LOS ANGELES -- The news came hours after Sony Pictures Entertainment released ‘The Interview’ on a number of streaming services Wednesday in the U.S and Canada. Sony’s controversially cancelled its screenings of The Interview earlier this month after the company was hacked in an attack the FBI linked to North Korea.Late Wednesday evening, Vancouver-born Seth Rogen, one of the film’s stars, tweeted that the full-length movie can be viewed on Xmas day: "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!."
Sony says ‘The Interview’ will be available to stream for $5.99 on Google Play, YouTube Movies, Microsoft’s Xbox Video and a separate Sony website.
It’s an unprecedented release strategy for a film that’s caused much international intrigue. “It has always been Sony’s intention to have a national platform on which to release this film,” Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton said in a statement Wednesday. He goes on to say that Sony reached out to a number of streaming services last Wednesday to arrange the film’s online release.
“We never stopped pursuing as wide a release as possible for ‘The Interview,’” Lynton said. “We chose the path of digital distribution first so as to reach as many people as possible on opening day, and we continue to seek other partners and platforms to further expand its release.”
Sony Pictures recently reversed its decision to pull the film from U.S. theatres in the face of widespread criticism after it bowed to threats of terrorism. ‘The Interview’ will now be screened in about 200 U.S. theatres, down from the original 3,000-theatre release schedule.
The satirical film stars James Franco and Seth Rogen as journalists who become embroiled in a CIA plot to assassinate a fictional version of Kim Jong Un, dictator of North Korea.
Sony scrapped its plans to release ‘The Interview’ earlier this month after hackers threatened large-scale terrorist attacks against the United States if the film went public.
The same hacker group leaked a slew of sensitive Sony emails obtained in a cyberattack earlier in November. Those leaks included damning emails written by top Sony executives, early digital copies of Sony theatrical films, secret franchise plans for ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ and an early script for the upcoming James Bond film ‘Spectre.’
Sony reversed its decision on Tuesday after a number of independent theatres said they would screen the film regardless of consequences.
Americans are trumpeting the film’s release as a victory for free speech. Tickets reportedly sold out within hours at several independent theatres slated to screen the movie Christmas Day ... Read The Full Story.
In the action-comedy The Interview, Dave Skylark (James Franco) and his producer Aaron Rapoport (Seth Rogen) run the popular celebrity tabloid TV show 'Skylark Tonight.' When they discover that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is a fan of the show, they land an interview with him in an attempt to legitimize themselves as journalists. As Dave and Aaron prepare to travel to Pyongyang, their plans change when the CIA recruits them, perhaps the most unlikely candidates, to 'take out' Kim Jong-un.
Partner rating: 14A
Release date: 2014
Running time: 1:52:11
Language: English, CC
Actors:
James Franco
Seth Rogen
Lizzy Caplan
Randall Park
Diana Bang
Timothy Simons
Directors: Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg
Producers: Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg
Writer: Dan Sterling
Category: Action & Adventure, Comedy
License: Standard YouTube License: YouTube Movies
Support: YouTube Help Center
