The Interview
The Interview is an upcoming American action comedy film directed by Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen from a screenplay by Dan Sterling. The film stars Rogen and James Franco and is set to be released on December 25, 2014.
Plot
Two celebrity journalists land an interview with Kim Jong-un and are then ordered by the CIA to assassinate him.
Cast
- James Franco as David Skylark
- Seth Rogen as Aaron Rapoport
- Lizzy Caplan as Agent Lacey
- Randall Park as Kim Jong-un
- Timothy Simons as Malcolm
- Charles Rahi Chun as General Jong
- Rob Lowe as Himself
- Anders Holm
- Guy Fieri
- Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Production
On March 21, 2012, it was announced that Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen would direct an action comedy film for Columbia Pictures with Rogen also starring alongside James Franco. On October 1, 2013, Lizzy Caplan joined cast of the film. On October 8, 2013, Randall Park andTimothy Simons joined to co-star in the film.
Filming
The shooting of the film began on October 10, 2013, in Vancouver and concluded on December 20, 2013.
Post-production
On August 13, 2014, it was announced that the studio was digitally altering thousands of buttons worn by characters in the film. The reason was because they depict the actual hardware worn by the North Korean military to honor the country's leader, Kim Jong Un, and his late father, Kim Jong Il.
Promotion
In October 2014, Franco posted some photos on Instagram to promote the film, of duo naked in the woods, which hinted that they might be involved in Discovery's Naked and Afraid. He wrote in one photo, "Boom boom, NAKED and Afraid. Me and Seth, in the bush, naked, together. For reals." On another photo, "See if me and Seth can make it, NAKED and AFRAID!!!! Wtf?! You’ll see……..". And in the third photo "Just survivin', Naked and Afraid. This is how we do it."
Controversy
On June 20, 2014, in an interview with The Daily Telegraph, the Executive Director of CFKAP (Center for Korean-American Peace) Kim Myong-chol criticized the film about North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un and said, "There is a special irony in this storyline as it shows the desperation of the US government and American society".[15] He also said, "A film about the assassination of a foreign leader mirrors what the US has done in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Ukraine. And let us not forget who killed Kennedy – Americans. In fact, President Obama should be careful in case the US military wants to kill him as well." He added that British films were far better and more realistic than Hollywood movies (full of assassinations and executions). Myong-chol also said the dictator (Kim Jong-un) would probably watch the film. On which director/actor Rogen replied on Twitter, "Apparently Kim Jong Un plans on watching The Interview. I hope he likes it!!"
On June 25, North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency condemned the film (without naming it), promising "stern" and "merciless" retaliation if the film is released. "Making and releasing a film that portrays an attack on our top-level leadership is the most blatant act of terrorism and war and will absolutely not be tolerated", KCNA said, citing a government spokesman. The administration warned of a "decisive and merciless countermeasure" if the release of the film went ahead.The North Korean outrage is similar to when Kim Jong-il, Kim Jong-un's father, was infuriated by Team America: World Police, a parody film by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, in which Kim Jong-il is the primary antagonist.On July 11, the country's UN ambassador, Ja Song Nam, complained to the UN about the film on the grounds that "the production and distribution of such a film on the assassination of an incumbent head of a sovereign state should be regarded as the most undisguised sponsoring of terrorism as well as an act of war."
On July 17, North Korea requested President Obama to halt the film's release. A statement by state-run news agency KCNA: "Our military and our people regard the supreme leader as more precious than their own lives."
Release
On August 7, 2014, Sony pushed the release date for the film from October 10, 2014 to December 25, 2014. (Sources from http://en.wikipedia.org)
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