The FBI has said the North Korean government was behind the hacking of Sony Pictures, and threats against theaters that played “The Interview.”
And that’s what motivated Matt Richter to head downtown to Tower City Cinemas to see it: "The general idea of freedom of speech, and not letting either a foreign country, or maybe if it is just some individual hackers, dictate what can and cannot be shown," he said.
Richter said he wants to support independent movie theaters who support freedom of speech.
Fellow movie goer Terrence Wong said he didn’t expect the comedy to offer profound political insights, but the controversy did get him curious.
When Sony said it would offer a limited release, rather than canceling the film completely, Wong thought,"'Oh! Everybody’s going to watch it now! So I ordered my tickets then,'" he said.
Wong said he probably wouldn’t have seen "The Interview" otherwise.
In fact, most people lined up to buy tickets for the 2:05 p.m. showing said the film’s intersection with international politics intrigued them more than the comedic efforts of Seth Rogen and James Franco.