Wow, what a bumpy road it has been. For a while there, it seemed like none of us would be able to view The Interview quite possibly ever. Luckily, Sony manned up, stuck their middle fingers to North Korea, and are inviting us to join them in solidarity. The Interview has been released to select theaters and on Youtube. Like it or not, this whole debacle has turned The Interview into a film that is bigger than what it is, it's become a symbol now. Would it ever have become as popular and big as it is now if it weren't for North Korea's overblown reaction to the film? Quite possibly not, but the only question that really matters now is this : is The Interview any good? Was it worth the hype, turmoil, and danger?
In The Interview; moronic, self-obsessed celebrity interviewer and host of his own talk show (and a huge fan of Lord of The Rings) Dave Skylark (James Franco) is invited to North Korea to interview self-proclaimed fan Kim Jong-un (Randall Park). His best friend and producer, Aaron Rapaport (Seth Rogen) tags along for the ride. Before they can take off for that most dangerous of countries, they are visited by the US Government. Seeing how almost no one is ever given one on one time alone with Kim Jong Un, The US Gov has a very big request for these two: Assassinate Kim Jong-un and win one for freedom and democracy. The task becomes even more difficult when Skylark begins to form a bro-mantic relationship with Kim Jong-un. Is Kim Jong-un not the villain that the news would make him out to be, or is Skylark just the latest victim of Kim Jong-un's manipulative ways?
Randall Parks is perfect (and hilarious and scary) as Kim Jong-un, and Diana Bang is pretty good as Sook; the head of propaganda for North Korea. Lizzy Caplan has little screen time as agent Lacey, who works for the CIA and is the one who seduces both Skylark and Rapaport to the job. Caplan is super hot, and quite funny, making her few scenes stand out. All that said, this is really the Franco/Rogen show. They make for quite the dynamic duo here, most of their scenes are pretty hilarious (especially when they share the screen), and the film reminded me of why they are two of the funniest men in America. Franco plays the bumbling, ego-crazed moron exceptionally well and Rogen does fine work as the straight man of the group.
So, is The Interview funny? Yes, it is hilarious for most of the run time but that is only one of the reasons why it is great. The other reason would be that The Interview comes with some pretty interesting subtext. For the first act of the film, when we are safe inside the USA, the film takes a fairly harsh (but comedic) look at entertainment news. Rogen's Aaron Rapaport feels like he isn't making a difference in America, and would like Skylark to try his hand at more serious stuff (which naturally comes when Skylark is offered the interviewing chance of a lifetime).
During the second half, when Franco and Rogen are entrenched deep inside North Korea, the film satirizes Kim Jong-un. The Interview takes every chance to mercilessly mock Kim, painting him to be a power hungry mad man who lives the life of a spoiled rich kid while actually being an insecure daddy's boy who only wanted his father's approval. It's not hard to see why Kim Jong-un would so harshly oppose this film. The Interview does not paint a rose colored portrait of the dictator, and quite likely The Interview is pretty accurate with it's portrayal of him. I commend Rogen, Franco, Evan Goldberg (The film's director), and Dan Sterling (the films screenwriter) for taking on such a ballsy project and not backing down or blushing when push came to shove. The Interview is a film that hates Kim Jong-un, dictators, and totalitarian states with a passion and it does not back down from it's attack and satirization of these things (and person).
It's refreshing to see a film that can effectively tackle some pretty serious issues while still being a wacky, crazy, silly comedy. The Interview does exactly this. It's not just a funny film, it is also surprisingly smart. I'd say it is certainly worth a watch.
4 STARS
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
SONY CANCELS 'THE INTERVIEW'S' THEATRICAL RELEASE
Originally due for release this Christmas, The Interview was the latest film from the people who gave us This Is The End. The Interview was to star James Franco as a wacky talk show host who is hired by the US Government to travel to North Korea to interview and assassinate that country's feared dictator Kim Jong-un. He is accompanied by Seth Rogen who plays his producer/friend. The film looked like silly fun, but North Korea and Un were not pleased, releasing a statement that if Sony did not pull the film from their release state that they would consider it an act of war and would retaliate with whatever force they deemed necessary.
Naturally, everyone in the U.S. laughed at North Korea's reaction at first. A few months later, the laughing stopped when Sony experienced a crippling cyber attack that wiped out their computer system, leaked private company info, and even leaked four upcoming Sony films including Fury and Annie. As U.S. officials scrambled to investigate who was responsible, it wasn't much longer until the hacker group issued a terrorist threat. It read: "Remember the 11th of September 2001. We recommend you to keep yourself distant from the places at that time (If your house is nearby, you'd better leave)." That's right, the hacker group threatened a series of terrorist attacks on the theaters showing The Interview. While the Department of Homeland Security announced that there was no credible intelligence suggesting that there was an active plot against movie theaters, that didn't stop AMC, Regal, Carmike, and BowTie Cinemas from pulling the film from their theaters nationwide. It didn't take long until Sony made a disturbing announcement: "In light of the decision by the majority of our exhibitors not to show the film The Interview, we have decided not to move forward with the planned December 25th theatrical release."
