As more Illinois theaters signed on to show the controversial film "The Interview" on Christmas Day, Sony Pictures also made it available for online rental Wednesday.
The raunchy comedy, which depicts a fictional plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, turned into an international incident when Sony's computer systems were hacked and threats were made against theaters planning to show the film. The FBI has blamed the online mayhem on North Korea.
As of noon Wednesday, Sony was offering the movie for rent in high definition on Google Play, YouTube Movies, Microsoft's Xbox Video and a dedicated website, seetheinterview.com, at a price of $5.99. The studio said the film also can be purchased in HD for $14.99.
Google Inc. said it weighed issues of security and freedom of expression in making its decision to offer the movie online.
"Given everything that's happened, the security implications were very much at the front of our minds," Google's chief legal officer, David Drummond, wrote in a blog post. "But after discussing all the issues, Sony and Google agreed that we could not sit on the sidelines and allow a handful of people to determine the limits of free speech in another country (however silly the content might be)."
About a half-dozen movie theaters across Illinois plan Christmas Day showings, including the Buffalo Grove Theater, the Hollywood Boulevard Cinemas of Woodridge, O'Fallon 15 Cine, Roxy Cinemas in Ottawa, Landmark Cinemas in Peoria, Willow Knolls 14 in Peoria and the Savoy 16 and IMAX in Savoy.
Buffalo Grove Theater notified police Tuesday that it would show the movie as Christmas dawned at midnight, officials said.
"We will have officers in the area patrolling on a special watch," Buffalo Grove police Cmdr. Roy Bethge said. "We will not have officers in the theater or at the theater."
The police force is proceeding with normal holiday staffing. The "special watch" for the theater area will be similar to what is done during big basketball games or other large gatherings. "I'm not that concerned about it," Bethge said.
The general manager, Kim Benjamin, said Buffalo Grove Theater is hiring off-duty cops to ensure safety, stationing one at the entrance to check bags and coats. The five-screen movie house has implemented more precautions since the fatal July 2012 theater shooting in Aurora, Colo.
"We decided, let's up the security and we can just take it head-on," Benjamin said. "We figured it makes people feel a little bit safer."
Benjamin said Sony called her Tuesday to offer the movie again but that the theater had never planned to drop it from the lucrative Christmas weekend lineup.
"I think peer pressure is a very powerful thing," she said. "Why should we let a communist country dictate what our American freedoms are?"
As of 2 p.m., 50 tickets had been sold for the first Buffalo Grove screening.
"I think people are going to do it to make a statement," Benjamin said. "It probably would have been a sleeper hit and now it has kind of snowballed way beyond anyone's expectations."
"The Interview," which has received some negative early reviews, stars Seth Rogen and James Franco as journalists tasked by the CIA with killing the North Korean leader. The hacking attack against Sony included the release of confidential and embarrassing emails. Amid threats against those planning to show the movie, theater chains backed out and Sony canceled its Christmas Day release, which had been intended for 3,000 locations.
Political and public opinion debates ensued. Even President Barack Obama weighed in with disapproval of Sony's withdrawal of the film.
Sony reversed that position Tuesday, and about 300 independent cinemas will show the movie nationwide.
Along with the theaters showing the film starting Christmas Day, the Art Theater Co-Op in Champaign will show it starting Jan. 2, according to its movie listings.
The movie's Facebook page also posted Tuesday night that an Arlington Heights theater was showing it, but the only one in town, Star Cinema Grill, said Wednesday morning that it does not have plans to do so.
An official at the northwest suburban eat-in theater said its corporate officials have been in discussions with Sony but deferred comment to headquarters.
Bloomington Galaxy 14 Cine is also listed as a movie site on a promotional listing on Facebook, although there were no times listed on the theater website midday Wednesday.
Sony said it is protecting free speech by securing other platforms and reaching the largest possible audience.
"It was essential for our studio to release this movie, especially given the assault upon our business and our employees by those who wanted to stop free speech," Sony Entertainment Chief Executive Michael Lynton said in a statement. "We chose the path of digital distribution first so as to reach as many people as possible on opening day, and we continue to seek other partners and platforms to further expand the release."
The White House on Wednesday praised the film's release.
"As the president made clear on Friday, we do not live in a country where a foreign dictator can start imposing censorship here in the United States," White House spokesman Eric Schultz said in a statement. "With today's announcements, people can now make their own choices about the film, and that's how it should be."
Reuters news service contributed.