Some came for the comedy, others came for the controversy. Whatever the reason, many San Diegans switched up their Christmas Day plans to visit a small theater in North Park, drawn by the hype surrounding Sony Picture’s “The Interview.”
Moviegoer Christian Cullen considered it his patriotic duty to see the film at the Digital Gym on El Cajon Boulevard.
"Whether those hackers are from North Korea or not, we win,” he said of the rescheduled release. He was among sold-out crowds, though the theater only seats 40 people.
Earlier this month, Sony pulled the release of the James Franco-Seth Rogen collaboration after hackers threatened violence against theaters that show the film. One scene depicts the assassination of dictator Kim Jong Un, and the FBI later confirmed North Korea was behind the cyber attack.
But after President Barack Obama chastised the cancellation and independent movie houses vied for the chance to show it, the motion picture company agreed to a limited release through on-demand, online streaming and select theaters.
The Digital Gym is the only theater in San Diego showing the film. Artistic Director Lisa Franek said they have had no credible threats to their venue, though San Diego police have ramped up patrols of the area. They also gave the managers instructions on blocking potential hackers.
"Part of our mission is to show films that are independent. They have independent voices,” said Franek. “Very often the films we show have a controversial viewpoint. And this definitely falls into that."
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The consensus from those who saw “The Interview” Thursday?
“It was a lot funnier than I thought it would be,” said Lance Anthony. “My cousin actually saw it earlier like last night. He said, ‘Uh it was all right.’ But I thought it was pretty good."
He told NBC 7 he decided to see it because of the hype.
But Teddy Jaramillo has had the movie on his watch list for some time.
“The movie was amazing and I waited so long to see this,” he said. “It was so worth it. I would see it again.”
The Digital Cinema plans to show the film over the next two weeks. It has added extra staff and volunteers to handle the expected crowds.
