The Interview

Dave Skylark and his producer Aaron Rapaport host the flashy celebrity tabloid show "Skylark Tonight", thriving on gossip and outrageous stunts. When they unexpectedly land an invitation to interview North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un, what starts as a career-making scoop quickly shifts gears. The CIA approaches them with an off the books plan to use the trip as cover for a covert operation, and the pair must pretend to be clueless entertainers while walking into a tightly controlled regime. The movie plays up cultural clashes, bumbling improvisation, and escalating political risk, sticking to the awkward chemistry between the hosts as they fumble through interviews, security blunders, and mounting consequences, all while the larger stakes loom off camera.

Released in 2014, the film was co directed by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, written by Dan Sterling, and stars James Franco and Seth Rogen alongside Lizzy Caplan and Randall Park.

After a controversial rollout, the movie still earned roughly $44 million worldwide, about even with its reported production costs, driven by a limited theatrical window and extensive digital distribution.

The film became a flashpoint in pop culture due to real world events surrounding its release, including a high profile cyberattack on its studio and threats that led to a dramatically scaled back theatrical schedule. Those controversies sparked widespread discussion about security, censorship, and the relationship between entertainment and international politics.

Critical response was mixed, reflected in its vote average of 6.189/10 from audience ratings. Reviewers and viewers praised the leads' chemistry and satirical bite, while noting uneven tonal shifts between broad comedy and sharper political satire. Themes include the absurdities of celebrity journalism, the clash of informal media with authoritarian image making, and the odd loyalty between two friends trying to keep their careers afloat.