‘The Interview’ opens to sellout crowds

The Interview, the Sony Pictures film about a fictional plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, opened in more than 300 cinemas across the US on Christmas Day, drawing many sellout audiences and statements by patrons that they were championing freedom of expression.

Co-directors Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen, who also co-stars in the low-brow comedy with James Franco, surprised filmgoers by appearing at the sold-out 12.30am screening at a cinema in Los Angeles, where they briefly thanked fans for their support.

Sony Pictures this week backtracked from its original decision to cancel the release of the $44m (€36m) film after major US cinema chains pulled out because of threats of violence by Guardians of Peace, a computer hacking group that claimed responsibility for a destructive cyberattack on Sony last month. The US blamed the attacks on North Korea.

In China and South Korea, which share a land border with North Korea, hundreds of thousands of people flocked to illegal video sharing sites to see the movie.

In the US, cinema managers and patrons alike said they believed there was nothing to fear from the threats, and the initial screenings on Thursday were uneventful.

But one of the online outlets that distributed the film ahead of its theatrical release, Microsoft’s Xbox Live, reported that users were experiencing problems getting connected on Thursday.

A hacking group called the Lizard Squad claimed it was behind disruptions at both Xbox and Sony’s PlayStation Networks, which was not carrying The Interview.

Neither Microsoft nor Sony offered explanations for the connectivity problems, though both services expected heavy use as consumers who received the devices for Christmas tried to log on all at once.

Extra network traffic on Xbox from users downloading The Interview may also have exacerbated connectivity problems for Microsoft.

The film was also available to US online viewers through Google Play and YouTube Movie, as well as seetheinterview.com.

After the first screening of the film in New York City, at the Cinema Village in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village,

Matt Rosenzweig, 60, said the moments that drew the most applause had to do with the idea of acting against censorship rather than animosity toward North Korea. Although Cinema Village manager Lee Peterson said the New York Police Department planned to post officers outside the cinema, there was no visible police presence outside or inside the venue for the first screening.

“It was much better than I thought it would be,” said another viewer, Carlos Royal, 45 . “I wanted to support the US.”

Reuters