After sparking an online riot between the United States and North Korea, "The Interview" has finally been declared as the most downloaded film released by Sony. The infamous hack of the Sony network has brought so much curiosity and attention to the film.
"The Interview" is a satirical film that revolves around two reporters, played by Seth Rogen and James Franco, who scored an exclusive chance of interviewing Kim Jong-un, the plot gets a sharp turn when the CIA stepped in and assigns the two novices on a mission to assassinate North Korea's supreme leader. According to internet statistics, after the films digital release on Dec 24 it has been downloaded more than two million time already as of Dec 27. These statistics only comprises download counts from iTunes, Google Play, Xbox Video and Youtube. The film was also a big hit in different torrent and peer to peer sites. Based on the records released by website Torrent Freak on Monday, "The Interview" was downloaded more than 750,000 times and the figure is still rising. The film, however, is only available for download in the United States territory. Sony has not issued a statement regarding plans of releasing the film in the international market.
The films controversial plot has raised different scrutiny all over the world. North Korea, the most prominent detractor of the film, even went as far as calling the film "an act of war". The hermetic state despises the film so much that even the United States blamed them for the hack on Sony's servers that leaked thousands of documents containing internal and exclusive Sony documents. North Korea on the other hand denies the allegations.
The film's release was initially cancelled due to hacker groups threatening to unleash chaos on cinemas that would dare screen the film. Fortunately, some independent cinema's bravely faced the challenge and screened the film despite the horrific warnings. Sony subsequently made a digital release of the film to various streaming websites.
