Sony Forced To Suspend Production On Film Projects In Wake Of Hacks: Report

Things keep getting worse for the Sony Corp. The company has reportedly been forced to suspend production of some of its films in the aftermath of the massive hack on its Sony Pictures Entertainment computer network in late November.

According to an unidentified source who spoke with the Times of London, Sony has temporarily abandoned several shoots after the hack affected its computer system’s ability to process payments to those working for it. This forced some of the company’s third-party contributors to stop production until the problem is solved.

The cyberattack led to Sony’s computer network being taken over and forced to shut down temporarily. Additionally, the hackers leaked a slew of embarrassing emails from employees, the scripts to planned films and information about the salaries of certain actors and actresses.

The most damaging leak may have been a heated conversation between Amy Pascal, the co-chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Scott Rudin, a producer, about the studio’s forthcoming Steve Jobs biopic. In the intense email exchange, actress Angelina Jolie came under heavy fire, as did David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin. Other emails between the two revealed casual jokes about U.S. President Barack Obama that bordered on racism. Rudin issued a public apology for the jokes.

A hacking collective calling itself Guardians of Peace took credit for the attack in a creepy computer screen message to Sony employees. It threatened to continue the cyberattacks unless the company cancels the Seth Rogen and James Franco flick “The Interview,” which is set to premiere Christmas Day. The controversial comedy features two journalists enlisted by the CIA to assassinate the real-life ruler of North Korea, Kim Jong Un. This has caused many to believe that Guardians of Peace is working with that country. However, North Korea officials have denied that this is the case, according to the New York Times.

The reports on suspended production of Sony projects didn’t explicitly state which projects were on hold or how long the payment issues are expected to continue. Sony has yet to make a statement on the matter.