刺殺金正恩電影圣誕節(jié)小范圍公映

刺殺金正恩電影圣誕節(jié)小范圍公映

LOS ANGELES — Sony Pictures said on Tuesday that it had secured a limited theatrical release for “The Interview” on Christmas Day.

洛杉磯——索尼電影娛樂公司(Sony Pictures)周二表示，已與數量有限的影院達成一致，將在圣誕節(jié)當天公映影片《采訪》(Interview)。

“We have never given up,” Michael Lynton, chief executive of Sony Entertainment, said in a statement. He added that in addition to the limited theatrical release, “We are continuing our efforts to secure more platforms and more theaters so that this movie reaches the largest possible audience.”

“我們從未放棄，”索尼娛樂(Sony Entertainment)首席執(zhí)行官邁克爾·林頓(Michael Lynton)在聲明中稱。他還表示，除了有限范圍的公映，“我們仍在努力使該片登陸更多平臺和院線，從而讓盡可能多的觀眾觀看到這部電影。”

Last week, about 80 percent of the theaters in the United States and Canada refused to show “The Interview” in the face of a terror threat. But over the last day Sony reached out to theater owners again, asking if they would rebook the film.

上周，由于面臨恐怖威脅，美國和加拿大約80%的影院決定取消放映《采訪》的計劃。不過，在圣誕節(jié)前的最后一天，索尼再次主動接觸了院線的所有方，詢問是否可以重新訂下這部片子。

One person briefed on the effort said on Tuesday that it appeared unlikely that big chains like Regal or AMC would come on board but that Sony was likely to patch together distribution for the film in 200 to 300 smaller theaters. Already some theaters, like the Alamo Drafthouse chain, based in Austin, and the Plaza Theater in Atlanta have said they would show the film.

一名知情人士周二表示，帝王娛樂集團(Regal Entertainment)和AMC娛樂(AMC)等大型連鎖影院似乎不大可能答應這個請求，但索尼或許可以通過總共200到300家較小的影院發(fā)行這部片子。一些影院已經表示將放映該片，包括奧斯汀的Alamo Drafthouse院線和亞特蘭大的Plaza Theater。

“Sony has authorized screenings of ‘The Interview’ on Christmas Day,” Tim League, the chief executive of the 30-theater Alamo chain, wrote on Twitter on Tuesday morning. Mr. League did not immediately respond to a query.

“索尼已授權我們在圣誕節(jié)當天放映《采訪》，”擁有30家連鎖影院的Alamo的首席執(zhí)行官蒂姆·利格(Tim League)周二上午在Twitter上寫道。他沒有立即回復記者的采訪請求。

Representatives of the four largest theater chains in the United States either declined to comment or had no immediate comment. The people who were briefed on Sony’s effort insisted on anonymity because the negotiations over the film’s release were continuing.

美國四大院線的代表均拒絕置評或暫時未予置評。了解索尼計劃的人要求不具名，因為有關該片放映事宜的談判仍在進行當中。

Even a 300-theater run would be largely symbolic in financial terms. Sony had planned to release “The Interview” on 2,000 to 3,000 screens in North America.

即使是有300家影院放映這部片子，在財務方面也只具有象征意義。索尼此前計劃在北美的2000至3000塊屏幕上放映《采訪》。

A new facet of Sony’s discussions with theater owners is any simultaneous video-on-demand effort. Theaters, worried about the possible impact on ticket sales, remain adamant about refusing to open their doors to any film that is showing or about to show elsewhere, according to people briefed on the discussions. Studios typically give theaters a monthslong exclusive window to play new movies.

索尼與影院所有者的討論還包含一個新的方面，即能否允許采用同步視頻點播的辦法來放映這部電影。知情人士稱，由于擔心票房可能受到的影響，影院一直堅決不接受任何正在或即將通過其他方式放映的片子。影業(yè)公司一般會讓院線擁有幾個月的獨家放映新片的窗口期。

It remained unclear, however, whether any on-demand service would take “The Interview.” According to people briefed on the matter, Sony had in recent days asked the White House for help in lining up a particular technology partner but no deal had materialized. Sony had particularly hoped for a partnership with Apple.

