Why Sony's digital release of 'The Interview' changes the game - latimes

Just a week ago, Sony was more troubled than poor giftless Bunky at Christmas. In addition to all the hacking woes, it looked pretty much done for when it came to “The Interview.” Major theater chains had dropped the Seth Rogen North Korea comedy, fearing hacking and terrorist attacks, and the group known as Guardians of Peace was on the offensive, threatening any entity that got close to the film.

But on Wednesday morning Sony pulled off one of the more improbable turnarounds in the history of movie marketing. After bringing aboard several hundred independent theaters the day before, it announced that, literally within the hour, it would make the movie available on a host of digital platforms — Microsoft Xbox, Google Play, YouTube, even a proprietary site — where consumers could rent the movie for $5.99 or buy an HD copy for $14.99.  Read More at Latimes