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the interview
Seth Rogen objected to re-editing The Interview movie, about an assassination attempt on Kim Jong-un, just “to make North Koreans happy”.
Sony Pictures Entertainment co-chairman Amy Pascal wrote to Seth Rogen to ask him to tone down a scene in which the North Korean leader is blown up.
Amy Pascal said the request came from Kazuo Hirai, chairman of Sony Corporation.
The exchange was revealed in leaked emails in the wake of a massive cyber attack on Sony Pictures.
Seth Rogen – who wrote and directed The Interview – refused to meet all of the demands made by Kazuo Hirai.
“This is now a story of Americans changing their movie to make North Koreans happy,” he wrote, in an email dated August 15.
“That is a very damning story.”
The Interview – due to be released on Christmas Day in the US – sees Seth Rogen and James Franco play two reporters who are granted an audience with Kim Jong-un. The CIA then enlists the pair to assassinate him.
In June this year, North Korea described the film as an act of war and an “undisguised sponsoring of terrorism”, and called on the US and the UN to block it.
Amy Pascal wrote to Seth Rogen relaying concerns raised by Kazuo Hirai about a key shot in the film which depicts Kim Jong-un struck by a tank shell, causing his head to explode.
“As embarrassing as this has been from my point of view,” wrote Amy Pascal to the film-maker, “you have to appreciate the fact that we haven’t just dictated to you what it had to be.”
“This isn’t some flunky. It’s the chairman of the entire Sony Corporation who I am dealing (with),” she said, referring to Kazuo Hirai’s position as the head of the studio’s parent company.
She stressed she was keen to ensure that the Japanese company would not be placed “in a bad situation”, in terms of its political relations with North Korea.
In a later response, Seth Rogen agrees to remove some of the ghoulish detail, including reducing the “flaming hair”, but added: “The head explosion can’t be more obscured than it is because we honestly feel that if it’s any more obscured, you won’t be able to tell it’s exploding and the joke won’t work.”
In an email to Kazuo Hirai, Amy Pascal notes that she has encountered considerable “resistance from the filmmakers”.
A final email in October, from Seth Rogen, confirms that his latest edit had “removed the fire from the hair and the entire secondary wave of head chunks”.
“Please tell us this is over now,” he adds.
Details of the emails were reported by Bloomberg News. Representatives for Seth Rogen declined to comment.
Sony Pictures announced this week that the stars will be giving no interviews at the Hollywood premiere of The Interview.
The California-based studio’s computer system went down last week and hackers then published a number of as-yet unreleased films on online download sites. The Interview was not among them.
A slew of emails, including embarrassing exchanges about some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, have also been leaked.
North Korea has denied it was directly involved in the hacking but praised the attack itself as a “righteous deed”.
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North Korea has denied Sony Pictures hack attack in retaliation for The Interview movie depicting Kim Jong-un.
However, the attack itself has been praised as a “righteous deed”.
The attack crippled computers at Sony and led to upcoming films and workers’ personal data being leaked online.
North Korea said its “supporters and sympathizers” may have carried out the hack – but said it was not involved.
It has described The Interview as an “act of terrorism”.
The comedy, made by Sony Pictures, features James Franco and Seth Rogen as two reporters who are granted an audience with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
The CIA then enlists the pair to assassinate the North Korean leader. The film is due to be released over Christmas.
An article on North Korea’s state-run KCNA news agency, quoting the country’s top military body, said suggestions that Pyongyang was behind the attack were “wild rumor”.
However, it warned the US that “there are a great number of supporters and sympathizers” of North Korea “all over the world” who may have carried out the attack.
In the article, Sony Pictures was accused of “abetting a terrorist act” and “hurting the dignity of the supreme leadership” of North Korea by producing the movie.
Last week a North Korean diplomat had responded to questions over whether his country had conducted the attack by saying, “wait and see”.
Sony Pictures’ computer system went down last week and hackers then published a number of as-yet unreleased films on online download sites.
They also released salary and Social Security numbers for thousands of Sony employees – including celebrities. The film about North Korea does not appear to have been leaked.
On Monday, Sony Pictures said it had restored a number of important services that had to be shut down after the attack.
It said it was working closely with law enforcement officials to investigate the matter but made no mention of North Korea.
The FBI has confirmed that it is investigating. It has also warned other US businesses that unknown hackers have launched a cyber-attack with destructive malware.
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North Korea refuses to deny involvement in Sony Pictures cyber-attack that came ahead of the release of The Interview movie about its leader Kim Jong-un.
