Sony Will Release ‘The Interview’ On Christmas Day
[guest post by Dana]
According to this report, Sony has reversed its previous decision not to release The Interview and will now screen it at select theaters and through video demand 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,” said Michael Lynton, Chairman and CEO of Sony Entertainment in a statement. “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.”
“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.”
No explanation was given as to why the reversal was made. Some of the possible influencing factors cited: Sony stood to lose a lot more money releasing it online than in the theaters; Sony decided not to cave to vague and anonymous threats; if the film was released and there was an attack, it would be seen as an act of war and would NK be willing to risk that? Or, could it possibly be that Sony examined its collective conscience and took George Clooney’s protests to heart as well as president’s admonition: “We cannot have a society in which some dictator someplace can start imposing censorship here in the United States…That’s not who we are.”? Uh-huh.
Anyway, from the White House today regarding the decision to release the film:
“[T]he president applauds Sony’s decision to authorize screenings of the film. As the president made clear, we’re a country that believes in free speech and the right of artistic expression.
p.s. One can’t help but wonder how the close relationship between President Obama and frequent White House visitors, Sony CEO Michael Lynton and his Obama fundraising wife Jamie Alter Lynton factored into the decision.
-Dana
Hello.
Dana (8e74ce) — 12/23/2014 @ 11:54 amI thought I heard/saw something saying that Sony had now received threats by someone else if they didn’t release it.
MD in Philly (f9371b) — 12/23/2014 @ 12:35 pmoh great now we’re all gonna die
happyfeet (a037ad) — 12/23/2014 @ 12:37 pmlike He always says
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 12/23/2014 @ 12:39 pmour principles aren’t for sale
that’s not who we are
Be still my beating heart.
It was all a fake-out. Hollywood! I’m maligning hookers when I compare them to those phonies and perverts.
nk (dbc370) — 12/23/2014 @ 12:41 pmThis reminds me of the Coke vs. “new” Coke kerfuffle. I remember an executive responding to a reporter’s(remember them?) question if the whole thing wasn’t planned, with; “We aren’t that smart – or that stupid.”
felipe (40f0f0) — 12/23/2014 @ 12:46 pmThank you President Jarrett for getting this all sorted out for America while that other lame WH occupant guy is off playing in Hawaii.
elissa (4d84c9) — 12/23/2014 @ 12:57 pm“we’re a country that believes in free speech and the right of artistic expression.”
Except when that artistic expression has something to do with Islam because that gets Americans killed in libya. Or something.
Mark Johnson (77a382) — 12/23/2014 @ 1:12 pmThis is all a bullshit promotion. I knew it.
Hoagie (4dfb34) — 12/23/2014 @ 1:13 pmwasn’t planning on seeing it before, and i’m sure as hello not going to go see it, or any other Sony pic any time soon.
otoh, i might could be talked into seeing American Sniper, which would be our first trip to the theater since Gran Torino.
redc1c4 (cf3b04) — 12/23/2014 @ 1:19 pmEveryone has screwed up so much handling this, that this news will get a collective MEH
JD (86a5eb) — 12/23/2014 @ 1:24 pmIt’s too bad this wasn’t the initial response. It’s the right one, and getting it right late is better than nothing. The White House is right about this one.
I’m with red in that I’ve lost a lot of respect for Sony. Not because of their dirty laundry or because the movie appeared to be stupid (I expected that), but because they were cowards about this. Even now, most of us see the about face as inspired by fear of our judgment rather than of principle.
Dustin (2a8be7) — 12/23/2014 @ 2:00 pmDid they remember to run this by $harpton?
Gazzer (ae5179) — 12/23/2014 @ 2:22 pmI see the about face as being entirely motivated by the money – they would lose way more by not releasing it in the theaters than if they just streamed it, or didn’t release it all. I don’t Hollywood deserving of any benefit of the doubt. From what we’ve seen from the email hacks, they are not what they pretend to be.
Dana (8e74ce) — 12/23/2014 @ 2:30 pmeh… I don’t think Hollywood is deserving…
Dana (8e74ce) — 12/23/2014 @ 2:38 pmThe facts have changed. We now know that one over egged teenager in a Guy Fawkes mask can brng the Nork to it’t knees. Moreover that there is no credible threat for a movie goer in America.
