Reports are coming that Sony Pictures Entertainment has struck a tentative deal to stream “The Interview” on Google’s YouTube starting on Christmas Day, the same day it will have a limited theatrical release, according to CNN.
Under the preliminary pact, fans of the controversial movie — a spoof that prompted a major cyber-attack by North Korea against the studio, according to U.S. officials — could pay a rental fee on YouTube to watch it on the world’s biggest Internet-video platform, per the report. Pricing info is not available.
In addition, “The Interview,” which stars Seth Rogen and James Franco as two bumbling American TV journalists tasked with assassinating North Korea’s Kim Jong-un, will be available for rental at Google Play on on a Sony-owned website, Re/code reported. Sony is expected to sign additional digital distributors.
Sony last week pulled plans for “The Interview” Dec. 25 theatrical bow after hackers threatened moviegoers with 9/11-style violence — and major chains said they wouldn’t screen the film. But on Tuesday, Sony did an about-face, announcing that the film will now play in more than 300 independent cinemas across the U.S.
The developments with Google and YouTube to make “The Interview” available come after Sony Pictures chief Michael Lynton said in a CNN interview last Friday that no video-on-demand providers were willing to release the movie. That apparently has changed after a groundswell of support in the U.S. for releasing “The Interview” — with President Obama praising Sony for reversing course and deciding to authorize screenings on Christmas Day.
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