The Texas Theatre, a one-screen movie house in Dallas, has
already left its mark on U.S. history. It was inside the theater,
on Nov. 22, 1963, that presumed killer Lee Harvey Oswald was
arrested following the assassination of President John F.
Kennedy.
On Thursday, the theater in north Texas joined about 300 other
small cinemas to make history of a different kind, and one also
linked to an assassination, though of the imaginary kind: Showing
the movie "The Interview."
The comedy about the assassination of North Korea's ruler, Kim
Jong Un, was yanked by Sony Pictures last week after big theater
chains refused to play it. The decision followed a cyber attack at
the Sony Corp. unit, which the U.S. blamed on North Korea, and a
terrorist threat against theaters that played the film.
A loud round of applause marked the end of the Texas Theatre's
first showing of the film. "It was hysterical," said Chip Northrup,
a 64-year-old investor. "I can't believe the chain theaters didn't
pick this up. I hope these independent theaters make a
fortune."
One of the film's stars, Seth Rogen, greeted patrons in Los
Angeles at an early Christmas morning screening. In New York,
audiences flocked to see "The Interview," after weeks of drama
surrounding its fate.
"I wanted to see the first showing," said Ken Jacowitz, a
54-year-old librarian, as he held his movie ticket aloft for TV
cameras and photographers outside Cinema Village, an independent
theatre in New York City.
Mr. Jacowitz said he was there to bolster freedom of speech
rather than display patriotism. "I don't see it as being
pro-American but pro the spirit of America," he said.
Early box office figures weren't available, but since it played
in so few theaters, "The Interview" was likely dwarfed by much
bigger Christmas Day releases such as "Into the Woods" and
"Unbroken."
The limited release wasn't the public's first chance to see the
$44 million farce. On Wednesday, Sony persuaded Google Inc. and
Microsoft Corp. to offer the movie for rental or purchase from
their online video stores.
It costs $5.99 to rent the movie from Google and Microsoft and
$14.99 to buy it. Sony also set up a special website,
seetheinterview.com, to offer the movie directly.
Sony, Google and Microsoft all declined to give viewership
figures for "The Interview" on Thursday.
The movie's online release might take some of the fun out of
opening day, though Barak Epstein, the 35-year-old manager of the
Texas Theatre, said he doesn't mind. After all, he said, the main
reason he joined fellow small-theater operators in deciding to run
the film was to show North Korea that Americans don't back
down.
"It's now available to everyone, and that's great, so the online
release doesn't bother me," Mr. Epstein said. "Other governments
can't censor what movies we watch here. We need to always be sure
we're protecting the First Amendment."
Staff at Cinema Village in New York said several showings were
sold out. At the near-full 10 a.m. screening, the audience laughed
their way through the movie and a ripple of applause broke out as
the credits rolled at the end.
"I think it's great--it's a good stance," said Chelsea Bosworth,
a 31-year-old finance worker, as she exited the morning screening
at Cinema Village. "I believe in the First Amendment," she added.
"If they don't play this movie, what's next?"
Most moviegoers said they didn't take the threats surrounding
the film seriously and wanted to experience it in a theater.
"Online, you don't see it with people laughing with you," said
Nick Doiron, a 25-year-old Web developer from Queens. He admitted
he would never usually see a movie in a theater on Christmas Day,
but the hype around this movie drew him out. "I thought it was sort
of a cop out to sit in an apartment and see it."
Some people admitted being nervous over the threats made
surrounding the release. "I was a little afraid," said Grace Park,
45, of New Jersey, who came to the U.S. from South Korea 20 years
ago. "But it's just a movie."
Matt Ma, a 25-year-old Chinese national who lives in
Philadelphia and was visiting New York for the holidays, added: "I
was a bit afraid but there are 300 plus places showing it, so why
would they pick this theater [for reprisals]?"
In Dallas, Michelle Espinal, 25, arrived at the Texas Theatre
two hours ahead of the movie's first showing with her mom,
Jackie.
The apartment building where she lives in downtown Dallas is
planning a private showing of the movie this weekend, but Ms.
Espinal said she wanted to see the movie at a theater first.
"The fact that North Korea would try to shut this movie down,
that's pretty ballsy," the younger Ms. Espinal said. "We do
whatever we want here, it's called freedom."
Mr. Epstein, the manager of the Texas Theatre, said he has
noticed that many people remain reluctant to order the movie
online, fearing any hackers might access their credit cards or do
other cyber-related attacks.
"For those who want to avoid those hacking fears, the solution
is simple: Come to our movie theater, give us 10 bucks cash and you
can watch the movie in a comfortable seat, and you can get a drink
and popcorn," said Mr. Epstein. "These types of alternatives still
exist in our society."
The Dallas theater manager said he was aware of the possible
hacking threats. The FBI this week reached out to theaters
screening the movie to warn them. "So what are the hackers going to
do, get into my email? Mess with our movie listings on our
website?," Mr. Epstein said. "I'm not really worried."
He also said he was confident moviegoers would be safe if they
come to the show, which was showing four times Christmas Day.
Nonetheless, he said notified local police, and hoped they would
have some extra patrols.
One moviegoer in Dallas, David Matthews, said he was glad he
went to the theater. "It was such a paradox, or irony, this whole
experience," the 58-year-old said. "The movie talks about what has
more impact, words--you know, the media--or weapons, and this is
exactly what's happened. Kim Jung Un wanted one result and he is
getting the exact opposite. Incredible."
Rolfe Winkler, Shira Ovide and Ben Fritz contributed to this
article.
Write to Dan Molinski at Dan.Molinski@wsj.com
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