flew into LAX Saturday night.

It's the first time she's addressed the controversy in public -- and the most telling part is Pascal's response when asked if the initial $1 million-plus box office take for "The Interview" will save her job.

You gotta see it. Oh, and she's also asked about the conspiracy theory -- that President Obama leaned on her and Sony to put the movie out.

The Sony hacking has made negotiating contracts with stars and suits almost impossible ... TMZ has learned.

Sony and other industry sources tell us ... the salary leaks have triggered intense anger ... especially with execs who think they've been screwed because the guy in the next office has a sweeter deal.

We're told some execs are furious at the bonus structure they got, because they believed they were top of the heap when they weren't. One source said some contracts have already come up for renewal and "Sony's getting nailed to the wall."

Same principle applies to movie and TV stars, who now have comps to use against the studio.

Several agents and entertainment lawyers tell TMZ ... they feel totally comfortable using the salary comps, but one Sony exec thinks it's shameful for reps to use stolen information in negotiations.

Kim Jong-Un's mouthpiece called President Barack Obama a "monkey" for forcing Sony to release "The Interview" -- and for pulling off a cyber counter attack on North Korea.

A rep for Kim's National Defense Commission resorted to 4th grade name calling in an angry statement about the movie coming out ... saying, "Obama always goes reckless in words and deeds like a monkey in a tropical forest."

N. Korea denies involvement in the Sony hack, but believes its own recent Internet outage was the work of big wigs in Washington, DC looking to retaliate.

"The Interview" was splashed across a movie screen in downtown L.A. to a packed house, which included an ebullient Seth Rogen.

The Silent Movie Theatre screened the flick just after midnight on XMAS day. Seth charged up the crowd, taking the stage and saying, "If it wasn't for theaters like this and people like you, this wouldn't be f***ing happening."

A total of 331 movie houses will play the film beginning Thursday, but in a crazy twist they'll be competing with Video On Demand ... it's available on YouTube Movies, Google+ and Xbox.

James Bond was white, is white and should always be white ... at least according to Rush Limbaugh.

On his radio show Tuesday, Limbaugh was reacting to a story that came from the leaked Sony emails ... saying Idris Elba, star of "Luther" and "The Wire," should take over the iconic part from Daniel Craig.

But Limbaugh feels that Elba (who he describes as "African-English," since Elba is a Brit) is not right for the role because Bond was created as a white guy and should stay that way.

Limbaugh said, "Now Sony is suggesting that the next James Bond should be Idris Elba, a black Briton rather than a white from Scotland. But that's not who James Bond is, and I know it's racist to probably even point this out."

9:27 AM PT -- It's a done deal ... "The Interview" will be available online TODAY (Christmas Eve) via YouTube, Google Play, the Microsoft Xbox video game console and a special Web site called SeeTheInterview.com.

It will cost $5.99 to rent and $14.99 to buy and should be available at 1:00 PM ET.

The schizophrenic execs at Sony have come up with yet another change of course on "The Interview" ... this time nearing a deal to release it on YouTube.

The plan, according to CNN, is to have the film available for rental on YouTube the same day it goes into theaters ... Christmas Day. It's not a 100% done deal and Sony already had a deal with iTunes fall apart.

It's latest about face for Sony ... the studio has reversed course multiple times over "The Interview" ... even more than Karrueche changes her mind about Chris Brown.

Our inside sources at Sony say it's bedlam over there and there is no singular voice making the decisions ... which explains the Sybil act.

In addition to the theater flip-flop -- which intiially drew harsh criticism from Prez Obama -- Sony also pulled the flick off social media, per the hacker's demands.

James Caan has a dog in the Sony hacking scandal fight, but you don't see him complaining ... because he's already been paid!

Lost in all the commotion about "The Interview" is a movie called "The Throwaways" ... which is actually about cyber hacking. Caan is one of the film's stars and it was supposed to premiere this month on Crackle (which is owned by Sony) ... but the company pushed it back because of the scandal.

But when our photog asked him about the film Tuesday night outside of Madeo, Caan said once he cashes the check ... it's out of sight, out of mind.

10:30 AM PT -- Seth Rogen tweeted about the news, writing, "The people have spoken! Freedom has prevailed! Sony didn't give up! The Interview will be shown at theaters willing to play it on Xmas day!"

James Franco jokingly added, ""The Interview" starring Seth Rogen and James Flacco saved by President Obacco! I MEAN PRESIDENT OBAMA!!!!! Sorry!!!"

In a bizarre twist ... Sony has done an about face and it's green-lighting "The Interview" for theaters to run on XMAS day.

The CEO of Alamo Drafthouse Cinema tells TMZ .... Sony called Monday and said a copy of the film would be delivered Wednesday. The CEO -- was vague about extra security, but says it will run in more than 20 theaters, located in Texas, Colorado, Virginia, New York and more.

An Atlanta theater owner says he got a similar call and he plans on running it as well.

It was a simple question -- Would you ever work with Sony again? -- but Kevin Hart didn't answer ... or did he?

Hart -- who is easily the most talkative and approachable big celeb in town these days -- was leaving a club in Hollywood Monday night when our photog asked the question. It seems relevant, given that one Sony exec called Hart "a whore."

Hart, who initially came out swinging for "his brand" ... deflected our question in an interesting way.

Check it out.

Dennis Rodman no longer wants to be seen with Kim Jong-un -- at least not in a video game -- and he's threatening legal action if a video gamer doesn't make some big changes ... STAT.

The game is called "Glorious Leader!" -- and players can take on America as the N. Korean dictator or as his trusted ally, Rodman. The game was designed by Jeff Miller and his company, Moneyhorse ... and Dennis is not pleased with his role in the game.

TMZ obtained a letter Rodman's attorney sent to Miller ... demanding Dennis be removed from the game because it portrays him in a "negative light."

The letter makes it sound like Dennis has finally taken off the blinders when it comes to Kim Jong-un.