The only downside to release is the ho hum reception the film will get in the Chinese overseas market, but that was a given, and will be balanced out by lack of Chinese pirated copies.
papertiger (c2d6da) — 12/23/2014 @ 4:24 pmThere were at least $70 million invested and about a year of work involved in the movie. Given that executives have a fiduciary responsibility to shareholders to defend their investment and maximize their returns, taking a week to decide doesn’t seem out of line.
One would expect all the economic experts here to understand that.
Estragon (ada867) — 12/23/2014 @ 4:33 pmIt will play (I heard earlier) in Atlanta, Dallas and Austin.
Kim Jong Un made a video not long ago which showd him launchinmg missiles at the United States – and one the targets was Austin.
Sammy Finkeman (d22d64) — 12/23/2014 @ 4:39 pmAtlanta or Dallas would be a national tragedy.
papertiger (c2d6da) — 12/23/2014 @ 4:54 pmJust kidding Austin.
Mostly.
What I heard Nork rockets have trouble breaking out of city limits.
Another joke at Austin’s expense.
Sort of.
papertiger (c2d6da) — 12/23/2014 @ 4:58 pmI think it’s significant that Texas is first up to screen the film.
Dana (8e74ce) — 12/23/2014 @ 5:04 pmDana, one of the first responses I saw to this crap was Alamo Drafthouse, my favorite theater, saying they would be showing Team America (before Paramount’s cowardice ruined the effort).
I know it’s a little silly to take pride in that, but I do love Texas.
Estragon, I try to understand the business side of this. The pressures liability impose, for example, but at a gut level I know that giving bullies deference is going to lead to more trouble.
If Sony wants to win back my respect, I would like to see a bolder reaction. Like a new series of documentaries on the human rights abuses in North Korea and their pals in China. Comedies like Team America and The Interview are fine, but let’s see something more serious. A series explaining to the world what pathetic people the Kim dynasty is composed of would be true defiance.
Dustin (9b8eed) — 12/23/2014 @ 5:20 pmThat’s my point about Texas, Dustin. It figures it would be your freedom-loving state to show it.
I still believe Sony reversed its decision because of monetary reasons.
Dana (8e74ce) — 12/23/2014 @ 5:25 pmAlamo Drafthouse has tasty shakes and they let you split them which is super nice cause carbs
there’s nothing like it here in chicagoland
theater-wise
shakes seem pretty abundant
happyfeet (831175) — 12/23/2014 @ 5:29 pmA series explaining to the world what pathetic people the Kim dynasty is composed of would be true defiance.
That’s the North Korean film bureau’s job. They’re damn good at it too.
You ever see the Nork’s films about the traffic light girls of Piyongyang?
They can’t afford traffic lights, so they use young nubile girls dressed as Stasi, who in a normal country might be fashion models.
http://reason.com/blog/2010/03/12/when-you-can-run-over-a-pyongy
Reference, so you know I didn’t make that cra cra up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ge2TQfqwX4
papertiger (c2d6da) — 12/23/2014 @ 5:44 pmNork feature length on the life of fashion model/traffic cone.
By the way, in the video, Kim Jong Un did not have the right location for Austin, Texas, but seemed to put it somewhere in Colorado.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wakqvpOAAtU
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/9960933/North-Korea-plan-to-attack-US-mainland-revealed-in-photographs.html
North Korea then made a second video in which they corrected BOTH the announced target AND the location.
They said Colorado, but this time the target was around Shreveport, Louisiana on the map..
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/04/12/video-north-korea-threatens-to-strike-colorado-springs-but-doesnt-know-where-it-is/
The other targets were Hawaii, Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles in both cases.
Sammy Finkelman (1b38fa) — 12/23/2014 @ 5:44 pmDr.Evil Interrupts SNL Cold Open To Mock Sony & North Korea Hacking:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wakqvpOAAtU
Sammy Finkelman (1b38fa) — 12/23/2014 @ 5:45 pm13
kishnevi (294553) — 12/23/2014 @ 6:03 pmIt is entirely consistent with their earliest claims, that the refusal of the major chains to show the film forced them to cancel the release.
