December 11, 2014 (Los Angeles)
December 24, 2014 (United States)
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 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 assassinatehim.
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 governmentthat 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.
Storyline
In the fictional talk show Skylark Tonight, host Dave Skylark interviews celebrities about personal topics. The show's broadcast gets interrupted by news reports about North Korea regarding its leader Kim Jong Un and concerns about North Korea's nuclear weapons.
Skylark and his crew later celebrate producer Aaron Rapaport's 1,000th episode. Another producer later criticizes the show as not being a real news program. Upset by this, Rapaport urges change. Skylark agrees and later discovers Kim is a fan, prompting Rapaport to arrange an interview. CIA agent Lacey visits the duo and requests that they assassinate Kim with a transdermal strip of ricin via handshake to prevent a possible nuclear launch against the West Coast; they reluctantly agree.
Skylark carries the strip inside a gum pack. Upon arrival in Pyongyang, the group is greeted by North Korean chief propagandist Sook-yin Park and taken to the palace. There, they are introduced to Kim's security officers, Koh and Yu, who are suspicious of them. When Koh finds the strip, he chews it, mistakenly assuming it is gum. After making a secret request for help, Lacey airdrops them two more strips via a drone. However, to get it back to their room, Rapaport is forced to evade a Siberian tiger and hide the container in his rectum, before getting caught and stripped naked by security.
The next day, Skylark meets Kim and spends the day playing basketball, hanging out, riding in his personal tank, and partying with escort women. Kim convinces Skylark that he is misunderstood as a cruel dictator and a failed administrator. At a state dinner, Koh suffers a seizure and diarrhea from the ricin poisoning, accidentally shooting Yu before dying. A guilt-ridden Skylark discards one of the ricin strips the next morning and thwarts Rapaport's attempt to poison Kim with the second strip.
After a dinner mourning the deaths of the bodyguards, Skylark witnesses Kim's brutal self as he angrily threatens South Korean "capitalists", the US and everyone who attempts to undermine his power, and later discovers that Kim has been lying to him upon seeing that the nearby grocery store is fake. At the same time, while seducing Rapaport, Sook reveals that she despises Kim and apologizes for defending his regime. Skylark returns and tries to get Sook's support to assassinate Kim. Still, she disagrees, suggesting instead to damage his cult of personality and show the North Korean people the dire state of the country.
The trio devises a plan to expose Kim on-air, arming themselves with guns. Rapaport eventually has sex with Sook. Before the broadcast begins, Kim gifts Skylark a puppy to symbolize their friendship. During the internationally televised interview with Kim, Skylark addresses increasingly sensitive topics, including the food shortage and US-imposed economic sanctions, then challenges his need for his father's approval. Rapaport takes over the control room to fight off the guards trying to cut the broadcast. While attacking the soldiers who storm the control room, Sook kills Kim's high-ranking general.
Initially resistant and rebuffed by Skylark's claims, Kim cries and defecates himself after Skylark, having known his fondness for Katy Perry, betrays him by singing "Firework", ruining his reputation. Kim, enraged at Skylark's betrayal, shoots him and vows revenge by preparing the nuclear missiles. Skylark, whose bulletproof vest has saved him, regroups with Rapaport and Sook to escape and hijacks Kim's tank to get to their pickup point, killing more soldiers in the process. Kim chases the group in a helicopter, only to be shot down by Skylark before he can issue the command to launch the nuclear missile.
With the nuclear threat thwarted, Sook guides Skylark and Rapaport to an escape route, explaining that she has to return to Pyongyang to maintain security. Skylark and Rapaport are later tracked down and rescued by SEAL Team Six members disguised as North Korean soldiers. In the US, Skylark writes a book about his experience in North Korea, Rapaport returns to work as a producer and maintains contact with Sook via Skype, and North Korea becomes a denuclearized democracy under Sook's interim leadership.
Sound Effects Used
- Hollywoodedge, Bird Hawk Single Scre PE020801/Hawk Screech Single AT082901
- Hollywoodedge, Bottle Rocket 2 Picco PE098501
- Hollywoodedge, Forest Mountain Echo BT021001
- Hollywoodedge, Warning Buzzer Indus PE194401
- Sound Ideas, BELL, SCHOOL - SCHOOL BELL: EXTERNAL: SINGLE RING
- Sound Ideas, HUMAN, SNEEZE - SNEEZE: MALE 05
- Sound Ideas, TELEVISION - REMOTE CONTROL TELEVISION: SWITCH OFF