After lambasting Sony Pictures for the controversial decision to pull The Interview from a major theater release, Alamo Drafthouse Cinema CEO, Tim League, Florida Sun-Ray Cinema’s Tim Massett, and bestselling author of the Game of Thrones series, George R. R. Martin, have successfully convinced the studio to release the movie to independent cinemas across the U.S. The Interview is currently set to be shown in over 300 independent movie theaters on Christmas Day.
The comedy, starring Seth Rogen and James Franco, sparked a nerve when cyber terrorists threatened violent attacks on theaters and their surrounding neighborhoods if The Interview was shown. After major theaters chose to heed the threats, various independent cinema owners, political figures, and anybody with an opinion on the internet took to social media to show their displeasure for the decision. Shortly thereafter, Art House Convergence, a Sundance Institute offshoot that supports independent and art house exhibition, put together a petition to allow AHC theater owners “to show Sony there were people willing to go on the record publicly in support of the release of The Interview,’ said League in an interview with Deadline.
In less than a day the petition had gathered hundreds of signatures and the AHC opened a dialog with Sony. Despite having trouble getting an agreement out of Sony, the morining of 12/23 they gave the official okay that they would release the film to independent theaters that could handle the digital projection picture and the movie would be available on the specified days for viewing.
While the major theaters opted out due to security reasons, the smaller cinemas are not taking the threats lightly and have added security personnel and procedures, including involving local law enforcement in each area. Similar procedures were taken after the theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado in 2012, according to League.
There is some level of risk in supporting this film, but there are hundreds of theaters supporting it, and the risk of backing down and not supporting it is even greater; it would have set a precedent that is even worse. This goes beyond The Interview. We’re supporting freedom of expression. That’s what this is all about. – Tim League
To the dismay of some of the independent filmmakers that have committed to showing the movie at their location, Sony has also announced that they will also be releasing it on Video-On-Demand (VOD) at the same time it premiers in theaters. Because the situation is so unique, League stated he wasn’t surprised by the move at all and for the most part most theater owners were fine with Sony’s decision.
While there are currently over 300 independently owned theaters showing the film, they are far from the kind of prevalence of an AMC, Cinemark, Landmark, or Regal theater. Those theaters unfortunately only span across 30 of the 50 states (and Puerto Rico as well, way to represent!). To find a showing of The Interview area, here is a complete list of the known cinemas showing it (as of the time of this writing):
Edge 12 – Birmingham
Loft Cinema – Tucson
Harkins Theatres – Phoenix
Harkins Valley Art – Tempe
Riverdale 10 – Little Rock
Alamo – Littleton
Lyric Cinema Cafe – Fort Collins
Agoura Hills Stadium 8 – Agoura Hill
Cinémas Palme D’Or – Coachella Valley
Commerce 14 – City of Commerce
East Hills Mall – Bakersfield
Foothill Cinema Stadium 10 – Azusa
Fontana 8 – Fontana
Rialto Cinemas – Berkeley
Prime Cinemas – Red Bluff
Crest Westwood – Los Angeles
Vintage Cinemas, Los Feliz 3 – Los Angeles
Tristone Cinemas, Tristone Jurupa 14 Cinemas
Regency Theaters – Los Angeles
Laemmle Theater – North Hollywood (Beginning Dec. 31)
Penn Cinemas Riverfront – Wilmington
Fun-Lan Drive-In – Tampa
Sun-Ray Cinema – Jacksonville
The Lake Worth Drive-In and the Swap Shop – Sunrise
The Plaza Atlanta – Atlanta
Hollywood Blvd. – Woodridge
Art Theater Co-Op – Champaign
Jasper 8 Theatres – Jasper
Alamo Main Street – KC
Robinson Film Center – Shreveport
Chalmette Movies – Chalmette
Apple Cinemas – Cambridge
Eastpoint Center 10 – Baltimore
Alamo – Kalamazoo
The Bijou – Traverse City
State Theatre – Ann Arbor
MX Movies – St. Louis
Ragtag Cinema – Columbia
Jean Cocteau Cinema – Santa Fe
Alamo – Yonkers
Dipson Flix 10 Stadium – Lancaster
Dipson Lakewood Cinema 8 – Lakewood
Palace Pointe – Roxboro
Tower City Cinema – Cleveland
Gateway Film Center – Columbus
Groundview Theatre – Columbus
Esquire Theatre – Cincinnati
The Fox Theater – Dallas
Academy Theater – Portland
Cinetopia, Progress Ridge – Beaverton
Southside Works Cinema – Pittsburgh
Caribbean Cinemas – Puerto Rico
Cable Car Cinema – Providence
Terrace Theater – Charleston
Nickelodeon Theatre – Columbia
Alamo Lakeline – Austin
Alamo Slaughter – Austin
Alamo South Lamar – Austin
Alamo Ritz – Austin
Alamo – Richardson
Alamo Vintage Park – Houston
Alamo Mason Park – Katy
Alamo – Lubbock
Alamo Marketplace – New Braunfels
Alamo Park North – San Antonio
Alamo Westlakes – San Antonio
Look Cinemas – Dallas
City Base Cinema – San Antonio
Franklin Theatre – Franklin
Belcourt Theatre – Nashville
Merril’s Roxy – Burlington
Alamo Loudoun – Ashburn
Cinetopia, Mill Plain – Vancouver
Cinetopia, Vancouver Mall – Vancouver
Tygart Valley Cinemas – Fairmont
Grand Cinema Theaters – New London
[button type=”link” link=”http://deadline.com/2014/12/interview-tim-league-george-r-r-martin-sony-1201334720/” size=”btn-sm” variation=”btn-danger” target=”blank”]Source: Deadline[/button] [button type=”link” link=”http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Interview-Christmas-Day-Complete-List-Theaters-Showing-Movie-68823.html” size=”btn-sm” variation=”btn-danger” target=”blank”]Source: Cinema Blend[/button]Last Updated on November 27, 2018.
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