James Franco, Seth Rogen Attend ‘The Interview’ Movie Premiere Amid Controversy [Video]
The new “bromance” comedy The Interview starring James Franco and Seth Rogen premiered last night without the usual red carpet interviews given by cast members to bring publicity to their newly released film. Sony had announced on Wednesday night that it would not permit red carpet interviews at the premiere in light of recent controversy.
“If you’re going to ask me questions, I’m going to run away!” Rogen said to Variety reporter Dave McNary before the screening began, according to Huffington Post.
Stars James Franco, left, and Seth Rogen attend the premiere of Columbia Pictures’ The Interview Thursday night in Los Angeles.
The Interview has had more of its share of publicity since it began production, primarily because of its controversial subject matter. Ace Showbiz reports that the movie tells the story of a TV host (Franco) and his producer (Rogen) who go to North Korea to interview Kim Jong-Un. The CIA, however, tells them to assassinate the leader.
The comedy has been widely assumed to be the factor that prompted a massive cyber-attack to Sony, which was allegedly carried out by a group called Guardians of Peace. The hackers posted a message online on Monday that warned Sony to stop “immediately showing the movie of terrorism which can break the regional peace and cause the war.” The message from GOP said that they “have given our clear demand to the management team of Sony, however they have refused.”
“You, SONY, & FBI, cannot find us.”
The note from GOP also included a link connected to the names of Amy Pascal and Stephen Mosko, and emails between the Sony executives, as reported by Variety. Since Sony didn’t back down the cyber terrorist demands, last week the Social Security numbers from tens of thousands of employees were leaked online, along with other information. This included the salaries of Rogen and Franco, which they talked about in the opening monologue from last week’s Saturday Night Live hosted by Franco. In that monologue, James and Seth poked fun at the Sony hacks by showing several pictures of them in inappropriate private moments. They showed the funny pictures before they were “revealed” by the cyberterrorists.
The Franco Rogen movie has received good reviews, and all the controversy surrounding The Interview can only help it fill more seats in theaters across the world, with the exception of Japan. A Sony spokesman told the Japan Times that the film will not screen there. He went on to say that decisions about which films are sent into which global markets are made based on whether they are deemed suitable for that region, adding that the decision not to screen The Interview in Japan was made before hackers attacked Sony Pictures.
Although North Korea was linked to the Sony cyber-attack incident, they denied their involvement. Read more about Kim Jong-Un’s reaction to The Interview in a related story from the Inquisitr.
