Since the release of its teaser trailer in early June, Seth Rogen’s upcoming comedy ‘The Interview’, has been widely discussed and recently acknowledged by the North Korean government. The movie itself is a satire following the host and the producer of a popular tabloid show, who are granted the opportunity to interview North Korean leader Kim Jong-un – a supposed fan of the show. The pair run into trouble along their journey when the CIA enlists them to help assassinate the ‘supreme leader’.
Although the film is meant to be comedic in nature, English media sites report the North Korean government has called it a “blatant act of terrorism and war” in a recent complaint to the United Nations. They have also made statements directed at the United States government, claiming that by allowing the release of this film, the US will have made itself subject to a North Korean “merciless counter-measure.” In the past, comedies involving political figures (who are not named after real people) have offended various groups, but never received a direct governmental response. ‘The Interview’ takes political satire one step further by actually naming a political figurehead and placing them in the center of the plot.
Seth Rogen took to Twitter to respond joking that, “people don’t usually wanna kill me for one of my movies until after they’ve paid 12 bucks for it.” He also revealed in a recent interview with Yahoo that the film was originally supposed to be about Kim Jong-il, the father of Kim Jong-un and former supreme leader of North Korea. But after his death in 2011, the screenplay was adapted for modern times. ‘The Interview’ also stars versatile talent James Franco who plays Dave Skylark, the host of the tabloid show “Skylark Tonight.”
The negative response from a foreign government that is largely isolated has definitely provided the film with a lot of valuable publicity and increased anticipation leading up to its release.
‘The Interview’ is set to debut in theaters October, 2014.