Sony(NEW YORK) — Sony has changed its mind. One week after it canceled the Christmas Day release of The Interview, the studio has announced it will release the movie.
A statement Sony Entertainment released early Tuesday afternoon declares, “Sony Pictures Entertainment today announced that The Interview will have a limited theatrical release in the United States 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. ‘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 statement goes on, “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 Interview star Seth Rogen soon tweeted, “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!”
Concerning those theaters, a source tells ABC News Radio that as of now, all the theaters that want to show the film are contacting Sony reps to book showings, and there’s no limit on the number of theaters that can book screenings.
Less than an hour before the announcement, Tim League, founder of the Austin, Texas-based theater chain Alamo Drafthouse, tweeted, “Breaking news: Sony has authorized screenings of THE INTERVIEW on Christmas Day. We are making shows available within the hour. #Victory.”
You’ll recall Sony pulled The Interview — starring James Franco and Seth Rogen as two men recruited to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un — after the hacking group calling itself Guardians of Peace threatened attacks against theaters that screened the movie. This is the same group that claimed responsibility for the massive hack of Sony Entertainment’s computer system, releasing private emails and leaking movies.
After Sony yanked The Interview — a move even President Obama called “a mistake” — Alamo Drafthouse last week announced they’d instead screen the 2004 satire Team America: World Police. That movie, by the creators of South Park, in part satirizes Kim Jong-il, the late father of Kim Jong-un. But those plans were scrapped when Paramount wouldn’t allow the movie to be shown.
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