It was scheduled to be released Christmas.
Then it wasn’t. Now it is again — only in limited fashion.
Sony Pictures Entertainment’s “The Interview” was scheduled for a local viewership Wednesday when Sun-Ray Cinema in Riverside screened its first showing at 11:55 p.m.
That started an 11-day run with two midnight showings a day.
The controversy about the comedy began in recent weeks, making national headlines when Sony pulled the film after the company was hacked and sensitive emails leaked. North Korea has been accused of what President Barack Obama called “cyber vandalism.”
Hackers then went on to threaten theaters that showed the movie, whose plotline involves the assassination of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un.
Most of the major theater chains backed out. But on Tuesday, several independent movie theaters received the green light to show the film.
Sun-Ray co-owner Shana David-Massett said the theater had promoted the film for six weeks and planned to play it until it was pulled.
The abrupt change wasn’t unheard of — films have been pulled before — but the circumstances surrounding it were.
“We weren’t traumatized by it,” she said, “but we wanted to provide the film to our audience.”
After the limited release was allowed, David-Massett said the phone had been ringing off the hook with people interested in buying tickets.
She said only about 250 independent theaters were going to show the film, as of Tuesday afternoon.
“It’s been a busy few hours, but it’s just another bump in the roller coaster,” David-Massett said. “Before that, a rough couple of days trying to figure things out.”
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