Sony Wants You To See ‘The Interview’ Soon

Contrary to popular opinion, Sony wants you to watch The Interview and they want you to see it soon.

The Interview, a comedy from filmmakers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, centers on a plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. When hackers gained access to Sony Pictures private emails and corporate information, which they then leaked to the public, threats were made against any theater that screened The Interview. As a result, the Christmas day release of The Interview was cancelled, provoking criticism from the public, media, and from the U.S. government. President Obama’s remarks were limited in regard to the release of The Interview and his statements were carefully chosen to guard against interfering in the business decisions of a privately owned company and also to refrain from showing favoritism to one film over another.

Following the remarks issued by President Barack Obama regarding the apparent forestalling of the release of The Interview, Sony has declared that they have not bowed to threats made by North Korea, according to The Independent. Sony Pictures has released a statement assuring the public that the company does want to release The Interview and has been looking out for other options, after learning that theaters, not the motion picture company itself, have pulled out of screening the film. While The Interview may not be shown in theaters as planned, there are many other avenues that will enable the release of the film and Sony Pictures is currently analyzing the best options.

“We do not own movie theaters,” Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton told CNN. “We cannot determine whether or not a movie will be played in movie theaters.

The executive explained that, while Sony does want to release The Interview, the studio does not have direct access to the public, making it necessary to go through providers, such as movie theaters and online video on demand providers. Some speculate that the only course of action left to Sony at this point would be to release The Interview through online distributors.

“Let us be clear: the only decision that we have made with respect to release of the film was not to release it on Christmas Day in theatres, after the theatre owners declined to show it. Without theatres, we could not release it in the theatres on Christmas Day. We had no choice. It is still our hope that anyone who wants to see this movie will get the opportunity to do so.”

Earlier rumors had Sony releasing The Interview through its free online movie streaming website, Crackle, have proved false. Although the option is still in consideration, Sony Pictures has not chosen a definitive course of action at this juncture, assuring the public that they are still looking at all options and factors. The only fact that Sony Pictures will commit to is that they want the public to see The Interview, and that the film will be released at some point in the near future.

“It will be distributed. How it’s going to be distributed, I don’t think anybody knows quite yet. But it’s going to be distributed,” David Boies, a lawyer for the studio, said.

Meanwhile, it seems even Congress wants to see The Interview. A republican senator recently requested that the film be screened at the White House.