Seth Rogen and James Franco declared victory on Twitter just minutes after Sony revealed it would go ahead and release his and James Franco‘s controversial satire, “The Interview,” on Christmas Day.
“The people have spoken,” tweeted Rogen, the film’s star and co-writer. “Freedom has prevailed! Sony didn’t give up! The Interview will be shown at theaters willing to play it on Xmas day!”
“VICTORY,!” wrote Franco. “The PEOPLE and THE PRESIDENT have spoken!!! SONY to release THE INTERVIEW in theaters.”
As TheWrap first previously reported, Sony will release the assassination comedy in select theaters and on VOD on Dec. 25, despite a string of vicious hacks and threats against employees, their families and potential theater-goers.
“We have never given up on releasing ‘The Interview’ and we’re excited our movie will be in a number of theaters on Christmas Day,” said Michael Lynton, Chairman and CEO of Sony Entertainment in a statement on Tuesday. “At the same time, we are continuing our efforts to secure more platforms and more theaters so that this movie reaches the largest possible audience.”
“I want to thank our talent on The Interview and our employees, who have worked tirelessly through the many challenges we have all faced over the last month,” he continued. “While we hope this is only the first step of the film’s release, we are proud to make it available to the public and to have stood up to those who attempted to suppress free speech.”
The latest developments came after Sony pulled the plug on the film last week, after multiple theater chains announced they would not exhibit the film.
President Barack Obama labeled the studio’s decision a mistake in a Friday press conference, which also named North Korea as responsible for the hacks.
Rogen has been outspoken about the Nov. 24 hacking of and subsequent threats against Sony and sharply critical of those he felt exploited the leaked Sony data uploaded by hackers, but Franco has been largely silent. Neither actor had commented on Sony’s decision to pull the film.
Here is Franco’s follow-up picture, which pokes fun at President Obama and his previous flub with Franco’s name:
