The controversy surrounding Seth Rogen and North Korea centers on the 2014 film The Interview, a satirical comedy co-directed by Rogen and Evan Goldberg. The movie stars Rogen and James Franco as journalists recruited by the CIA to unalive North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Upon the release of its trailer, North Korea condemned the film as an "act of war".
Who is Seth Rogen and how did the film 'The Interview' originate?
Remember when this Hollywood actor almost started an international conflict? Now his name is Seth Rogen, and you know who Seth Rogen is. He's been acting and producing for a long time. Well, one day in the late 2000s, he and his buddy are chilling, goofing around, probably smoking some of that Zaza, and they're talking about how TV journalists always interview dictators.
And one of them makes a joke about how it would be funny if during the middle of an interview, a journalist just, blam, assassinated the dictator right there. Now, Seth's friend isn't just a regular friend. He's actually his writing producing partner, Evan Goldberg. So Seth and Evan are talking about this and they're like, oh, let's make a comedy movie about that.
And so, boom, they and another writer write a script about this concept and they submit it to executives at Sony and Sony execs give them a green light along with one major note. They say, yeah, this idea is funny and all, but your story is about a fictional dictator. Why not make it about a real dictator?
And so Seth and Evan changed the script, and it eventually becomes a story about North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. And so in 2013, they make this Kim Jong-un comedy movie. It's called The Interview. And Seth is in it. James Franco's in it. Randall Park plays Kim Jong-un. And of course, the premise is a bumbling talk show host is assigned by the CIA to get an interview with Kim Jong-un.
And during the interview, he has to assassinate him. And of course, the movie makes Kim Jong look really goofy while also highlighting some of the ridiculous myths that he claims about himself. Like he claims that he always plays a perfect round of golf. He claims that he invented the hamburger. He claims that he can talk to dolphins.
He claims that he doesn't have an anus because he doesn't need one because he doesn't even have to go to the bathroom at all because his body is a perfect machine that doesn't create waste. It's... all absurd. And so anyway, some of these myths they reference in the movie, which just ends up making Kim Jong look like a huge dork.
Do you do karaoke? Yes, I do, Dave.
And of course, in the end of the movie, he ends up getting blown up and dying. Spoiler alert. Anyway, so they shoot this comedy movie, and Seth and Evan direct it, and they're all prepared to release it. And in 2014, they drop the trailer for the world to see, and they start getting a little buzz around their movie. However, not everyone is thrilled with the idea of the interview.
Apparently, the North Korean government sees this trailer, which means Kim Jong-un himself would have seen this trailer. Now, here's the thing about dictators. They always present themselves as like strong men who are so powerful and confident. However, when you start making jokes about them, they tend to flip out and turn into like a weak little crybaby.
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