The Interview

This article is about the 2014 film. For other uses, see Interview (disambiguation).

The Interview
Theatrical release poster[a]
Directed by
Screenplay byDan Sterling
Story by
  • Seth Rogen
  • Evan Goldberg
  • Dan Sterling
Produced by
  • Seth Rogen
  • Evan Goldberg
  • James Weaver
Starring
CinematographyBrandon Trost
Edited by
Music byHenry Jackman
Production
companies
Distributed bySony Pictures Releasing[b]
Release dates
  • December 11, 2014 (2014-12-11) (Los Angeles)
  • December 25, 2014 (2014-12-25) (United States)
Running time
112 minutes[3]
Countries
  • United States
  • Canada
LanguagesEnglish
Korean
Budget$44 million[4][5]
Box office$12.3 million[6]

The Interview is a 2014 American political satire[7] 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 Rogen and James Franco as journalists who set up an interview with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, played by Randall Park, only to then be 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. In 2011, following Kim Jong Il's death and Kim Jong Un's succession as the North Korean leader, Rogen and Goldberg redeveloped the script in order to focus on Kim Jong Un's character. The Interview was first announced in March 2013 at the beginning of pre-production. Principal photography took place in Vancouver from October to December 2013. The film was produced by Columbia Pictures, LStar Capital and Rogen and Goldberg's Point Grey Pictures, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing.

In June 2014, the North Korean government threatened action against the United States if Sony released the film. As a result, Sony delayed the film's release from October to December and reportedly reedited the film in order to make it more acceptable to North Korea. In November that year, Sony's computer systems were hacked by the "Guardians of Peace", a cybercrime group allegedly connected to the North Korean government[8] that also threatened terrorist attacks against theaters showing the film. This led to major theater chains opting not to release the film and Sony instead releasing it for online digital rental and purchase on December 24, 2014, followed by a limited 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 they praised the performances of Franco and Park.

  1. ^ Vary, Adam B. (June 11, 2014). "The Poster For Seth Rogen and James Franco's New Comedy Is Filled with Anti-American Propaganda" Archived March 28, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. BuzzFeed. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
  2. ^ Donnelly, Matt (December 12, 2014). "Hack Attack: Sony Orders Its Name Removed from 'Interview' Marketing Materials". TheWrap. Archived from the original on April 16, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  3. ^ "The Interview (15)". British Board of Film Classification. November 17, 2014. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved November 17, 2014.
  4. ^ "Sony Weighing Premium VOD Release for 'The Interview' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. December 17, 2014. Archived from the original on January 16, 2015. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
  5. ^ "Sony Could Lose $75 Million on 'The Interview' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. December 18, 2014. Archived from the original on December 20, 2014. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  6. ^ "The Interview (2014) – Financial Information". The Numbers. Archived from the original on April 22, 2018. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  7. ^ Holmes, Brent (January 4, 2015). "The Interview: Satire is the Greatest Enemy of Tyrants". westerngazette.ca.
  8. ^ Gabi Siboni and David Siman-Tov, Cyberspace Extortion: North Korea versus the United States Archived August 20, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, INSS Insight No. 646, December 23, 2014.


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