This was always about covering for the distributors, like Carmike. Mission accomplished.
Ed from SFV (3400a5) — 12/23/2014 @ 7:18 pmre. @13, @27– The big chains had the deep pockets that the legal barracudas would go after should anything untoward happen at a theater showing the film. So these chains protected their financial positions by not participating, a financial decision that would be appriciated by the stock holders.
Note that the theaters now planning to run the film are independents that may not be such juicy targets for those aforementioned barracudas… Its been said many times before: “Follow the money”.
Gramps, the original (9e1415) — 12/23/2014 @ 8:01 pmYes, of course, there are now over 300 indies slated to show the film. Of course, big cinema owners see it differently.
Dana (8e74ce) — 12/23/2014 @ 8:12 pmMarketing gimmick? Appear to be afraid to release it, then do so after demand peaks? If it works, it might do wonders for sales.
just a thought (83a93c) — 12/24/2014 @ 1:36 amhe’s such a strange little man, our Reince
happyfeet (a037ad) — 12/24/2014 @ 5:26 amI do not think it’s very reasonable to suspect a hoax hacking, but I also think Sony is going to have to try a lot harder to win another of my dollars. I showed North Korea how I feel when I served in South Korea. Save your movie cash and give it to the USO or something.
Dustin (2a8be7) — 12/24/2014 @ 6:10 amOr go see Unbroken, which celebrates an American war hero. I heard Hugh Hewitt interview Zamparini’s son and he could not have been more positive about the film and its true representation of his father and his experiences.
Dana (8e74ce) — 12/24/2014 @ 6:44 ami think recognizing the talents of our friend Angelina is really a fitting response especially after how tacky the sony people have been
happyfeet (a037ad) — 12/24/2014 @ 6:54 amUnbroken sounds like an awesome movie, Dana.
Dustin (e9a85f) — 12/24/2014 @ 10:34 pmSony released the movie online rather suddenly. I think maybe they wanted to get this out so taht North Korea would have no more motive to threaten them. There’d be no way to pull it back any more.
The closest theatre to New York City showing the movie is in Yonkers, but it will not start theer until Friday.
Sammy Finkelman (1b38fa) — 12/25/2014 @ 3:01 amWho needs a theater? Google Play is featuring it at the top of their page.
kishnevi (3719b7) — 12/25/2014 @ 7:14 amTeam America was more pointedly aimed at the media, and their Kim was a variation on the Cartman character, I think they were voiced by the same character, the Interview already seemed to stink from the previews, but it should have gone down like ‘White House Down’
narciso (ee1f88) — 12/25/2014 @ 7:17 amTeam America was kinda aimed at everybody. The military industrial complex, the light-on-good-‘i.n.t.e.l.l.i.g.e.n.c.e.’ right, the naive and borderline treacherous left, the quite insane tyrants, and of course our self important and often idiotic celebrities.
Those guys (Matt and Trey) are the Shakespeare of our age.
Dustin (2a8be7) — 12/25/2014 @ 7:35 amit’s as close as we’ll get to a Stripes for this generation, or Spies like Us
Claudia Rosett, dissents from my view
narciso (ee1f88) — 12/25/2014 @ 7:43 amhttp://pjmedia.com/claudiarosett/bravo-to-the-interview/
narciso (ee1f88) — 12/25/2014 @ 7:47 amGood idea about what movie to watch. To Be or Not to Be has been sitting on top of my DVD pile for a while.
kishnevi (a5d1b9) — 12/25/2014 @ 7:54 amI liked them both. There’s nobody like Mel Brooks, but the one with Jack Benny has a certain je ne sais quoi.
nk (dbc370) — 12/25/2014 @ 8:21 amwhat did they release last year, around this time, American Hustle?
narciso (ee1f88) — 12/25/2014 @ 9:00 am26. Wrong link,
That should have been
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBoPm_ZJPDc
But actually this SNL skit is terrible.
Sammy Finkelman (d22d64) — 12/29/2014 @ 11:01 am