George R.R. Martin offers to show ‘The Interview’ at his theater

The decision by Sony Pictures executives to cancel the theatrical release of “The Interview” might have temporarily placated the hackers who broke into the studio’s computers, but at least one author is extremely unhappy with the way things played out: “Game of Thrones” creator George R.R. Martin.

In a series of enraged blog posts over the past few days, Martin has lashed out at Sony and theaters, whose refusal to show the film he called “a stunning display of corporate cowardice.” The novelist offered to screen the Seth Rogen film, a comedy about two journalists recruited to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, at the movie theater Martin owns in Santa Fe, N.M.

“For what it’s worth, the Jean Cocteau Cinema will be glad to screen THE INTERVIEW (assuming that Sony does eventually release the film for theatrical exhibition, rather than streaming it or dumping it as a direct-to-DVD release), should it be made available to us,” Martin wrote. “Come to Santa Fe, Seth, we’ll show your film for you.”

The status of the movie is unclear at this point. While Sony has indicated it won’t release the film theatrically, but hasn’t ruled out distributing it online or via a video-on-demand service.

After the theatrical cancellation of “The Interview,” Martin had planned to show the comedy “Team America: World Police,” which depicts Kim Jong Un’s father, the late Kim Jong-il, in an unflattering light, in protest. After Paramount announced it wouldn’t allow theater owners to show that film, Martin wrote, “I guess I should contact our new North Korean masters to ask them what movies we will be allowed to show at the Cocteau.”

In a post Monday morning, Martin continued to knock Sony, urging the studio to bring the film to movie theaters. “What I do know is that Sony’s statement that it ‘had no choice’ but to cancel the film’s release is plainly false. It had plenty of choices, and still does,” he wrote. “Sony could have the film on five hundred screens by Christmas, if it wants to. And I would love for the Jean Cocteau to be one of them.”