[av_heading heading=’They Hate Us, Cause They Aint Us’ tag=’h2′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
Written by: Matthew McGuire
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James Franco and Seth Rogen run the popular celebrity tabloid TV show ‘Skylark Tonight’ in “The Interview.” Sony Pictures Entertainment recently witnessed a hack this past November that resulted in the company pulling the film from theaters.

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The film’s estimated cost is around $44 million. It will be interesting to see how the digital release will impact overall sales.

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The film’s release may come off as a cultural division, and our outlet’s main ideology is to bridge cultural gaps. This review takes a look at the theory behind the film, as well as the technical aspects of the film.

First, the film release was released on digital platforms for $5.99 on YouTube, Google Play and on an independent website. The runtime of the film is 112 minutes.

Seth Rogen has had hit and misses in the past with films such as “Pinneapple Express” and many other motion picture projects in film and television. This film is written and directed by Rogen, and his comedic style of filming in the past is reflected within the storyline of “The Interview”. This is in connection with the entertainment journalist desiring content with more substance.

Rogen does divide culture with some of his immature jokes in the film, but overall, he helps create conversation in a very difficult topic. We see that if our review can intellectually analyze this situation, it can help benefit a difficult situation.

“You want to know whats more destructive than a nuclear bomb, words.”

This quote is used in the film, and we see that this review itself holds power beyond our own imagination. We help rewrite the narrative that Rogen has started. I considered him creating the conversation as paving the road for a bridge of communication between us and alienated countries in general. That road has potholes with sections of how Rogen and the film makers projected negative connotations around the asian cultural within the film.

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James Franco provides an excellent acting performance. His deliver was spot on for a majority of the film. The opening scene with him and Eminem can be seen as a slap in the face to the a section of our audience. Once again, some sections of the film is used to provoke an audience. As an entertainment media outlet, the film even pokes fun at our production value in comparison to large-scale news outlets. It would be hard to laugh at others, but not be able to laugh at oneself.

Lizzy Caplan, performs as Agent Lacey, and delivers a strong female role to the film. I loved her past work in Party Down, and other film projects.

Some quick trivia points from IMDb on the film:

  1. The line above the movie title translates as “Please do not believe these ignorant dishonorable Americans!”
  2. This film marks the fifth collaboration with Seth Rogen and James Franco.
  3. Skylark’s bonding with Kim Jong-un is based on former basketball player Dennis Rodman, who traveled to North Korea to host basketball exhibitions and befriended Jong-un.
  4. With all the support from fans and celebrities such as George Clooney, Sean Penn, and even President Barrack Obama, Sony decided to release the film on the original release date (December 25th 2014) in select theatres and VOD.
  5. The second film directed by Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen. “This Is the End” was their first project together.

In the future, it would ideal to start making films to unify the developing countries with our country. We have beat a dead horse by creating films that divide cultures.