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‘The Interview,’ Once Pulled from Theaters, Can Now Be Watched from Your Couch

If you made plans to head to one of the hundreds of theaters set to screen The Interview tomorrow, you might want to cancel them. Now you can watch the film, which depicts the fictional assassination of North Korea Kim Jong Un, from the comfort of your own home. Early Wednesday, Sony announced that it ...

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If you made plans to head to one of the hundreds of theaters set to screen The Interview tomorrow, you might want to cancel them. Now you can watch the film, which depicts the fictional assassination of North Korea Kim Jong Un, from the comfort of your own home.

If you made plans to head to one of the hundreds of theaters set to screen The Interview tomorrow, you might want to cancel them. Now you can watch the film, which depicts the fictional assassination of North Korea Kim Jong Un, from the comfort of your own home.

Early Wednesday, Sony announced that it would stream the movie for $5.99 on Google’s Play service, YouTube Movies, through Xbox Video and via a Web site run by Sony —  seetheinterview.com. The movie is also available to buy for $14.99.

Sony’s announcement means Americans will be able to see a movie that North Korean hackers allegedly did their best to kill. The month-long drama began when hackers broke into Sony Pictures’ servers, stealing employee data, salaries, embarrassing emails, and the script for the next James Bond movie, among other materials. The FBI accused North Korea of being responsible for the hack, a charge that Pyongyang denies. After Sony pulled the movie last week, President Barack Obama essentially called the decision un-American because it limited free speech and let the hackers win. Somewhere along the line Baltimore Ravens’ quarterback Joe Flacco was involved.

Since Obama’s comments, Sony has scrambled to find a way to release the $44 million comedy. Yesterday, the studio announced that it would screen the movie at a few hundred theaters around the country. On Wednesday, it announced plans to stream the movie as well. It’s now available online.

“It was essential for our studio to release this movie, especially given the assault upon our business and our employees by those who wanted to stop free speech,” Sony chairman and chief executive Michael Lynton said Wednesday. “We chose the path of digital distribution first so as to reach as many people as possible on opening day, and we continue to seek other partners and platforms to further expand the release.”

But before you shell out six bucks to watch the movie, be warned: Most critics don’t think it’s very good.

Photo Credit: Robyn Beck/Getty Images

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