Sony OKs Limited Release of ‘Interview,’ Despite North Korean Threats

Sony Pictures Entertainment today announced a limited release for the film “The Interview” amid widespread criticism for pulling it because of threats by North Korea. Distribution of the comedy, about a plot to assassinate North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, had been canceled by Sony after threats of terrorism linked to the Communist regime.

Sony said in a statement on the movie starring Seth Rogen and James Franco:

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.

>>> Before Sony’s Reversal, New Yorkers Arranged Live Reading of ‘The Interview’

“The head-scratcher is why Sony canceled release of the film to begin with,” James Carafano, a national security expert at The Heritage Foundation, told The Daily Signal. “In fact, there are few noble actors in this drama.”

Carafano, Heritage’s vice president for foreign and defense policy studies, added:

From Sony’s poor security practices to incoherent and tentative  leadership from the White House, this has been a case study in how not to deal with cybersecurity threats. Perhaps the worst performance of all was from the mainstream media, which featured some of the most ill-informed commentary on both cybersecurity and the North Korean regime that has ever been uttered over the airwaves.

President Obama is pleased that Sony reversed its decision, White House spokesman Eric Schultz said:

The president applauds Sony’s decision to authorize screenings of the film.  … As the president made clear, we are a country that believes in free speech, and the right of artistic expression. The decision made by Sony and participating theaters allows people to make their own choices about the film, and we welcome that outcome.

The Plaza Theatre in Atlanta is one of them. It announced its decision in a series of tweets:

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 Interview -Times Christmas Day 4pm 5pm 6:30 7:30 9:35 12/26 to 1/1 times will be announced tomorrow. On 2 screens — Plaza Atlanta (@PlazaAtlanta) December 23, 2014

12/26 to 1/1 times will come out tomorrow for THE INTERVIEW

— Plaza Atlanta (@PlazaAtlanta) December 23, 2014

The theater also tweeted this satirical picture of Kim Jong Un:

pic.twitter.com/5Y5ly71NFs — Plaza Atlanta (@PlazaAtlanta) December 23, 2014

Theater management told Fox 5 that the film would be shown on two screens.

Atlanta’s WGCL-TV reported that “it is unclear how they will be showing the movie since Sony canceled the theatrical release.”

In “The Interview,”  a journalist is recruited by the CIA to assassinate Kim after he scores an interview with the leader of the notoriously closed hermit kingdom.

The movie enraged the North Korean government, which called it “an act of war.”

Sony then fell victim to hackers who made public sensitive company information such as employee emails and unreleased films.

The hackers left messages on company computers threatening a 9/11-style attack on movie theaters that chose to show The Interview. The FBI later said North Korea was responsible for the attack.

This report has been modified.