Fans turn out for 'The Interview' on Christmas

LOS ANGELES — Christmas at the movies. It's an innocuous enough notion – unless that movie is The Interview, and it's a comedy-turned-international fiasco that barely skidded into the cineplex in time for the holidays.

Seth Rogen began the festivities by surprising ticket-holders at a 12:30am sold-out showing of The Interview Christmas Day at Cinefamily's Silent Movie Theatre in Los Angeles. "If it wasn't for theaters like this and people like you guys, this literally would not be (explicit) happening right now," he told fans.

Late Christmas morning at the Sundance Cinemas in West Hollywood, an 11:45 a.m showing was nearly full of theater-goers. Outside the theater, temperatures were a crisp 65 degrees, and it was quiet - no crowds, and no added security in sight.

Inside the theater, the Klariches, a family of three, said they had already purchased The Interview online on Christmas Eve – and still bought tickets to see it.

They came to the theater "just to be with family," said their son Sean, 26. "It's more communal. To make an event out of it." Plus, he added, "we always go to the movies on Christmas!"

The family said they planned on seeing The Interview long before the media hoopla began. "We were going to see it before all this started, because I saw the preview and thought it sounded really funny," said Monique Klarich. "I see it as a First Amendment act," added her husband, Ivan.

Carol Atkinson, a ticket-holder in her fifties from Marina Del Rey, "was going through my email and my Twitter this morning," and saw The Interview was playing locally. "I thought well, why not?"

In this industry town, some paid $12 dollars just to support their livelihoods.

"We work in the industry and we feel like it's important to support Sony," said Sarah Snow, an independent filmmaker in her thirties who producers horror films.

Next to her sat Louis Sallerson, an LA-based producer in his twenties who noted they have controversial dramas in the works. If The Interview doesn't make money, he said, the industry will likely squash future controversial fare.

"I don't want to walk into a room and have someone say, 'Is this too controversial? Maybe someone who doesn't like this will cyberattack us,' " said Sallerson.

In Austin, the 1 p.m. screening at the Alamo Drafthouse theater was sold out. Nevertheless, a cop stood watch outside the theater, hired by the Alamo as something of a cinematic security blanket for patrons who might be a bit nervous about sitting through a film that has drawn the ire of North Korea.

"Just our presence seems to help," said Austin police department detective James Stanesic. "I didn't detect any (strange) behavior. Everything was fine."

Josh Yankovich, 25, bought his tickets before Sony announced that the film would be streaming online, via Google, Microsoft and youTube. "I was planning on watching it before," he said.

The hacking disaster that befell the studio, leading to the demise and then resuscitation of the film, made him more aware of the comedy. "I think I paid more attention to it but it didn't make me more or less interested," he said.

As for safety concerns? "I'm really not nervous at all," he said.

Lloyd Moore, 29, scoffed when asked about possible threats to theaters. Was he scared that something would happen while he was inside, watching Franco and Rogen attempt to slay Kim Jong-un? "Not at all. Um, no," he said. "I'm going to see it because seeing it in the theater is more of a statement, I guess. Going out, it seems so funny to say, seems more of a statement than staying home. I was going to see it anyway."

In Tempe, Arizona, at Harkins Valley Art, the Ceates family said the fact that they had initially been told it wouldn't be shown piqued their interest to see the film.

"It's a forbidden fruits scenario," Evan Ceate said. "You tell someone they can't see something, then they're going to go see it."

Ersi Zha came with a few friends to see the movie primarily, he said, to find out how the characters in the film assassinate Kim Jong-un, the film's fictional portrayal of the country's leader.

"I think he's a monster," Zha said about Kim.

At the Cinema Village theater in Manhattan, the 10 a.m. screening was near capacity. Derek Karpel, a 34-year-old attorney, said that "as many people as possible should go see it. In fact, the government should subsidize tickets to make that possible."

But he didn't say that The Interview was a great movie.

"No one should go into expecting it to be a serious commentary on politics," he said. "But it's fun. People should go."

Contributing: Donna Freydkin, the Associated Press, AZcentral.com's Justin Price