back to article Toffee, Apple? U.S. fanbois get their sticky fingers on Nork-teasing flick The Interview

Apple has begun offering the controversial Sony Pictures' movie The Interview, starring Seth Rogen and James Franco, for rent and sale on its Stateside and Canada iTunes stores. Fanbois who are willing to shell out $14.99 can purchase a high-definition version of the Nork-ribbing flick from Apple's online shop. It comes days …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    And....

    Not a single fuck was given.

    1. asdf

      Re: And....

      Especially since I saw the flick four days ago. Still say Team America was worse towards the Nork leadership but both films did push the disgusting knob to 11.

  2. Julian Bond

    Best Marketing Campaign EVAH!

    1. ThomH

      Only if making a loss was the objective. That all the major chains have declined to show it somewhat limits income — it had a budget of something like $44m and made only $1m in screenings during its opening weekend due to the limited release.

      There's also the likely future employment prospects for Amy Pascal et al in the corner of not-such-a-great-set-of-circumstances.

      1. jai

        really? in this day and age, is the cinema box office takings really that much of a percentage of the films income?

        after all the hype and the endless free advertising that the press gave the movie, i'd be surprised if they hadn't already made back teh $44m in just the first few days of download sales.

        1. Cliff

          Theatrical release is expensive, plus requires big promotional money which then lifts the lucrative download sales. Sony might come out of this one ahead financially, but rightfully in tatters for other reasons.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        > Only if making a loss was the objective.

        It usually is. See "Hollywood accounting".

        The other fun thing about this particular celluloid atrocity is that it apparently contains pirated music.

  3. Mark 85

    So Apple will only make the big bucks from those who are terminally curious about this movie?

    1. ThomH

      ... and who didn't already purchase it from Google or Microsoft. The macrumors.com gossip (i.e. not deliberately anti-Apple) was that after the cinemas pulled out, Sony wanted it to be an iTunes exclusive and went elsewhere only when Apple (initially) declined involvement.

      1. jai

        doesn't explain why it's not available on Sony's PSN Store. Perhaps the DNS takedown was also by Nork to stop them releasing the movie themselves?

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Downloaded this on Christmas day out of curiosity. (For free. The internet is your friend).

    It's absolute pants. I watched 20mins and meh.

    Smacks of marketing campaign to me when Sony realised they had a turkey.

    Anon for obvious reasons.

    1. Ole Juul

      Thanks for the excellent review. I'll just stick to reading ElReg.

      1. Ole Juul

        So, I read an excellent review on ElReg. It looks like this:

        It's absolute pants. I watched 20mins and meh. Smacks of marketing campaign to me when Sony realised they had a turkey.

        I decide it's bang on, and reading that on the Register is better than watching the movie. Judging by the upvotes, other people also seem to think it was an excellent review. Then why am I getting downvotes for agreeing? Not that a few downvotes makes no nevermind, but I do have to wonder what is going on here.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Streisand Effect

    That is all...

    1. Mark 85

      Re: Streisand Effect

      It does make one wonder doesn't it? The "hack", the threats, the e-mail and HR file releases, the stupid movie. Hell, even the government got involved. I'm pretty sure it wasn't the Norks but whether it was an inside job or some formerly unknown hijacking/malevolent group still needs to be found out. And there's the PR spin from Sony.... and everyone seems to be falling for it. As if that's not enough of the Streisand Effect, there's the falling over of the NK 'Net... and Playstation fallover.

      After contemplating this for a bit, I suspect that Sony (at least the entertainment section) will disappear by year's end (2016) with the games and electronics slowly going down the toilet after them. There's just been too much PR BS floating under the bridge for guy in the street to not notice. And probably golden parachutes for the C-Suite types and the Board.

  6. chivo243 Silver badge
    Headmaster

    Who would pay?

    I picked a random torrent site, and searched for The Interview just for kix and the top hit has 36,662 seeders. There were about 10 other hits, with at least 1,000 seeders. I can't see how this film will turn a profit...

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Who would pay?

      Can you compare those numbers to those of a 'hit movie'?

      1. chivo243 Silver badge

        Re: Who would pay?

        "Can you compare those numbers to those of a 'hit movie'?"

        No, no I can't. I rarely look at those numbers. I happened to have a torrent site open, and when I refreshed, "The Interview" was at the top of the movies category, thought it was a big number as well as the price Apple is asking for a marginal movie that was never "supposed" to be released.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Actually rather good

    I'd heard all the negative reviews, so I went in expecting the worst, but I thought it was actually pretty good. Extremely tasteless certainly, but definitely funny and pleasingly subversive, not wrt the NORKs, but about US foreign policy. "How long are you [the US] going to keep making the same mistakes [trying to 'fix' countries by removing the leader]?". "As long as we have to!". Quite.

  8. jjcoolaus

    I enjoyed this movie...

    ...and I'm not ashamed to admit it.

    (unlike a lot of these other commentators who have probably watched it 5 times since release but claim they hate it just to look cool)

    I don't normally like this style of comedy, but this movie was engaging right to the end, had some genuinely funny moments and while there were definitely bits of the story that I thought were just completely stupid and shouldn't have been there, overall I thought it was a pretty good movie.

    Sony would be $15 richer if they decided on a worldwide release of this movie, like they should have.

    What were they thinking for a US only release when Australians are such huge bittorrent users?

  9. Fuzz

    Fixed it for you

    Fanbois who are willing to shell out $14.99 can purchase _a licence to watch_ a high-definition version.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Fixed it for you

      Yes, that's what happens when you purchase a DVD, video cassette or paper fucking script. Do we really have to have this fucking idiotic discussion again. Fucking freetards...

      1. L05ER

        Re: Fixed it for you

        no discussion. just a reminder.

        the whole "you wouldn't steal a car" argument works in reverse too. only they would steal the car, if they legally could.

        don't be a dick.

      2. Dan 55 Silver badge

        Re: Fixed it for you

        I suspect we'll find out if Sony Pictures goes titsup. All kinds of contractural excuses to kill the download with DRM if that happens, something which doesn't happen with DVD, video cassette, or paper fucking script.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    I think it's best that the film got released

    It would have been really bad for free speach if there was a complete cave-in on showing the movie, even if the reviews of the film seem to trend towards sophmoric.

    Unfortunately, now Fox has simultaneously cancelled a planned Steve Carrell film set in North Korea. It seemed like it was a biographical film of a journalist who was given unusual levels of access to North Korea. Not sure if this would have been played for laughs or if this is Steve Carrell's "I've done comedy. Now I need to prove I am a serious actor" movie, but I don't like the idea that because North Korea may have cyber-attacked Sony over The Interview, now just about any film on the DPRK is off-limits.

    North Korea is a terrible regime, maybe the worst human rights regime in the whole world. What goes on there needs to be either thoughtfully explored or mercilessly lampooned.

  11. Irongut

    $14.99?

    That is the real crime here.

    1. asdf

      Re: $14.99?

      Could be worse. Could be £14.99 with the not unusual conversion rate ripoff.

  12. JaitcH
    Stop

    Save your money ... or your InterNet allowance

    Pure and utter garbage a la The Green Hornet genre.

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