newsmakers

newsmakers

Sony releases ‘The Interview’ for streaming

LOS ANGELES

“The Interview” became available for rental on a variety of digital platforms including Google Play, YouTube Movies, Microsoft’s Xbox Video and a separate Sony website Wednesday, Sony Pictures announced.

The movie, released on demand at 1 p.m. Wednesday, costs $5.99 to stream and $14.99 to purchase. It also will open in more than 300 theaters today.

The studio announced the on-demand release just one day after reversing a previous decision not to show the film at all after hackers released thousands of internal Sony documents and threatened moviegoers with violence. The decision not to release the film was widely criticized, with President Barack Obama one of Sony’s harshest critics.

Court denies Polanski’s motion to dismiss 1977 sex case

LOS ANGELES

Roman Polanski lost his latest bid to have a California court dismiss his 1977 sex case when a judge rejected a motion for a new hearing.

A nine-page order issued Tuesday by Superior Court Judge James Brandlin states that Polanski’s claims of judicial misconduct cannot be addressed because he remains a fugitive outside the country after pleading guilty to unlawful sex with a minor in 1977.

Polanski’s lawyers have sought a public evidentiary hearing for the case, claiming a judge who handled the matter in 2008 and 2009 committed misconduct by failing to properly consider a dismissal motion due to pressure from a presiding judge.

Bart Dalton, an attorney for Polanski, said he had not yet seen the order and could not comment.

Brandlin’s order states Polanski has other options in his latest push to dismiss the case, including returning to California to address his claims.

In a 1977 deal with prosecutors, the Oscar-winning director pleaded guilty to one count of statutory rape for having sex with a 13-year-old girl during a photo shoot in Los Angeles.

Polanski was ordered to undergo a psychiatric study at the state prison in Chino, where he served 42 days.

The prosecutor and Polanski’s attorney have said they understood from a private conversation with the judge handling the case that the time in prison would serve as Polanski’s punishment.

However, lawyers for the Polish-born director said the judge later reneged on the agreement and suggested Polanski would go back to prison. Polanski then fled to France.

Associated Press