2014 film by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg
The Interview is a 2014 American political satire action comedy film produced and directed by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg in their second directorial work, following This Is the End (2013). The screenplay was written by Dan Sterling, which he based on a story he co-wrote with Rogen and Goldberg. The film stars James Franco and Rogen as journalists who set up an interview with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, played by Randall Park, only to end up being recruited by the CIA to assassinate him.
Rogen and Goldberg developed the idea for The Interview in the late 2000s, with Kim Jong Il as the original assassination target. Following Kim Jong Il's death and Kim Jong Un's succession as the North Korean leader in 2011, Rogen, Goldberg and Sterling redeveloped the script to focus on Kim Jong Un's character. The Interview was first announced in March 2013 at the beginning of pre-production, with principal photography taking place in Vancouver from October to December 2013. The film was produced by LStar Capital and Rogen and Goldberg's Point Grey Pictures, and distributed by Columbia Pictures through Sony Pictures Releasing.
In June 2014, the North Korean government threatened action against the United States if Sony released the film. This prompted Sony to delay the film's theatrical release from October 10 to December 25 and reportedly re-edit the film to make it more acceptable to North Korea. In November of that year, Sony's computer systems were hacked by the "Guardians of Peace", a cybercrime group allegedly connected to the North Korean government that also threatened terrorist attacks against theaters showing the film. This led to major theater chains opting not to screen the film and Sony instead releasing it for online digital rental and purchase on December 24, 2014, followed by a limited theatrical release at selected theaters the following day.
The Interview grossed $40 million in digital rentals, making it Sony's most successful digital release, and earned an additional $12.3 million worldwide in box office ticket sales on a $44 million budget. It received mixed reviews from critics for its humor and subject matter, although the performances of Franco, Park and Diana Bang were praised.
Plot summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.