"The Interview" Streamed on YouTube

[BeauBenken]

Sony To Stream 'The Interview' On YouTube, Other Sites Starting Today : The Two-Way : NPR

Link to the movie.

 

[johnnycando]

Fuck Kim Jong Un Il.

 

[zelezo vlk]

Watching it right now.

 

[IrishSteelhead]

"The Interview" Streamed on YouTube

Was this the plan of a PR stunt all along? Stream it on Christmas?

 

[Rizzophil]

Watching it right now.

How was it?

 

[BeauBenken]

Was this the plan of a PR stunt all along? Stream it on Christmas?

There's no way considering they lose a lot of money by not showcasing it in movie theaters first.

 

[zelezo vlk]

How was it?

I found it pretty funny. Better than Neighbors from earlier in the year.

 

[pumpdog20]

I was hoping this stream would fail as punishment for originally caving into N. Korea.

 

[Cackalacky]

Over 900,000 torrent downloads today. Crazy.

 

[BGIF]

Was this the plan of a PR stunt all along? Stream it on Christmas?

I've had that thought from the beginning. PR stunt of all time.

 

[notredomer23]

I've had that thought from the beginning. PR stunt of all time.

Thought this as well. From the critical reviews I have seen, they have ranged from terrible to okay. Perfect PR stunt for a crap film.

 

[dshans]

... From the critical reviews I have seen, they have ranged from terrible to okay. Perfect PR stunt for a crap film.

From what little I've seen of the previews, intended as "highlights," I assume; it struck me as a stinker doomed to failure.

Possibly a lucrative failure, but a failure nonetheless.

Isn't there some saying about publicity being a good thing whether it be positive or negative?

You can't always get what you want.

There are always those who want what they can't get.

And always someone looking to cash in.

 

[Booslum31]

I always thought that it was wierd to make a movie about kililling a current leader of a counrty. Even though the leader is a complete butthole...just doesn't seem right. I think Obama is the worst president that we've ever had but I would really be pissed if somebody made a movie about killing him.

 

[IrishLion]

I've had that thought from the beginning. PR stunt of all time.

If it was a PR stunt, it was the worst of all time. First caving to pressure, then "going back" on that with a streaming release.

If it was indeed a set up, they would've been better off going with a full release in theaters after initially calling it off.

 

[blueNDgold44]

Franco and Rogen really flopped with this one...

 

[TheTurningPoint]

Not a good movie. Some funny parts but easily one that will benefit from the media hoopla.

 

[calvegas04]

Was funny overall, I would give it a 6 out of 10. It is up normal Seth Rogan style comedy, and duck north korea....

Ps- some good looking gals in it, looking at you Acamp

 

[DonnieNarco]

I always thought that it was wierd to make a movie about kililling a current leader of a counrty. Even though the leader is a complete butthole...just doesn't seem right. I think Obama is the worst president that we've ever had but I would really be pissed if somebody made a movie about killing him.

South Park had Sadaam Hussein as Satan's gay lover. When someone is as bad of a person as Kim Jong Un or Hussein they should be portrayed like that.

 

[Emcee77]

It was funny, if you like that kind of thing. Somebody said six out of 10 ... That's probably about right. Put it this way: totally worth the six bucks we paid for a roomful of people to see it; probably not worth the 30-35 in tickets and refreshments I would have had to pay for my wife and I to see it in a theater.

 

[Crazy Balki]

Incompetent, moronic North Korean leader aside, has anyone noticed that Franco/Rogen movies seem to be getting worse and worse? Knocked up was really funny, Express was funny, The End was pretty funny and from what I gathered this film blew chunks, or at best, was okay.

 

[woolybug25]

There's no way considering they lose a lot of money by not showcasing it in movie theaters first.

Considering they had almost a million downloads, i'm guessing that they didn't lose any money at all. Pairing downloads with theater release has been something the movie industry has been fighting to get for a while now. This gave Sony the opportunity to be the first to skirt the movie theater's backlash on this topic.

 

[IrishLion]

Considering they had almost a million downloads, i'm guessing that they didn't lose any money at all. Pairing downloads with theater release has been something the movie industry has been fighting to get for a while now. This gave Sony the opportunity to be the first to skirt the movie theater's backlash on this topic.

Eh, that's only $12 million tops from downloads (probably much less considering not everyone did the $12 download to own it).

With a limited theater release, I don't know how to find box office data, but that would mean they need to make another $32 million to cover the film's budget of $44 million.

They would've broken that eeeeeaaaasssyyyyy with a theater-only release.

 

[Emcee77]

Considering they had almost a million downloads, i'm guessing that they didn't lose any money at all. Pairing downloads with theater release has been something the movie industry has been fighting to get for a while now. This gave Sony the opportunity to be the first to skirt the movie theater's backlash on this topic.

Yeah, exactly, I think the theater owners gave Sony a convenient excuse to conduct an experiment that, under other circumstances, they would have strongly opposed.

 

[woolybug25]

Eh, that's only $12 million tops from downloads (probably much less considering not everyone did the $12 download to own it).

With a limited theater release, I don't know how to find box office data, but that would mean they need to make another $32 million to cover the film's budget of $44 million.

