Sony Pictures has decided that Kim Jong Un is not the boss of them, announcing that they will release The Interview, and the locally owned Camera Cinemas is jumping at the chance to screen the film, which they will begin showing Christmas Day.
The farcical movie, starring James Franco and Seth Rogan, has generated much controversy over the last few weeks, after the North Korean government was accused of hacking into Sony’s servers in retaliation for the flick, in which Franco and Rogan play a talk show host and his producer, recruited by the U.S. government to travel to North Korea and assassinate its leader.
In addition to accusing North Korea of hacking Sony, multiple news agencies have reported that movie theaters were threatened with violent reprisals if they played the film. Many national theater chains responded by announcing they would not show the movie, which led to Sony’s initial decision to not release The Interview at all.
However, earlier today Sony announced it would release The Interview, prompting a handful of independent movie houses to announce they will screen the film. Camera Cinemas is one of those indie theater chains.
“Our position is pretty clear,” Dan Orloff, a partner with Camera Cinemas says. “The First Amendment right of free speech is no longer a right if we don’t defend it. We are a brand of independent theaters and this is is about independence. Our decision to show the film is a decision made independent of that kind of tyranny.”
Camera 3 will begin showing the film on Dec. 25 at 3:10pm and 8:30pm. More info here.