James Franco and Seth Rogen in a scene from "The Interview."
At least 10 Minnesota movie houses, including St. Anthony Main in Minneapolis, joined others across the country Tuesday in announcing that they would show "The Interview'' beginning Christmas Day.
Sony Pictures had withdrew the picture from release last week after threats of terrorism from computer hackers, but reversed its stance on Tuesday. The comedy stars James Franco and Seth Rogen as TV journalists recruited by the CIA to kill North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Un.
"I guess we're not concerned. We're not close to North Korea," said Debbie Zeise, co-owner of the GTI Cambridge and North Branch Theatres, which is showing the film in both venues. "We're showing it because we believe in the freedom of press and that we shouldn't bow down to terrorism."
It's a view shared by many patrons, she said.
"That I think really is the reason people will come out and watch it. Not because they think 'Oh, I've got to watch this movie.' " The controversy may bring larger audiences than she first expected to her theaters' top auditoriums, which seat 200 or fewer viewers.
"We were not anticipating this would be a huge movie. Now we are anticipating it being bigger than it would have been. More people are going to be saying, 'I'm going to go see it to see what all the hubbub's about.'
"Even my mother-in-law, who's a woman in her 80s, said, 'Well, I just want to see what it's about.' They aren't going because they want to see the movie. They're going because they want to make a statement about free speech and we're not going to bow to terrorism."
Susan Smoluchowski, executive director of the Film Society of Minneapolis St. Paul, which will be showing the film at St. Anthony Main, had a similar take: "Although this film may not be typical of the films we generally screen, we made a decision to do so from a philosophical standpoint, that of artistic freedom, creative license and defense against censorship."
