Unless you have been living under a rock for the past six months, you probably are well aware of all the drama going on at Sony Pictures involving a very sophisticated hack of their computer network, which has resulted in the release of sensitive personal employee information including social security numbers, health information, employee records, and also the leak of some rather embarrassing email correspondence between executives about certain stars in their movies, as well as leaks of some movies which had not yet been released into theaters, including a modern urban reboot of the movie Annie. These hacks were perpetrated by a group calling itself Guardians of Peace, which presumably is connected to the dictatorial regime of North Korea, though some cybersecurity experts have doubts about this. This was done presumably because Sony Pictures had greenlighted the release of the new Seth Rogen comedy The Interview, starring Mr. Rogen himself and James Franco, which for those not aware is about a flashy cable TV celebrity talk show host and his producer who get an opportunity to score the biggest interview of their career in North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un. However, before they get the chance to jet off to Pyongyang to conduct their interview, they are met by a pair of CIA agents who want them to assassinate the Dear Leader.
The first threats against Sony were made last summer, threatening to release sensitive information if they planned to release this movie. Sony brushed off the threats, and by mid-November their computer systems were hacked. While the events that initially followed were a huge black eye for Sony, most of the mainstream media treated this somewhat lightheartedly, as if this were Sony's fault for not securing their IT systems and not being able to keep their non-politically correct opinions to themselves.
However, things took a much darker turn two weeks ago, when the hackers suddenly threatened to create "9/11 style attacks" on any theater that chose to show the movie on Christmas Day. Sony executives got nervous, and soon the five major movie exhibitor chains including Regal and AMC Cinemas pulled out of showing the movie, thus putting Sony in a horrible position of potentially losing hundreds of millions of dollars. Sony then said they would not release the movie on Christmas Day and gave no indication when, if ever, The Interview would see the light of day. Many people including President Obama criticized the decision by Sony, and three days ago, in an abrupt about-face, Sony declared they would would let a group of about 300 independent theaters premiere the movie on Christmas Day. Then yesterday afternoon, in an even more sudden and bold move, Sony announced they had made arrangements with Google to release the movie in video-on-demand format, via YouTube, Google Play Movies, and Xbox 1.
Please follow me below the festive orange garland on why this may be one of the most important events in movie history.
Now I'm not known to just throw around hyperbole for no apparent reason, and as far as the content of this movie, hyperbole is not warranted. For all of the hullabaloo surrounding this film, you would think this movie was the next coming of Citizen Kane, Midnight Cowboy, or the original Star Wars, but this movie is none of that. In fact, those not familiar with Seth Rogen and James Franco's previous movies like Pineapple Express or This Is The End will find this movie crude and juvenile and a complete waste of money, even if they were just curious about the controversy or just wanted to stand up for freedom of expression. Those who are fans will probably like this movie, even though not all the jokes connect, and some parts of the movie rely way too much on sex jokes and crude toilet humor. Nevertheless, there were some decent performances in this movie, especially Randall Park as Kim Jong-Un, who comes across as self-deprecating and even fun to be around.
However, what is important about this movie was the decision to release this movie online in video-on-demand (VOD) format. This may have been precipitated by the potential terrorist threats on movie theaters, though some people have cynically surmised that this was a stunt to generate a lot of free publicity for the movie via the news media. Google is charging $5.99 to stream this movie for rent and $14.99 to buy it in HD format. While $5.99 is higher than the price they normally charge for renting movies on Google Play Movies and Music, this is a steal for a high profile first-run movie just being released in theaters, considering it's cheaper than the matinee run at the local multiplex. Plus it can be watched in the comfort of your own home, and if you have a smart TV or Chromecast, you can stream it to your big flat screen TV, and not have to worry about paying for parking, overpriced popcorn and drinks, or dealing with crying babies and loud cell phone conversations during the movie.
Granted, this is not the first movie released simultaneously on VOD and in theaters on the same day, but it is the most talked-about movie to do so, and while this probably won't completely change the movie distribution model for the foreseeable future, this could be a watershed moment. I don't expect the major movie studios to suddenly release films like Frozen, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay or the upcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron on VOD the same time they are premiering those movies on 3,000 to 4,000 screens, but for more adult-oriented movies like The Grand Budapest Hotel, this could be a godsend. Instead of targeting almost exclusively the 15-29 year old moviegoing public, Hollywood can target a much wider group of moviegoers, particularly older moviegoers who want to see more adult-oriented movies who may not want to shell out $40 to $50 for a night out but would be amenable to spending $5.99 at home. This could also open up niches for African American audiences and Christian movie audiences. (Maybe Tyler Perry's movies or Kirk Cameron's Saving Christmas or Rick Santorum's The Christmas Candle aren't the kinds of movies you may be into, but they would fill a niche that would be profitable to the major studios plus some independent movie studios.)
Now the biggest drawback to this VOD is the threat of piracy, and this was the case with The Interview. Within hours of Sony and Google releasing the movie online, the movie showed up on pirate torrent sites. Sure, some of those downloading the movie are serial digital pirates, and others had no plans on seeing the movie in theaters at all even before the hacks, but a large group of downloaders came from overseas where it was unknown whether the movie was going to be released there at all, downloading it for the same reason many people who purchased it online did; to see what the big fuss was about or to further freedom of expression.