Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg‘s The Interview will open after all on Christmas Day, but at very few venues — the Plaza Atlanta theatre and Tim League‘s Alamo Drafthouse are the only ones to announce bookings so far on Twitter. This is a total and very welcome reversal from Sony Pictures, which totally caved on releasing the film after an Asian hacker threatened U.S. theatres with 9/11-style incidents. On top of which Variety‘s Dave McNary is reporting there us “growing speculation that the studio will [also] offer the film via VOD.” Which they should have done immediately after canceling theatrical bookings.

A statement from Sony chairman and CEO Michael Lynton: “We have never given up on releasing The Interview” — he was just pretending to have done so last week? — “and we’re excited our movie will be in a number of theaters on Christmas Day. At the same time, we are continuing our efforts to secure more platforms and more theaters so that this movie reaches the largest possible audience.”

It is essential, of course, that Rogen, Goldberg and Interview costar James Franco fly to Austin and Atlanta to take bows and raise their fists in honor of the film’s theatrical debut. I would fly to Austin in a heartbeat to attend the showings and cheer along with everyone else. The Austin and Atlanta bookings (along with the others) will be nothing less than (a) a celebration of First Amendment freedom, (b) a rousing “fuck you” to North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un and (c) an “attaboy” back-pat to Sony for its better-late-than-never show of backbone.

Where will The Interview screen in New York City on 12.25? It’s not a very good film (here’s my 12.13 review) but I’ll be there with bells on if somebody screens it. I’ll buy a ticket and a buttered popcorn and everything. Update: It’ll play at the Cinema Village, the 13th Street Quad, at a plex in Williamsburg and an Alamo Drafthouse in Yonkers.