Ocean Township Movie Theater Screening 'The Interview'

OCEAN TOWNSHIP: The movie that has caused quite a stir around the country lately, "The Interview", will be screened at a local theater this weekend.

The Cine Grand Middlebrook Galleria Cinemas, located at 1502 Route South, Ocean Township, will be showing the controversial movie this weekend. It is the only theater in Monmouth or Ocean County set to screen the movie which stars James Franco and Seth Rogen as they attempt to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

The theater, which was formally known as Bow Tie Cinemas before Cine Grand leased and began renovations on the location in November, began showing the movie on Christmas Day at 11:50 a.m. and has several showing scheduled this weekend.

In November, the computer systems of parent company Sony Pictures Entertainment were hacked by the "Guardians of Peace", a group the FBI believes has ties to North Korea. Internal information from the company including scripts and private emails were leaked online and the group also called for the "The Interview" to be pulled from theaters and threatened terrorist attacked against those that played it.

Sony initially cancelled the theatrical release of the film, but later made it available online on sites such as Youtube.com and also allowed a limited theatrical release. President Barack Obama criticized Sony for canceling the movie's release and said that doing so went against the rights of free speech.