UPDATE: It has been confirmed that Sony will release The Interview online today at 1PM EST. It will be available through YouTube, Xbox Video, and other platforms.
By this stage, The Interview has almost reached a stage of notoriety among filmic circles. Following the fallout from the Sony hack that led to theaters cancelling screenings of the movie in light of terrorists threats, many had assumed the controversial satire would be shelved indefinitely. Now though, hot on the heels of yesterday’s more positive news, CNN’s Brian Stelter is reporting that YouTube has “tentatively” agreed a deal that would see the by-now infamous flick become available as a rental on the service.
Sources close to the negotiations warn that the deal could backfire at any moment which, given the unprecedented situation surrounding The Interview, wouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Still, here’s what Stelter had to share on the matter.
Here’s my full @CNNMoney story about YouTube *tentatively* agreeing to help Sony distribute “The Interview:” http://t.co/FXsjQCXSxp
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) December 24, 2014
As we alluded to earlier, the tide began to shift just yesterday when a few small theater owners — the Alamo Drafthouse, for one — revealed that they had agreed a deal with Sony Pictures that would allow them to screen the film on Christmas Day as originally planned. As the day progressed, that number soon began to snowball and now close to 300 theaters are set to host James Franco and Seth Rogen’s movie tomorrow.
We’ll keep you posted as we hear more on the YouTube release, but as of now, it looks as if The Interview will be arriving online either today or tomorrow.
