“The Interview”, a highly controversial movie that tells the story of two celebrity journalists played by Seth Rogen and James Franco who get an interview with Kim Jong Un, the current leader of North Korea on their popular TV show. However, the CIA asks the journalists if they will assassinate him.
The film was initially scheduled to be released in theaters around the country last December but after threats came from North Korea that if the movie were released there would be consequences, screenings were stopped.
Because of the film’s content, a massive cyber-attack was made on Sony Pictures where very private information to include personal data, emails, contracts, and more, were made public, many of them embarrassing for the organization. The hack was so significant that multiple government agencies got involved to find the perpetrator. One of these, the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), declared that North Korea was in fact responsible after reviewing all evidence.
Insiders who have seen the film say it is funny, entertaining, and not at all offensive but North Korean leader Jong Un disagrees. Many Hollywood stars to include George Clooney lashed out at the decision made by theaters not to show the movie, saying they gave in and that as Americans we have the right to see the film.
“The Interview”, which is based on Dan Sterling’s screenplay, will start streaming on Netflix starting January 24. The announcement came in the company’s quarterly earnings letter sent out to shareholders. Although the movie has only been shown in a few select theaters, it earned $6 million but in addition, Sony Pictures has made more than $40 million through online viewing and purchases.
According to Netflix, subscribers in the United States and Canada will have the opportunity to watch the streaming version of “The Interview” toward the end of this month.