There were rumors that Sony was considering a premium VOD release on Christmas Day instead, but that rumor was quickly axed by a studio spokesperson who said: "Sony Pictures has no further release plans for the film." This would not only include VOD, but also DVD/Blu-Ray. Now, this doesn't mean we won't ever see The Interview, just that it may be quite some time until we finally do. A few short hours after Sony made the announcement, US officials found North Korea to blame for the Sony hacks and terrorist threats. So the whole debacle comes full circle.
This is a very sad day for American cinema. Censorship and terrorism wins, free expression and Hollywood loses. I thought I lived in a country that wouldn't negotiate or comply with terrorist/terrorist demands. It was quite likely that the threats made were idle ones and that if the film was released as planned nothing major would have happened. In all likelihood, this was just stupid North Korea throwing a hissy fit. I don't blame Sony for pulling the film from theaters, and respect that they placed the safety of American moviegoers above everything else. However, by caving in it sends a dangerous message to terrorists and opposing countries: The US can indeed be threatened and swayed by acts or threats of terrorism. To me, that's the scariest thing of all. It it quite likely that we may see more of these types of threats in the future due to Sony's reaction. Also, I can't help but feel terrible for Seth Rogen, James Franco, and everyone else who worked on this film who worked long and hard and not only won't make any money back for their hard work, but also won't even be able to sit in a theater and watched the finished product. How sad.
It's not certain how the US will react to North Korea's threats, but I feel they MUST be addressed. We MUST take a stand and make it known that this type of nonsense WILL NOT BE TOLERATED EVER. We have got to retaliate in some way, and while it will be hard to effectively punish North Korea (we already have put that country under some pretty heavy economic sanctions), I feel that we must confront that country head on in SOME way even if it's just a threat from US officials. Maybe a proper punishment would be to completely wipe out that country's computer grid, though that would be a pretty tough task and would no doubt take a while to accomplish.
I, as an American citizen and a firm lover of Hollywood and film, am very saddened by this day's events. The Interview looked like a silly, fun film but because North Korea couldn't take a fucking joke (the film wasn't suggesting an assassination of Kim Jong-un, in fact a good portion of the film would have seemed to concentrate on a budding bro-mance between Un and Franco) we have lost out on what could have been the funniest film of 2014. I know I was looking forward to it. Sony's reaction is upsetting but understandable, and once again I don't blame them for reacting the way they did (though, as I said before this is setting a dangerous precedent and sends an even more dangerous message to would be terrorists and opposing countries). I do, however, place full blame on North Korea for being such stupid fucking bastards. Seriously, FUCK YOU GUYS!
I'll leave you all with how some notable names have reacted to Sony's decision:
Aaron Sorkin: "Today The U.S. succumbed to an unprecedented attack on our most cherished, bedrock principle of free speech by a group of North Korean terrorists who threatened to kill moviegoers in order to stop the release of a movie. The wishes of the terrorists were fulfilled in part by easily distracted members of the American press who chose gossip and schadenfruede-fueled reporting over a story with immeasurable consequences for the public-a story that was developing right in front of their eyes. My deepest sympathies go out to Sony pictures, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and everyone who worked on The Interview."
Steve Carrell: Sad day for creative expression. #feareatsthesoul
Rob Lowe: Saw @Sethrogen today at JFK. Both of us have never seen or heard of anything like this. Hollywood has done Neville Chamberlain proud today.
Patton Oswalt: All joking aside, we just gave a comfy foothold to censorship & it doesn't get any better from this point on. #TheInterview
Vision Implementer: All of a sudden the comedy is far from a laughing matter #SonyHack
Bill Maher: #TheInterview Is that it takes- an anonymous threat and the numbers 911- to throw free expression under the bus? #PussyNation
Judd Apatow: I think it is disgraceful that these theaters are not showing The Interview. Will they pull any movie that gets anonymous threats now?
Jimmy Kimmell: @JuddApatow I agree wholeheartedly. An un-American act of cowardice that validates terrorist actions and sets a terrifying precedent.
Here are links to articles:
The Interview pulled: http://www.slashfilm.com/the-interview-pulled/
U.S. links North Korea to Sony Hacking: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/18/world/asia/us-links-north-korea-to-sony-hacking.html?_r=0
North Korea Wins?: http://www.eonline.com/news/607557/north-korea-wins-steve-carell-aaron-sorkin-jimmy-kimmel-and-more-slam-sony-for-pulling-the-interview-from-theaters?cmpid=sn-111021-facebook-na-eonline
Naturally, everyone in the U.S. laughed at North Korea's reaction at first. A few months later, the laughing stopped when Sony experienced a crippling cyber attack that wiped out their computer system, leaked private company info, and even leaked four upcoming Sony films including Fury and Annie. As U.S. officials scrambled to investigate who was responsible, it wasn't much longer until the hacker group issued a terrorist threat. It read: "Remember the 11th of September 2001. We recommend you to keep yourself distant from the places at that time (If your house is nearby, you'd better leave)." That's right, the hacker group threatened a series of terrorist attacks on the theaters showing The Interview. While the Department of Homeland Security announced that there was no credible intelligence suggesting that there was an active plot against movie theaters, that didn't stop AMC, Regal, Carmike, and BowTie Cinemas from pulling the film from their theaters nationwide. It didn't take long until Sony made a disturbing announcement: "In light of the decision by the majority of our exhibitors not to show the film The Interview, we have decided not to move forward with the planned December 25th theatrical release."
