Independent Theaters Offer to Show 'The Interview'

The Art House Convergence, a coalition of independent theater owners, offered to screen Sony Pictures' "The Interview," the film that led cyberterrorists linked to North Korea to hack into the studio's computers. "We, the independent Art House community, will gladly exhibit 'The Interview' as a special, one-day showing," the group said on its website in a letter to Michael Lynton and Amy Pascal, the studio's top two executives. Sony is considering ways to release the movie after theater owners dropped plans for a Dec. 25 opening amid threats of violence from the Guardians of Peace, a hacker group that the FBI has linked to North Korea. Mr. Lynton, CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment, told CNN on Dec. 20 the studio was weighing a number of options. Art House Convergence, based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, has also posted an online petition where theater owners can voice their support for the film's release. Sony didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Alamo Drafthouse, a 19-screen theater chain based in Austin, Texas, that signed the petition, is willing to show the movie for more than one day, according to Ryan Fons, a spokesman. "The options for exhibition are all on the table (one-day and traditional runs) -- the important point is that independent theaters just want to be able to show the film in theaters," Mr. Fons wrote in an e-mail. The so-called Guardians of Peace broke into the computers of the studio, the Culver City, California-based entertainment division of Sony Corp., in late November, releasing private personal and corporate information. The group protested the planned Christmas Day release of "The Interview," Seth Rogen's farcical comedy about a U.S. TV crew that is recruited to kill North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. ~ Bloomberg News ~

Independent Theaters Offer to Show 'The Interview'

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