Sony is investigating after its computers were attacked and unreleased films made available on the internet.
When asked if it was involved in the attack a spokesman for the North Korean government replied: “Wait and see.”
In June, North Korea complained to the UN and the US over the comedy film The Interview.
In the movie, Seth Rogen and James Franco play two reporters who are granted an audience with Kim Jong-un. The CIA then enlists the pair to assassinate him.
North Korea described the film as an act of war and an “undisguised sponsoring of terrorism”, and called on the US and the UN to block it.
California-based Sony Pictures’ computer system went down last week and hackers then published a number of as-yet un-released films on online download sites.
Among the titles is a remake of the classic film Annie, which is not due for release until December 19.
The Interview does not appear to have been leaked.
When asked about the cyber-attack, a spokesman for North Korea’s UN mission said: “The hostile forces are relating everything to the DPRK (North Korea). I kindly advise you to just wait and see.”
On December 1, Sony Pictures said it had restored a number of important services that had to be shut down after the attack.
The company said it was working closely with law enforcement officials to investigate the matter but made no mention of North Korea.
The FBI has confirmed that it is investigating. It has also warned other US businesses that unknown hackers have launched a cyber attack with destructive malware.
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Over the Thanksgiving weekend five films distributed by Sony Pictures leaked online following a reported cyber-attack on the company.
Among the titles is a remake of classic film Annie, which is not due for release until December 19.
Sony Pictures was reported to have shut down its internal systems last week due to an “IT matter”.
Some have linked the cyber-attack to forthcoming film The Interview, Sony’s comedy about North Korea.
That film does not appear to have been leaked.
However, reports say other high-profile titles have been circulated. Among them Fury, starring Brad Pitt, which was in cinemas in October but is yet to be made available on DVD.
According to research firm Excipio, Mr. Turner, Still Alice and To Write Love on Her Arms are also being distributed and downloaded.
Sony has not confirmed the authenticity of the leak, but was quoted in Variety magazine as saying: “The theft of Sony Pictures Entertainment content is a criminal matter, and we are working closely with law enforcement to address it.”
Little is known about the breach of Sony’s systems last month.
A group calling itself the Guardians of Peace – #GOP – claimed responsibility.
Some reports said some computers of Sony employees displayed a picture of a skeleton, threatening to release large amounts of data from the company.
The early leak of films is considered, by the film industry, to have a devastating effect on the potential success of a title.
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North Korea has threatened “merciless” retaliation if a forthcoming Hollywood movie about killing Kim Jong-un is released, say agencies.
A North Korean foreign ministry spokesman said in state media that the movie’s release would be an “act of war”.
He did not mention the title, but a Hollywood movie called The Interview with a similar plot is due in October.
Actors James Franco and Seth Rogen star in the action-comedy film.
James Franco and Seth Rogen play a talk show host and his producer who are invited to interview Kim Jong-un, and are subsequently recruited by the CIA to assassinate the leader.
In The Interview, James Franco and Seth Rogen play a talk show host and his producer who are invited to interview Kim Jong-un
The movie’s teaser trailer, posted on Youtube, shows a lookalike actor playing Kim Jong-un, as well as fight scenes involving what appear to be North Korean tanks and helicopters, and a nuclear missile launch.
The North Korea spokesman was quoted by agencies as saying: “Making and releasing a movie on a plot to hurt our top-level leadership is the most blatant act of terrorism and war and will absolutely not be tolerated.”
He added that the “reckless US provocative insanity” of mobilizing a “gangster filmmaker” to challenge North Korea’s leadership was triggering “a gust of hatred and rage” among North Korean people and soldiers.
“If the US administration allows and defends the showing of the film, a merciless counter-measure will be taken,” the spokesman was quoted as saying.
Evidence emerged last week of North Korea further developing its missile technology. Experts identified a new anti-ship cruise missile shown in a North Korean propaganda film.
North Korea is holding three Americans in custody. The latest to be detained is said to be a tourist named Jeffrey Edward Fowle who reportedly left a Bible at a hotel.
Seth Rogen, one of the directors of The Interview, recently said he was inspired by journalists’ trips to North Korea.
He told Yahoo: “People have the hypothetical discussion about how journalists have access to the world’s most dangerous people, and they hypothetically would be in a good situation to assassinate them.”
Seth Rogen added that the movie was originally about meeting Kim Jong-il, but they had to revise the script when he died in 2011 and his son Kim Jong-un took power.
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