Sony now says 'The Interview' will be Distributed in some Way

Sony has been engaging in some serious revisionist history over the weekend while everybody has been distracted with Christmas shopping. Perhaps it's due to the backlash by vocal critics like George Clooney and President Barack Obama, who weren't pleased at their decision to cancel The Interview in the wake of terrorist threats posed (presumably, I'm not so certain) by North Korea. While the exhibitors certainly forced Sony's hand, their blanket statement that "Sony Pictures has no further release plans for the film" was pretty clear. And yet they are trying to backtrack on that now. Can someone cue the music from Fame because there's some serious tap dancing going on here.

Sony's lawyer David Boies told 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 anybody knows quite yet. But it's going to be distributed." Boies said Sony merely "delayed" release of the film, which is contradicted by their previous statements.

Despite a story in the New York Post claiming The Interview would be streamed on Sony's Crackle service, that won't be happening. Statements had been made earlier in the week that Sony was having trouble finding a digital partner to put the movie online, but perhaps they have now  found a distributor. Game of Thrones' George RR Martin is one who has been pushing aggressively for Sony to release the film to smaller distributors, just to get the movie out there...

Martin: “I have been in communication with the owners and operators of other independent cinemas and arthouses, and representatives of some of the smaller chains, and I know that hundreds of these venues would gladly screen this film, if only Sony will make it available. Regal and AMC and the megaplexes may have caved, but the independents have not. Sony could have the film on five hundred screens by Christmas, if it wants to.”

With all of the controversy surrounding this ridiculous little film, could you imagine the kind of business The Interview could pull for art house theater chains, and for Sony, if it gets released as Martin hopes? No matter what happens I just want this whole thing to be over with. It's been an embarrassment on multiple levels.

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George R.R. Martin and David Slade Reportedly Teaming Up for Vampire Tale, 'Fevre Dream'

While fans of George R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones continue to be hopeful the denizens of Westeros will end up on the big screen some day, the author could be adapting another of his novels into a feature film. Martin has written plenty of other novels outside of his "A Song of Fire and Ice" series, and one of those is the vampire story, Fevre Dream, described as "Bram Stoker meets Mark Twain". The book has been adapted into a graphic novel series and has been planned for a movie for years, but now it seems to be moving forward with a new director who is very familiar with the world of vampires.

According to a story at The Tracking Board, David Slade is on board to direct Fevre Dream, making this his third time directing a vampire movie. He's told the story of gorgeous vamps with The Twilight Saga: Eclipse and evil bloodsuckers with 30 Days of Night. Martin's 1982 novel is set in the 19th-century and follows a riverboat captain who discovers that the rich benefactor he's ferrying along the Mississippi River is a vampire hoping to free his people from the need for human blood.

Martin has mostly stayed away from feature projects since 1987 when he had a bad experience adapting his novella, Nightflyers.

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George R.R. Martin Says Talks Underway for 'Game of Thrones' Movie

The fourth season of HBO's Game of Thrones finally arrives next month, and already eyes are looking ahead towards the future. There has much speculation about how far George R.R. Martin plans to take the series, possibly as far as a seventh or eighth season, and it may go even further than that. THR spoke with Martin prior to the red carpet premiere of season four in New York, and he says active discussions have begun for us to see Daenerys and her pet dragons on the big screen.

Martin: "It all depends on how long the main series runs. Do we run for seven years? Do we run for eight? Do we run for 10? The books get bigger and bigger (in scope). It might need a feature to tie things up, something with a feature budget, like $100 million for two hours. Those dragons get real big, you know."

Martin also has a good idea of one direction he  could go in, adapting the trio of prequel novels, Tales of Dunk and Egg. The stories center on specific characters and take place 90 years before A Song of Fire and Ice.

Martin: "They could be the basis for [a film]. I have written these three stories, and I have about a dozen more."

Considering the show seems to be progressing much faster than Martin can crank out books, who knows if the series will last that long. HBO has had success adapting their shows (Sex and the City, Entourage) and maybe Game of Thrones will be next. Sorry, Deadwood and Rome fans, it's not looking so good for you.

Game of Thrones returns Sunday night, April 6th. Check out the most recent trailer here. 

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