Less than one week after Sony Pictures decided to cancel the release of their Christmas Day comedy The Interview, when terrorists threatened American movie theaters that planned to screen the movie, the studio has reversed their stance. Sony Pictures has confirmed today that The Interview will be shown in a limited amount of theaters on December 25. Shortly after Sony's decision last week, several filmmakers and celebrities spoke out against the studio's move to pull The Interview from theaters, and the President of the United States himself, Barack Obama, stated that he thought Sony made a mistake by pulling the release. Here's Sony's official statement below.
Said Michael Lynton, Chairman and CEO of Sony Entertainment:
"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. 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."
The Wrap claims that Sony was engaging in talks with the DISH Network to air the movie exclusively through the satellite TV provider, although talks broke down over the weekend. The site also reports that the studio is planning to release the comedy on VOD platforms as well, but that has not been confirmed. An exact list of theaters that will show The Interview have not been released, but theaters such as the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, Texas and Plaza Atlanta have announced on their Twitter feeds that Sony has authorized screenings for Christmas Day.
One day after pulling the movie, Sony Pictures stated that they had no further plans for to release The Interview, although it was rumored the studio was considering a premium VOD debut. This was shortly before the studio completely pulled the plug on the theatrical release. Take a look at the following tweets from the Alamo Drafthouse and Plaza Atlanta, confirming the theatrical release of The Interview. Stars Seth Rogen and James Franco, who haven't spoken publicly about Sony's cancellation of his movie, also released brief statements about The Interview coming back to theaters on their official Twitter pages.
Breaking news: Sony has authorized screenings of THE INTERVIEW on Christmas Day. We are making shows available within the hour. #Victory
— Tim League (@timalamo) December 23, 2014
Breaking Plaza News:
The Interview will open Exclusive on 12/25 . The Plaza will be one of the few theaters in the nation to open the film .
— Plaza Atlanta (@PlazaAtlanta) December 23, 2014
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!
— Seth Rogen (@Sethrogen) December 23, 2014
VICTORY!!!!!!!
The PEOPLE and THE PRESIDENT have spoken!!!
SONY to release THE INTERVIEW in theaters… http://t.co/0KyZQAB6cf
— James Franco (@JamesFrancoTV) December 23, 2014