The Interview to Be Released in Select Theaters and VOD After All

After being publicly criticized by President Obama, Sony has decided to release The Interview after all. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Seth Rogen and James Franco comedy will be released simultaneously in select theaters and video on demand on Christmas Day.

"We have never given up on releasing The Interview and we're excited our movie will be in a number of theaters on Christmas Day," Sony CEO Michael Lynton said in a statement. "At the same time, we are continuing our efforts to secure more platforms and more theaters so that this movie reaches the largest possible audience.

"I want to thank our talent on The Interview and our employees, who have worked tirelessly through the many challenges we have all faced over the last month," the statement continued. "While we hope this is only the first step of the film's release, we are proud to make it available to the public and to have stood up to those who attempted to suppress free speech."

The full list of participating theaters has yet to be revealed, but The Plaza Theater in Atlanta and The Alamo Drafthouse in Dallas-Fort Worth have both announced they plan on screening the controversial comedy.

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"Sony has authorized screenings of THE INTERVIEW on Christmas Day. We are making shows available within the hour. #Victory," The Alamo Drafthouse's founder Tim League tweeted Tuesday morning.

The Plaza announced it would be showing The Interview on two screens Christmas Day and is scheduling screenings for Dec. 26 as well.

Sony canceled its planned Christmas theatrical release for The Interview - about the assassination of Kim Jong-un - last week in the wake of a cyber attack on the studio, which the FBI has since confirmed North Korea was behind, and terror threats. Last Friday, Obama declared Sony had "made a mistake" pulling the film, to which Lynton said, "We have always had every desire to have the American public see this movie. ... We do not own movie theaters. We cannot decide what is played in theaters."

On Sunday, Sony lawyer David Boies said on Meet the Press that the film's release was merely delayed, not canceled. "Sony has been fighting to get this picture distributed," he said. "It will be distributed."

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