Sony Pictures Decides To Release “The Interview”

Sony Pictures Decides To Release “The Interview”

Sony Pictures reversed an earlier decision as it announced that it will allow “The Interview” to be played on Christmas Day. The reversal was praised by the White House, which criticized the company for bowing to pressure coming from North Korea.

It can be recalled that the company was subjected to a cyberattack that was attributed to North Korea. Eric Schultz indicated that the White House welcomes the decision of Sony since it gives back the freedom of choice to the people.

The initial decision of the Hollywood studio was called a mistake by President Barack Obama, hinting that it may set a precedent wherein any dictator can impose censorship in the US. The canceled release was also criticized by members of Congress and Hollywood stars.

James Franco and Seth Rogen praised the move of Sony to allow “The Interview” to be shown on over 200 theaters. The company was searching for other options since major theater chains have declined to show the movie due to threats of hacker attacks, according to Sony Pictures Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton.

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema chain founder Tim League provided the first breakthrough for Sony. League tweeted that they are planning to show the movie. Tickets for the movie were sold out within minutes after they became available. Many of the theaters showing the movie are independent exhibitors.

Legal experts have indicated that the legal liability for any violence occurring during the shows will be borne by theater owners. A number of theater owners have indicated that they are planning to offer the movie as a video-on-demand on December 25.

Threats by hackers were not rated by US authorities, according to a national security official. However, it was unclear whether additional warnings will be issued by US agencies on exhibitors of the movie. North Korea has experienced internet problems over the weekend along with an outage for nine hours before it was restored.

North Korea released a statement denying it was behind the attack against Sony Pictures in response to the upcoming release of “The Interview.”

Posted by Kade Quinn on Saturday December 27 2014, 8:25 AM EDT. Ref: Reuters. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Entertainment, Featured News. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0