GOP senator wants White House screening of ‘The Interview’

The White House should invite members of Congress for a screening of the controversial comedy, “The Interview,” said Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) in a letter to the president. 

Sony Pictures recently pulled the film, which depicts the assassination of North Korean Kim Jong Un, after cyberattackers stole troves of the company’s data and made Sept. 11-style threats against any theater screening the film.

{mosads}Vitter’s letter said the administration’s “weak policies” has encouraged these type of foreign cyber assaults, The New Orleans Times Picayune reported.

“The policy of rewarding terrorists, authoritarianism, and cruelty with concessions should not be the legacy we pursue,” Vitter wrote to the White House. 

“Therefore, I ask that you host a screening of the comedy film ‘The Interview’ for members of Congress in the White House the week of January 5th, to be followed by a serious discussion of the strong, substantive retaliatory measures we plan to take as a nation against cyber attacks,” Vitter said.

The FBI on Friday accused North Korea of sponsoring the attack, and President Obama said in a year-end press conference that the administration “will respond proportionally.”

But Obama evaded the question of whether the White House would show the movie.

“I’ve got a long list of movies I’m going to be watching,” he said, to laughter.

When a reporter pressed him, Obama joked, “I never release my full movie list.” 

CNN reported Friday the U.S. is considering a slate of economic and banking sanctions against Pyongyang. 

Other lawmakers have called on Sony to give Congress the film it it doesn’t plan to release the much-discussed satire. 

Sony hasn’t tipped its hand on any upcoming plans, but many have speculated the studio could release the film online, straight to DVD, or even pull a dramatic reversal and release it in theaters.  

On Friday, the movie studio said it was exploring all options.