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BitTorrent Tells Sony It’s Happy To Release ‘The Interview’



Many have called for Sony to release ‘The Interview’ online. However, Sony CEO Michael Lynton stated earlier that there has not been a major video on demand service, “that has stepped forward and said they are willing to distribute this movie for us.”

Several major movie chains pulled out of the scheduled Christmas Day release of the film after hacker group Guardians of Peace threatened to attack any theater that decided to show the film. The studio said it was forced to then cancel the release, blaming theaters. “We do not own movie theaters. We cannot control what is shown,” Lynton said.

Sony has confirmed it was looking for alternatives to release the film. Some have suggested Netflix as an alternative. Sony’s lawyer David Boies later confirmed Sony was looking into an alternative way to present the film when he called the theater cancellation a “delay” on Meet the Press.

“Sony has been fighting to get this picture distributed. it will be distributed. How it’s going to be distributed I don’t think anyone knows quite yet,” said Boies.

BitTorrent took this as a challenge and has offered Sony a way to release the controversial movie involving the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on its own servers. The peer-to-peer file distribution network believes BitTorrent Bundle is the best way to satisfy both those asking for an online distribution and Sony’s desire to release the film.

Like everyone else around the world, we’ve been following this egregious hacking of Sony’s servers over the past few weeks.

 A trend has emerged among commentary in the days since Sony announced they would not release the motion picture, “The Interview.” There have been calls for Sony to release the film online. And many have contacted us asking: Would they be able to release the movie using BitTorrent?

 Though we normally would not offer commentary during such a trying time for another company, the answer is yes. BitTorrent Bundle is in fact the very best way for Sony to take back control of their film, not acquiesce to terrorists threats, and to ensure a wide audience can view the film safely. It would also strike a strong note for free speech.

 Bundle has a self-publishing platform that anyone from Sony can use: https://bundles.bittorrent.com/publish. Using the paygate option, Sony are able to set the price for the film and release it widely without implicating anyone or exposing any third party to a terrorist threat.

 We disagree, however, with some that have suggested that Sony should make the film available through piracy sites. That would only serve to encourage bad actors. It’s also important to make the distinction that these piracy sites are not “torrent sites.” They are piracy sites that are wrongfully exploiting torrent technology.

 BitTorrent Bundle is a safe and legal way for Sony to release this film and they would join the nearly 20,000 creators and rights holders now using the Bundle publishing platform.

BitTorrent Bundles is different from pirating sites such as the Pirate Bay. Instead of files getting shared and downloaded illegally, bundles are a collection of files that can be shared and downloaded legally, either for free or for profit by the controlling site. Thom Yorke distributed his new album in a unique deal with BitTorrent in this very fashion in September.

BitTorrent says it has reached out to Sony with the offer to use its servers, but that Sony execs have so far not responded. Sony has not responded to our inquiry on the matter, either. We will be sure to update you if it does
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