The controversial film “The Interview” will make its big-screen debut in San Diego today — at the Digital Gym Cinema in North Park — with extra security precautions to help with any protests or crowd control.
On Wednesday morning, Phillip Lorenzo, exhibitions director at Media Arts Center San Diego, said “we are having detectives from the San Diego Police Department visit today and check everything out.
Digital Gym Cinema at Media Arts Center San Diego
Address: 2921 El Cajon Blvd., North Park
Phone: (619) 230-1938
Online: digitalgym.org
“The detectives will look over the site and tell us what we need to watch out for,” he added. “Most of the concern is about cyberattacks, but we have a firewall, and we’re such a small theater that a cyber attack on us would be pretty silly.”
As far as security for today’s screenings, Lorenzo said they will have extra staff and volunteers.
Digital Gym Cinema — part of the Media Arts Center San Diego at 2921 El Cajon Blvd. — is the only San Diego theater known to be showing the film.
All five Christmas Day showings already have sold out, but Digital Gym has several screenings a day scheduled through the first weekend in January.
Today’s screenings come one day after Sony Pictures Entertainment made the movie available online on various platforms.
On Wednesday morning, Sony announced that the film would be streamed online beginning at 10 a.m. PST through Google Play, YouTube Movies, Microsoft’s Xbox Video and a dedicated Sony-built website, seetheinterview.com.
The film costs $5.99 to stream, and a high-definition version is available for purchase for $14.99.
On Tuesday, several hours after Sony said the controversial film would have a limited Christmas Day release, Digital Gym Cinema announced it would screen the film, which was pulled from release a week ago after sparking an international incident with North Korea.
In a statement released Tuesday evening, Ethan van Thillo, founder and executive director of Media Arts Center San Diego, said, “Although this film may not be typical of the films we generally screen, we made a decision to do so from a philosophical standpoint — that of artistic freedom, creative license and defense against censorship.”
The film is set to open in more than 200 theaters today, the day it was originally set for wide release.
“We have never given up on releasing ‘The Interview,’” Sony Pictures Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton said in a statement Tuesday. “While we hope this is only the first step of the film’s release, we are proud to make it available to the public and to have stood up to those who attempted to suppress free speech.”
