'The Interview' will play on big screens across the nation on Christmas Day.
Sony Pictures has authorized screenings for select theaters who wish to show the movie that led to a massive cyber-attack on the movie studio last month.
"We have never given up on releasing 'The Interview' and we're excited our movie will be in a numbers of theaters on Christmas," Michael Lynton, chief executive of Sony Entertainment, said in a statement. "We are continuing our efforts to secure more platforms and more theaters so this movie reaches the largest possible audience."
So far, theaters in Atlanta, Austin, Dallas and Houston have agreed to screen the Seth Rogen-James Franco comedy that Sony originally pulled after hackers threated a 9/11-type attack on theaters planning to screen the film.
"It's much larger than just 'The Interview.' It's about setting a precedent and freedom of expression," Alamo Drafthouse found Tim League told the Los Angeles Times. League oversees 11 theaters in Texas plus locations in Virginia, Michigan and suburban New York. "To not show this movie would be a serious problem in my book."
Rogen and Franco both tweeted their excitement for the official release. Franco even thanked President Barack Obama or "President Obacco," of course referring to Obama's blunder of his name during a press conference last week.
Numerous organizations and individuals offered to screen “The Interview” since Sony announced the film’s cancellation on Dec. 17. The Art House Convergence, an association of independent theaters, also started a petition titled “We the undersigned support Sony” to “support theatrical engagements of ‘The Interview’ should Sony, at its sole discretion, decide to release it to theaters.".
“Clearly, there is some level of risk [to screen the film], but there are hundreds of theaters that want to do this. That’s evident by the petition,” League told the LA Times.
The FBI confirmed on Dec. 19 that the country of North Korea was responsible for the hack on Sony Pictures Entertainment. The "tools and infrastructure" used by the hackers matched previous cyber-attacks linked to the North Korean government, according to Reuters.
North Korean has denied any involvement and, at first, the country's foreign ministry expressed interest in a "joint investigation" with the United States to find the real perpetrators, according to BBC News. A day later, the country became hostile and started launching threats against the United States.
It also accused the U.S. government of being "deeply involved" in the making of "The Interview” given information leaked by the hack.