‘The Interview’ Will Stream Online Starting Today
Beginning this afternoon, you can watch the Sony Pictures comedy via YouTube, Google Play, the Microsoft Xbox video game console and Sony’s own web site SeeTheInterview.com. The streaming service will start at 10 a.m. PST Wednesday. It costs $6 to rent a digital copy of “The Interview” and $15 to own it.
Variety reports that Sony is also in talks with Netflix about streaming the film.
On December 17, the studio cancelled the release of “The Interview” following hacker-issued threats of attack against theaters showing the comedy. The decision was roundly criticized by free speech advocates, vocal Hollywood stars and even President Barack Obama.
Yesterday, the studio decided to release the film in more than 300 independently-owned U.S. theaters on Christmas.
READ MORE: Tim League Explains How Indie Theaters Finally Got to Book “The Interview”
“It has always been Sony’s intention to have a national platform on which to release this film,” said Michael Lynton, Chairman and CEO of Sony Entertainment in a statement. “With that in mind, we reached out to Google, Microsoft and other partners last Wednesday, December 17, when it became clear our initial release plans were not possible. We are pleased we can now join with our partners to offer the film nation-wide today.”
Lynton continued: “I want to thank Google and Microsoft for helping make this a reality. This release represents our commitment to our filmmakers and free speech. While we couldn’t have predicted the road this movie traveled to get to this moment, I’m proud our fight was not for nothing and that cyber criminals were not able to silence us.”
Google posted a statement on its official blog:
“Last Wednesday Sony began contacting a number of companies, including Google, to ask if we’d be able to make their movie, ‘The Interview,’ available online. We’d had a similar thought and were eager to help—though given everything that’s happened, the security implications were very much at the front of our minds.”
“Of course it was tempting to hope that something else would happen to ensure this movie saw the light of day. But after discussing all the issues, Sony and Google agreed that we could not sit on the sidelines and allow a handful of people to determine the limits of free speech in another country (however silly the content might be).
So starting at 10 a.m. PST in the U.S., you can rent or buy ‘The Interview’ on
BitTorrent had previously urged Sony to release the controversial film on its bundle platform, but that would have likely provoked more controversy.
