????IT has been nearly four weeks since a shadowy group calling themselves the Guardians of Peace (GOP) began disseminating confidential information hacked from Sony Pictures. ????There have been more twists and turns than one of the movie studio’s action films and things have spiralled far out of Sony’s control embarrassing top executives, big players in Hollywood and those who do business with them. ????On Wednesday things came to a head after a serious threat of violence. The Christmas Day release of “The Interview” — a film believed to have been the catalyst for the hack — was canceled after GOP threatened a “bitter fate” for those who seek “fun in terror” with violence reminiscent of 9/11. ????From the cancellations of “The Interview” premiere to leaked private emails, here’s how the story has unfolded so far. ????HACKED BY GOP: ????A hackers’ message appeared on Sony employees’ computer screens simultaneously Nov. 24. The hackers, GOP, claims to have obtained around 100 terabytes of stolen data and threatened to release the data to the world if disobeyed. All phones, email services and office PCs at the Sony headquaters were paralysed for several days. ????‘THE INTERVIEW’ ????LINKED TO ATTACK: ????Within days of the hack, rumors begin to circulate that the attack may be a response to Seth Rogen and James Franco’s “The Interview,” which features an imagined CIA plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The North Korean government warned over the summer that the film’s release represented “an act of war” that would lead to “merciless” retaliation against the United States. ????FILMS DUMPED ONLINE: ????A week after the attack, five films, four of which were yet-to-be-released, were published on online file-sharing hubs. These included “Annie,” “Mr. Turner,” “Still Alice,” “To Write Love on Her Arms” and the already released “Fury.” ????EMPLOYEE SALARIES LEAKED: ????The salaries of more than 6,000 current and former Sony employees and the pre-bonus salaries of the top 17 Sony executives are leaked and published by several news sites including Deadline. The FBI gets involved at Sony’s request. ????EMAILS LEAKED: ????The first trickle of information about big Hollywood names begins to be published with alleged emails from Sony employees criticizing Adam Sandler. ????THREATS TO FAMILIES: ????Sony employees are emailed by GOP and asked to sign a statement condemning the company or else risk their family being harmed. ????PRAISE AND DENIAL: ????North Korea issues a statement praising the Sony hack as a “righteous deed,” but denies any involvement or link to GOP. ????GOP LINKS ATTACK TO ????‘THE INTERVIEW’: ????A statement from the group is released, stating “Stop immediately showing the movie of terrorism which can break regional peace and cause the War!” ????SONY BOSSES ACCUSED ????OF RACISM: ????Sony’s co-chairperson Amy Pascal reportedly emailed movie producer Scott Rudin for advice about what to ask U.S. President Obama at an impending breakfast event, according to emails published by Buzzfeed. “What should I ask the President at this stupid Jeffrey breakfast?” she wrote in an email. “Would he like to finance some movies?” replied Rudin. “I doubt it,” she wrote. “Should I ask him if he liked ‘Django [Unchained]?’” Rudin subsequently apologized. ????ANGELINA JOLIE THE ????‘SPOILED BRAT’: ????In an alleged email exchange between Pascal and Rudin published by Gawker, Jolie was branded a “minimally talented spoiled brat.” Pascal was subsequently pictured attempting to embrace the filmmaker at an event — receiving a reportedly chilly reception from Jolie. ????‘SPECTRE’ SCRIPT STOLEN: ????The hype surrounding Sam Mendes’ second James Bond film was somewhat dampened when it was alleged that the script for “SPECTRE” is among the latest tranch of stolen documents leaked online. ????IT’S EASIER TO GET AN OSCAR IF YOU’RE FEMALE: ????The Social Network writer Aaron Sorkin’s emails were leaked with the contents alleging that Academy Award nominations for best actress in 2014 faced a “degree of difficulty” that was “nothing close to the degree of difficulty” facing their male counterparts. ????LEONARDO DICAPRIO’S ????‘HORRIBLE BEHAVIOR’: ????Equally salacious was an alleged email between Pascal and “Jobs” producer Mark Gordon in which they appear to be discussing Leonardo DiCaprio’s exit from the movie. “Was this about the deal … or did he just change his mind,” Gordon is reported to have written in a series of emails published by the Daily Beast. “The latter,” Pascal replied. “Horrible behavior,” Gordon said. “Actually despicable,” Pascal responded. ????IMPENDING GOP ????‘CHRISTMAS GIFT’: ????Over the weekend, GOP offered Sony a Christmas gift of yet more leaked data. ????CEO’S CORRESPONDENCES LEAKED: ????Nearly 32,000 emails to and from Sony CEO Lynton were leaked earlier this week. They included information about casting decisions, costs for upcoming films, release schedules for Sony films through 2018 and corporate financial records. ????‘THE INTERVIEW’ NEW YORK PREMIERE AND PUBLICITY CANCELED: ????GOP released a statement online Tuesday, warning cinemagoers to avoid seeing “The Interview” and advising anyone who lives near to a cinema showing the film that they should vacate their homes. Sony told cinemas that they were free to cancel screenings. Seth Rogen and James Franco canceled scheduled press appearances. ????SONY PICTURES CANCELS RELEASE OF ‘THE INTERVIEW’: ????Sony announced it had canceled the Christmas Day release of the film Wednesday. (SD-Agencies) ? | 