If there was one movie which got more than average coverage this last few weeks it has been The Interview. Not even because of the movie itself (well, only the concept of it), but because how this movie supposedly was the reason for hacking Sony. The movie was finally released (both in cinema and VOD) just before Christmas and a lot of people have seen it. So I thought it would be a good idea to ask you:
What do you think of the controversy surrounding the movie, the way it has been released and the possible impact on movie studios releasing movies earlier through VOD?
The controversy has been good for the movie; giving it a lot more free press then otherwise possible.
As for the way it was released, my gut tells me Sony was basically shamed into releasing it and would probably have preferred waiting a bit.
That being said, I would have liked for the small theatres and small local chains to have had more time between their release and the online release. Though I am not against a simultaneous release across different platforms, in this instance since the whole strategy seemed haphazard, it came across as a slap in the face to the small guy willing to take a chance on a “risky” film. The small theatres/chains were getting some good exposure, but then Sony rips the rug from underneath them by also having the film come out online, and in some instances before the theatrical release.
Yeah, it is something which will color the statistics on how successful the VOD release was. Still I would love to see more movies being released this way as I often don’t have the time to head to the cinema, but do have the time to watch something at home.
This is the PERFECT testing and proving ground to see how well VOD really works. I’m hoping that it shows that releasing a big film via VOD so people can choose how and where they want to consume their film is a GOOD thing and that more film releases will be released in this way. I mean, it’s already been reported that the same number of people have pirated the film as legally bought it. Approximately. Studios need to realise that they need to keep up with how the consumer wants to consume their films, just like the TV and music industry has changed.
I’m with you Jaina!
Here are my thoughts:
http://afistfuloffilms.blogspot.com/2014/12/hack-my-shit.html
Will read that 🙂
Yeah, all the controversy was the best thing that could’ve happened to the movie. It would have never gotten as much attention as it has gotten so far. Such a shame that the movie was so terrible.
I didn’t think it was terrible myself. Not the best comedy, but if you like Rogen you’ll probably get some laughs out of it.