BitTorrent Inc. has recently announced that it is willing to release "The Interview." According to the file-sharing giant, Sony Pictures could release the controversial film through its bundle service. This week, BitTorrent had several meetings with Sony about releasing the cancelled action-comedy which starred Seth Rogen and James Franco.
Since many major movie chains have pulled out of the Christmas Day release of the film after the hacker group Guardian of Peace threatened to attack any cinema that decided to show "The Interview," Sony had been forced to cancel the release, Tech Crunch reported. However, BitTorrent showed interest and wanted to be the company's platform when it decided to release it online.
After its cancellation, the film sparked public outcry and many have called for its release online. In an interview with VentureBeat, BitTorrent Inc. said that Sony could set the price of the film using the software company's Bundle service. However, the file-sharing giant stressed that they're not urging Sony to post on illegal pirate sites using torrent technology but through a controlled BitTorrent manner.
"A group of hackers stopped an American company from releasing a commercial film -- this should not stand," BitTorrent chief content officer Matt Mason said on Saturday. "This is wrong and we can help make it right."
"This is a way for Sony to not only deliver the film in a real way, but get out on the side of the hacker community," Mason of BitTorrent Inc. added. "This is an issue that's bigger than 'The Interview,' bigger than the Sony hack -- it's really about free speech."
The Sony hacking had made such a huge buzz lately, which resulted to the cancellation of "The Interview." The film depicted the fictional assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, The Huffington Post reported. Several experts said the hacking was North Korea's retribution for the movie's depiction.
On Sunday, a Sony attorney said the company also wanted to release "The Interview" but didn't know how, Gizmodo reported. But that made BitTorrent expressed its willingness to help the company. However, during a CNN appearance on Friday, CEO Michael Lynton of Sony Pictures said no major video-on-demand distributors or e-commerce sites had offered to screen the film.
And though it could be just a big marketing strategy for BitTorrent, who just wanted to dragged their name into the controversy, it places "The Interview" on a of trial run for the future of film distribution, which is historically quite a slow-moving fiend when it comes to technology.
