Crowds turn out as theaters here, nationwide screen ‘The Interview’

Thomas Merlock wasn’t about to let North Korean hackers keep him from seeing “The Interview” on Christmas Day.

“It’s my own little way to stand up for freedom — for our country,” said Merlock, 46, of Waukegan, who was among 101 people who showed up for a screening Thursday morning of the controversial, satirical movie at the Buffalo Grove Theater.

The northwest suburban theater was one of three in the Chicago area that showed the movie, along with the Hollywood Blvd. Cinema in Woodridge and the Hollywood Palm in Naperville. Both sold out Thursday.

In Buffalo Grove, theater owner Debbie Benjamin said she squeezed the comedy into her theater because it was a “moral issue.”

“Customers wanted to see it, and we feel, as American citizens, people have the right to see what they want to see,” Benjamin said.

The first showing was at midnight Christmas Eve, and 275 packed into the Buffalo Grove cinema.

An off-duty cop stood watch, and people’s bags were checked.

No problems were reported as a result of the showing of the movie, which initially had been pulled from theaters amid threats of violence. The Buffalo Grove Police Department had officers available “to make sure there’s no unruly subjects,” Sgt. Brian Spolar said Thursday.

“We are providing extra patrols in the area, but we are not stationing an officer inside the theater,” Spolar said.

In Naperville, the police had no plans for extra patrols, according to Sgt. Anthony Mannino.

In Woodridge, police planned to maintain “a higher presence” in the area near the theater, said Deputy Chief Tom Stefanson.

“The Interview” stars Seth Rogen and James Franco as journalists tasked by the CIA with killing North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Its Christmas Day release was canceled by Sony after threats of violence by hackers linked to North Korea. After an outcry from Preident Barack Obama among others, the release was reinstated in some independent theaters and through online video outlets including Google Play, YouTube Movies, Microsoftís Xbox Video and a separate Sony website.

In Buffalo Grove, many who saw the movie said they didn’t want anyone telling them which movies they could see.

“For sure, I’m not going to let the North Korean dictator decide what I’m going to see,” said Brad Baum, 40, of Highland Park. “If anything, it made me want to see it more.”

Across the nation, more than 300 theaters made special holiday arrangements to show the movie, which originally was to have opened on as many as 3,000 screens.

“We are taking a stand for freedom,” said theater manager Lee Peterson of the Cinema Village East in Manhattan, where most of Thursday’s seven screenings had sold out by early afternoon. “We want to show the world that Americans will not be told what we can or cannot watch. Personally, I am not afraid.”

Kim Song, a North Korean diplomat to the United Nations, condemned the release Wednesday, calling the movie an “unpardonable mockery of our sovereignty and dignity of our supreme leader.” But Kim said North Korea will likely limit its response to condemnation, with no “physical reaction.”

Decisions to show the movie through the Internet could open up companies to hacking. Xbox and PlayStation’s online gaming services were down Thursday afternoon. The cause was unclear. YouTube and other Google products were not having any disruptions. A Microsoft spokesman confirmed the Xbox outage but declined to commen further. Sony PlayStation representatives did not immediately respond to inquiries.

Contributing: Associated Press