Fans Line Up At Area Theaters To See 'The Interview'
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- "The Interview" has opened in several New York City theaters to enthusiastic crowds as interested in the world drama the film produced as anything on the screen.
Fans flocked to the theaters to catch a showing.
"I think this is chaos, this is insane," Jacquie Goodley of Midtown told CBS2's Ilana Gold. "We just wanted to see it because of all the news and the hype that's going on."
The movie is about a fictional plot to assassinate North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un.
At Cinema Village in Greenwich Village, workers could barely keep up. All of the afternoon showings of the movie sold out in minutes, Gold reported.
Cinema Village East manager Lee Peterson said the theater has been in contact with the FBI and a nearby New York City Police precinct about safety. But he adds that he is not aware of any credible threats.
The Christmas opening of the movie in theaters nationwide came a day after Sony Pictures made it available on digital platforms.
Sony initially decided not to release the film after hackers released internal Sony documents and threatened moviegoers with violence.
That decision was criticized by many, including President Barack Obama.
The administration has said North Korea was behind the Sony hack.
"This is freedom of speech. We should be able to see anything we want," Goodley said.
"We're not going to let him tell me what movies to see or what art I should consume," said East Village Resident Derek Karpel, adding that he was there "happily" to take a stand.
"I think downloading it would've been a bit of a cop-out," Karpel said. "Come on. This is exciting."
"Once I heard there was this controversy, and they were only showing it at a couple of theaters, I said I absolutely had to come and see it," a Queens resident named Nick told 1010 WINS' Roger Stern.
Moviegoers at Cinema Village said they wanted to watch it on the big screen, even though attending it could be a safety risk, Gold reported.
"If you get nervous about things like that all the time, then you never get to do anything," said moviegoer Anthony Goodley of Midtown. "So I think everything's going to be fine."
And as moviegoers streamed out of the afternoon showings, most were not disappointed.
"I thought it was going to be terrible, but it was pretty funny," said Derek Carpel.
"I thought it was really funny. I thought it was really good," said Christian Marks.
Peterson said he expects all the showings Thursday night and through the weekend to sell out -- a huge deal for the independent theater. He said he's never seen sales like this on a holiday.
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