然而，目前仍不清楚《采訪》能否通過點播服務放映。根據知情人士的說法，索尼近日曾向白宮求助，希望找到某個技術合作伙伴，但尚未達成協(xié)議。索尼尤其希望與蘋果(Apple)開展合作。

A release plan would end a mad scramble on the part of Sony to find a way to get “The Interview” seen and begin a new period of disquiet for the studio and its partners. The hacker group that digitally ransacked Sony beginning late last month, and that threatened theaters with violence if they played it, also warned that the assault would continue if alternate distribution plans were made.

影院放映計劃將讓索尼為使《采訪》與觀眾見面而陷入的狂亂告一段落，并讓公司及其合作伙伴進入一個新的不安時期。黑客團體從上月底開始攻擊了索尼的數字系統(tǒng)，并用暴力威脅影院不要放映該片。他們還警告，如果出現(xiàn)其他形式的發(fā)行計劃，將繼續(xù)進行攻擊。

“The Interview,” which stars Seth Rogen and James Franco, is an R-rated comedy about the assassination of the North Korean ruler Kim Jong-un. The F.B.I. has publicly identified North Korea as “centrally involved” with the attack on Sony.

由賽斯·羅根(Seth Rogen)和詹姆斯·弗蘭科(James Franco)主演的《采訪》是一部定為R級的喜劇，講述的是刺殺朝鮮領導人金正恩(Kim Jong-un)的故事。美國聯(lián)邦調查局(FBI)已公開指認朝鮮與索尼遭到的攻擊“密切相關”。

“The Interview” had been scheduled for release on Christmas Day. But when hackers on Dec. 16 warned of 9/11-scale violence if the film were shown, multiplex owners canceled their bookings in the face of pressure from their lawyers, shopping mall landlords and even Sony competitors, which were worried about their own films.

《采訪》原本計劃于圣誕節(jié)當天開映。但黑客在12月16日發(fā)出警告，如果影片上映，他們將發(fā)動與9·11事件規(guī)模相當的暴力活動。于是，迫于律師、商場房東乃至擔心自家影片的索尼競爭對手的壓力，多家院線取消了放映約定。

Theater owners and government officials have been trying to assess the threat’s credibility. One person briefed on the exhibitors’ deliberations said law enforcement officials had become less inclined over the last few days to see the threat as serious.

院線擁有者和政府官員一直在努力評估這一威脅的可信度。一名了解放映方商議情況的人士稱，過去幾天里，執(zhí)法官員開始傾向于將這一威脅不那么當真。

Still, people briefed on the deliberations said theaters showing the film might take unusual security measures, perhaps by banning backpacks or packages or posting signs advising customers of added risk.

然而，上述知情人士表示，放映該片的影院可能會采取不同尋常的安全措施，或許會禁止觀眾攜帶背包或小包，或是張貼告示，告知觀眾存在額外的風險。

Sony at first said it was shelving “The Interview” completely but quickly decided to look for a mainstream cable, satellite or online movie distributor to adopt the film. Worried about the repercussions of allowing a foreign power to censor American artistic expression, a wide range of people — President Obama, Salman Rushdie, numerous Hollywood stars — publicly pressured Sony to find an alternative.

索尼起初宣布將徹底擱置《采訪》，但很快又決定尋找主流的有線、衛(wèi)星或在線電影發(fā)行商來接受該片。包括奧巴馬總統(tǒng)、薩爾曼·拉什迪(Salman Rushdie)和眾多好萊塢明星在內的許多人，對容忍外國勢力審查美國的藝術表達帶來的后果感到擔憂。他們公開向索尼施壓，要求它尋找替代方案。

But finding a new delivery route has been complicated.

不過，找到一個新的放映途徑是頗為復雜的一件事情。

Satellite operators, cable systems and online platforms worried that they would become hacking targets if they picked up “The Interview.”

衛(wèi)星電視運營商、有線電視系統(tǒng)和在線平臺擔心，如果決定放映《采訪》，自己可能會成為黑客攻擊的目標。