There were rumors that Sony was considering a premium VOD release on Christmas Day instead, but that rumor was quickly axed by a studio spokesperson who said: "Sony Pictures has no further release plans for the film." This would not only include VOD, but also DVD/Blu-Ray. Now, this doesn't mean we won't ever see The Interview, just that it may be quite some time until we finally do. A few short hours after Sony made the announcement, US officials found North Korea to blame for the Sony hacks and terrorist threats. So the whole debacle comes full circle.
This is a very sad day for American cinema. Censorship and terrorism wins, free expression and Hollywood loses. I thought I lived in a country that wouldn't negotiate or comply with terrorist/terrorist demands. It was quite likely that the threats made were idle ones and that if the film was released as planned nothing major would have happened. In all likelihood, this was just stupid North Korea throwing a hissy fit. I don't blame Sony for pulling the film from theaters, and respect that they placed the safety of American moviegoers above everything else. However, by caving in it sends a dangerous message to terrorists and opposing countries: The US can indeed be threatened and swayed by acts or threats of terrorism. To me, that's the scariest thing of all. It it quite likely that we may see more of these types of threats in the future due to Sony's reaction. Also, I can't help but feel terrible for Seth Rogen, James Franco, and everyone else who worked on this film who worked long and hard and not only won't make any money back for their hard work, but also won't even be able to sit in a theater and watched the finished product. How sad.
It's not certain how the US will react to North Korea's threats, but I feel they MUST be addressed. We MUST take a stand and make it known that this type of nonsense WILL NOT BE TOLERATED EVER. We have got to retaliate in some way, and while it will be hard to effectively punish North Korea (we already have put that country under some pretty heavy economic sanctions), I feel that we must confront that country head on in SOME way even if it's just a threat from US officials. Maybe a proper punishment would be to completely wipe out that country's computer grid, though that would be a pretty tough task and would no doubt take a while to accomplish.
I, as an American citizen and a firm lover of Hollywood and film, am very saddened by this day's events. The Interview looked like a silly, fun film but because North Korea couldn't take a fucking joke (the film wasn't suggesting an assassination of Kim Jong-un, in fact a good portion of the film would have seemed to concentrate on a budding bro-mance between Un and Franco) we have lost out on what could have been the funniest film of 2014. I know I was looking forward to it. Sony's reaction is upsetting but understandable, and once again I don't blame them for reacting the way they did (though, as I said before this is setting a dangerous precedent and sends an even more dangerous message to would be terrorists and opposing countries). I do, however, place full blame on North Korea for being such stupid fucking bastards. Seriously, FUCK YOU GUYS!
I'll leave you all with how some notable names have reacted to Sony's decision:
Aaron Sorkin: "Today The U.S. succumbed to an unprecedented attack on our most cherished, bedrock principle of free speech by a group of North Korean terrorists who threatened to kill moviegoers in order to stop the release of a movie. The wishes of the terrorists were fulfilled in part by easily distracted members of the American press who chose gossip and schadenfruede-fueled reporting over a story with immeasurable consequences for the public-a story that was developing right in front of their eyes. My deepest sympathies go out to Sony pictures, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and everyone who worked on The Interview."
Steve Carrell: Sad day for creative expression. #feareatsthesoul
Rob Lowe: Saw @Sethrogen today at JFK. Both of us have never seen or heard of anything like this. Hollywood has done Neville Chamberlain proud today.
Patton Oswalt: All joking aside, we just gave a comfy foothold to censorship & it doesn't get any better from this point on. #TheInterview
Vision Implementer: All of a sudden the comedy is far from a laughing matter #SonyHack
Bill Maher: #TheInterview Is that it takes- an anonymous threat and the numbers 911- to throw free expression under the bus? #PussyNation
Judd Apatow: I think it is disgraceful that these theaters are not showing The Interview. Will they pull any movie that gets anonymous threats now?
Jimmy Kimmell: @JuddApatow I agree wholeheartedly. An un-American act of cowardice that validates terrorist actions and sets a terrifying precedent.
Here are links to articles:
The Interview pulled: http://www.slashfilm.com/the-interview-pulled/
U.S. links North Korea to Sony Hacking: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/18/world/asia/us-links-north-korea-to-sony-hacking.html?_r=0
North Korea Wins?: http://www.eonline.com/news/607557/north-korea-wins-steve-carell-aaron-sorkin-jimmy-kimmel-and-more-slam-sony-for-pulling-the-interview-from-theaters?cmpid=sn-111021-facebook-na-eonline
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