Report: Sony Will Release The Interview on Crackle For Free - Update

[Steven Bogos]

Report: Sony Will Release The Interview on Crackle For Free - Update

The Interview may get a release after all. It's a Christmas miracle!

Update: Re/code [http://recode.net/2014/12/21/sony-hasnt-decided-where-to-stream-the-interview-meaning-not-on-crackle-for-now/] has gotten word from Sony, disputing the New York Post report. "Sony is still exploring options for distribution," said Sony spokeswoman Lauren Condoluci of Rubenstein Communications, adding that the New York Post story is "false". We have reached out to Sony for confirmation.

Source: Re/code [http://recode.net/2014/12/21/sony-hasnt-decided-where-to-stream-the-interview-meaning-not-on-crackle-for-now/]

Original Story: The biggest movie story to come out of the year was Sony Picture's landmark decision to New York Post [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/139129-The-Interview-Dropped-By-Five-Theaters-Following-Sony-Pictures-Hack], it may get a release after all.

The report states that Sony plans to release the movie for free on its online streaming service Crackle [http://www.crackle.com/]. The New York Post claims that "sources" told it this, but neglected to mention who these sources were. We have yet to find another site to corroborate these reports, and Sony has yet to respond to our own request, so let's throw a big "rumor" tag around this one for now.

But to add a bit of credibility to the rumor, David Boies, a lawyer for Sony Pictures Entertainment, stated on "Meet The Press" last Sunday [http://www.businessinsider.com/sonys-lawyer-says-the-interview-will-be-released-but-he-doesnt-know-how-yet-2014-12] that the film would be distributed, but he wasn't sure how. "It will be distributed. How it's going to be distributed I don't think anybody knows quite yet. But it's going to be distributed," he said.

Considering that the theaters, and many other streaming services are too scared to screen the movie, Crackle does seem like the most-likely way for Sony to release the movie.

I really hope this does happen and I really hope it happens soon. It's completely absurd that some crack-pot dictator in a country thousands of miles away can effectively censor films in America.

Sources: Business Insider [http://nypost.com/2014/12/21/sony-plans-to-release-the-interview-on-crackle-for-free/]

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[Neurotic Void Melody]

So thats what crackle is. Is it only available on sony devices?

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

That would be awesome IMO. Whether the film is great or not, it never deserved to be shitcanned completely and the overreaction of yanking it from theaters wasn't a good thing. I am of the mind that the NK threat was nothing more than bluster and bullshit but there is a very plausible threat from idiots in the US who would take advantage of a contentious situation to get their 15 minutes of fame by harming others at one or several theaters.
I really hope this turns around into a huge cult hit on DVD that outstrips any previous DVD/BluRay sales records by a landslide and make Rogen and Franco (along with whoever else invested their time into making the film) a buttload of money just to rub it in NK's face.
Like I said I'm a firm believer that NK is more bark than bite. Their Glorious Leader may be a total nutjob god-complexed narcissist but I doubt the people who really hold most of the power over military actions and such can't be that stupid as to actually start a war over such a stupid thing. If they really were that dumb there'd have been much more conflict years ago over Team America... I don't think you could outdo the level of insult a puppet Kim Jong Il is. NK is a minor threat only and the only thing that has ever kept them from being really wiped out is China sort of having their back. I do think that were China not to be involved in any way with NK there may have been a "quiet" changing of the guard years ago... of course thats just rampant speculation but having big brother Mao (yes I'm aware he's long gone) behind them has done more to keep the status quo there than anything else.

 

[Remus]

So thats what crackle is. Is it only available on sony devices?

Nah you can use it on any device with internet as far as I know. Don't even need an account - just click on the movie and play. Unfortunately most movies only play up to 480p. If you're a videophile it will either be a major annoyance or a dealbreaker. If you've watched TV pre-HD, 480p isn't the worst you've probably seen.

 

[deth2munkies]

Mashable and some other site are running the story that this is either fake or premature.
http://mashable.com/2014/12/21/sony-lawyer-the-interview/

No confirmation from Sony.

 

[RicoADF]

I hope they release it on DVD/Bluray, would like to grab a copy and see what it's like.

 

[ShakerSilver]

Now isn't that nice. A movie that was relatively off the radar is brought to the top of news thanks to all this panic over an INTERNATIONAL INCIDENT helped make it quite popular. So that's free publicity for the movie, and now free publicity for Sony's streaming service.

As much as I believe Sony would love to capitalize on this event, I doubt its true. This would put their networks security under even more danger than before. I don't think Sony's that stupid.

 

[Kaymish]

Instead of collaborate don't you mean corroborate??

anyway i did see a story on the BBC where someone was saying that sony could not release the film on this platform meaning films i expected them to put it out on streaming services when i saw that but i didnt expect it to come out free if this is correct

 

[Revolutionary]

Can we get it on some other streaming services? Crackles not the greatest in my experience.
EDIT: Nevermind I still hope it comes to netflix, or something, even youtube.

 

[Thunderous Cacophony]

I really hope this is true, because I LOVE what goes behind it. Especially if accessing the movie is as painless as Remus says, this could be a major step in showing theatres that they don't have a stranglehold on getting movies to the public anymore.

 

[NickBrahz]

Wait let me get this straight, people still go to the movies? (Theaters).

 

[legend forge]

No, they really aren't. This was expressly denied by Sony at last update.

 

[BrotherRool]

If this happened Crackle would be down for days. Get ready to enjoy 240pp and 12FPS

 

[RJ Dalton]

I really hope this is true, because I LOVE what goes behind it. Especially if accessing the movie is as painless as Remus says, this could be a major step in showing theatres that they don't have a stranglehold on getting movies to the public anymore.

It's not the theaters that have the stranglehold. The theaters are just as abused in this as we are, making almost no profit for showing movies. That's why popcorn costs ridiculous amounts of money in the theater - it's the only way they can make a profit. It's the studios that are doing the strangling.

Not that it makes a huge difference to me in this case, because I had no intention of paying money to see it anyway. Can't stand Seth Rogan.

 

[legend forge]

The theaters are just as abused in this as we are

They make less money per ticket the more recent the movie. That's just exploitative.

 

[Storm Dragon]

I'm not really all that interested in the movie, but, if this happens, I'm going to watch it just because the World's Wackiest Dictatorship doesn't want me to.

 

[Reed Spacer]

Can we get it on some other streaming services? Crackles not the greatest in my experience.

Eh, it's adequate for my purposes.

 

[DJ_DEnM]

Mashable and some other site are running the story that this is either fake or premature.
http://mashable.com/2014/12/21/sony-lawyer-the-interview/

No confirmation from Sony.

This comment should be getting so much traction. You countered OP with a completely valid and legit article and he's not taking it into account. Either he hasn't noticed or the Escapist's clickbait game has gone up.

 

[Fulbert]

So that was a publicity stunt after all. Rally around Sony, everyone, support freedoms by watching a crappy comedy flick on their proprietary streaming service or something.
I wonder if anyone in the NK is even aware of the story.

 

[ryukage_sama]

Hell Yes! Do it, Sony. Take the bull by the horns, and let as many people as possible see this movie. Push the Streisand Effect to the max, and let millions and millions of people (hopefully) enjoy the movie for free, albeit with ads if it goes on Crackle.

If Sony is going to get ahead of this PR nightmare, a free release is the fastest way to get there. They shot themselves in the foot when they failed to communicate that a stream release was certain but not finalized. I was planning to check this out on DVD, but I will absolutely be watching it on a free stream like Crackle.