Big Crowds Turn Out For 'The Interview' At Berkeley Movie Theater; Film Also Released Online
BERKELEY (KCBS) — Hundreds of people in the Bay Area turned out in droves yesterday to see the new Seth Rogan and James Franco movie, ''The Interview.''
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After pulling "The Interview" from theatrical release after an unprecedented computer network hack and terrorist threats traced to North Korea, Sony changed its plans and released the film in limited theaters on Christmas Day.
So was the comedy depicting the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un worth all the hubbub?
"It surprised me beyond words; the movies is fantastic," said one man who watched the film at Rialto's Cinema's Elmwood in Berkeley.
Others had a different opinion, however.
"It's not a great movie by any stretch," said another man.
But it did bring out a lot movie goers to the Berkeley theater.
"There was some pretty bad stuff in there. I could see why they might be upset but it was funny," another viewer said.
Many thought that Sony Pictures original decision to pull the film from distribution set a bad precedent.
"The truth—my wife is the one who wanted to come for freedom of speech. I joked it was freedom to watch a bad movie," another man said. "It was not a great movie but it was funny."
Sony Pictures also broadly released "The Interview" online Wednesday - an unprecedented counterstroke against the hackers who sought to spoil the Christmas opening of the comedy of the film.
"The Interview" became available on a variety of digital platforms Wednesday afternoon, including Google Play, YouTube Movies, Microsoft's Xbox Video and a separate Sony website.
It was unclear whether the company will recoup the $40 million cost of the film and the millions more spent on marketing by deciding to release it online through affordable formats.
