Sony’s 'Interview' Coming to Indie Theaters on Christmas
23 Dec, 2014 By: Erik GruenwedelControversial movie could come to video-on-demand as well
Look for international intrigue on Christmas, brought to you by Sony Pictures.
The studio’s now world-famous buddy comedy The Interview, from Seth Rogen and co-staring James Franco, will screen on Christmas in select independent theaters, including Plaza Atlanta in Georgia.
In tweets, the 1939-era theater said it would begin screening The Interview at 4 p.m. EST on Christmas.
“We’ve been told by Sony this is real,” tweeted Plaza Atlanta.
In Dallas, Tim League, founder of the Alamo Drafthouse, also tweeted that Sony had authorized a theatrical release of the movie.
“We are making this movie available within the hour,” League tweeted.
Sony Pictures, in a statement, confirmed The Interview would have a limited theatrical release on Christmas Day.
“We have never given up on releasing The Interview and we’re excited our movie will be in a number of theaters on Christmas Day,” Michael Lynton, CEO of Sony Entertainment, said. “At the same time, we are continuing our efforts to secure more platforms and more theaters so that this movie reaches the largest possible audience."
The news is the latest twist in a month-long saga that began when a cyber terrorist group calling itself Guardians of Peace infiltrated Sony Pictures and began exposing executive emails, unreleased movies and related confidential employee data.
The movie — about an interview-turned-assassination attempt on North Korean leader Kim Jung-un — remains the apparent motivation for the attack that has been officially linked by the FBI and DOJ to the communist country.
When #GOP threatened harm to moviegoers, four of the nation’s largest theatrical chains canceled a planned Christmas launch. The next day, President Obama entered the fray, criticizing Sony for not releasing the movie in theaters.
That resulted in Lynton angrily insisting that the studio had not backed down, had indeed consulted with the White House on the matter, but was prevented from nationwide release due to the theaters.
“I want to thank our talent on The Interview and our employees, who have worked tirelessly through the many challenges we have all faced over the last month. While we hope this is only the first step of the film’s release, we are proud to make it available to the public and to have stood up to those who attempted to suppress free speech,” Lynton said.