They would've broken that eeeeeaaaasssyyyyy with a theater-only release.

You do realize that this movie has terrible reviews and critics almost unilaterally think the movie stinks, right?

They in no way whatsoever would have came anywhere close to break even on a theater only release. Hot Tub Time Machine only grossed $14MM in the theaters in it's opening weekend, and people weren't widely being told that movie sucked, like they were with this film. I would bet that this movie would have epically bombed if it weren't for the hack. Instead, it matched it's better movie predecessor's opening weekend on its first day by streaming online.

Btw, I am not making up the fact that film makers have been pushing hard for theaters to let them pair opening days with online releases. It is something that will eventually happen.

 

[IrishJayhawk]

Incompetent, moronic North Korean leader aside, has anyone noticed that Franco/Rogen movies seem to be getting worse and worse? Knocked up was really funny, Express was funny, The End was pretty funny and from what I gathered this film blew chunks, or at best, was okay.

Correct. I love stupid movies that are funny. They just aren't very funny anymore. Just sort of vulgar and intentionally offensive.

Shows my age, but I'm looking for another Tommy Boy.

 

[IrishLion]

You do realize that this movie has terrible reviews and critics almost unilaterally think the movie stinks, right?

They in no way whatsoever would have came anywhere close to break even on a theater only release. Hot Tub Time Machine only grossed $14MM in the theaters in it's opening weekend, and people weren't widely being told that movie sucked, like they were with this film. I would bet that this movie would have epically bombed if it weren't for the hack. Instead, it matched it's better movie predecessor's opening weekend on its first day by streaming online.

Btw, I am not making up the fact that film makers have been pushing hard for theaters to let them pair opening days with online releases. It is something that will eventually happen.

What im saying is that their $12 million in streaming revenue wouldn't have matched a full theater release after initially canceling it. If they would have cancelled and then said "Merry Christmas, it's showing everywhere after all!" they probably would've made well over $12 million based on people going to theaters as a big F-you to the hackers/North Korea. Instead of selling tickets to each individual in theaters, entire households got to see it for the price of one ticket.

And yes, I'm familiar with the streaming-alongside-theater movement. Netflix is almost greenlit for one coming up, but the name escapes me.

 

[BeauBenken]

Correct. I love stupid movies that are funny. They just aren't very funny anymore. Just sort of vulgar and intentionally offensive.

Shows my age, but I'm looking for another Tommy Boy.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/S2XvxDaIwCw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Tommy Boy is one of the greatest comedies ever made. I'm 21. I'm not sure what you mean by "shows my age".

 

[woolybug25]

What im saying is that their $12 million in streaming revenue wouldn't have matched a full theater release after initially canceling it. If they would have cancelled and then said "Merry Christmas, it's showing everywhere after all!" they probably would've made well over $12 million based on people going to theaters as a big F-you to the hackers/North Korea. Instead of selling tickets to each individual in theaters, entire households got to see it for the price of one ticket.

And yes, I'm familiar with the streaming-alongside-theater movement. Netflix is almost greenlit for one coming up, but the name escapes me.

No movie made $12M on Christmas. Not Unbroken nor Into The Woods. It's not like all 750k people that downloaded it would have went to the movies. I disagree with you on this.

Also, if pairing online releases with theater was bad for net profit, why would the studios (who are most effected by it) be the people pushing for it?

 

[IrishLion]

No movie made $12M on Christmas. Not Unbroken nor Into The Woods. It's not like all 750k people that downloaded it would have went to the movies. I disagree with you on this.

Also, if pairing online releases with theater was bad for net profit, why would the studios (who are most effected by it) be the people pushing for it?

I'm not arguing the streaming-alongside-theater thing. I'm just saying that a full theater release, in this specific instance because of the ridiculous situation, probably would've been better for the movie because of the people that would've gone out and bought individual tickets "because 'Murica," rather than groups paying a single fee to see it together via streaming.

For a standard film, the streaming idea will be fantastic for profit. It creates more access, such as for people who want to see films but don't want to make the trip.

I want to see the Hobbit, but the fiancé is reluctant after the last one. They would've had my money, had I been able to stream it at home lol.

I just think this extremely specific situation was bad for the Interview's profits, but obviously good for the progression of the streaming movement moving forward.

 

[NCDomer]

I'm not arguing the streaming-alongside-theater thing. I'm just saying that a full theater release, in this specific instance because of the ridiculous situation, probably would've been better for the movie because of the people that would've gone out and bought individual tickets "because 'Murica," rather than groups paying a single fee to see it together via streaming.

For a standard film, the streaming idea will be fantastic for profit. It creates more access, such as for people who want to see films but don't want to make the trip.

I want to see the Hobbit, but the fiancé is reluctant after the last one. They would've had my money, had I been able to stream it at home lol.

I just think this extremely specific situation was bad for the Interview's profits, but obviously good for the progression of the streaming movement moving forward.

You're assuming the higher price at the theater translates into more revenue for the studio. They probably see a small fraction of that money. Streaming probably costs less and has higher margins. This would explain why studios want to stream movies too.