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Rogen, who wrote, produced and directed "The Interview" with
filmmaking partner Evan Goldberg, told ABC show "Good Morning
America" on Monday that he had not anticipated the media storm
surrounding the film.
"I don't know if the hacking honestly is because of our movie,
definitively or not. I know that it has been the center of a lot
of media attention lately," Rogen said.
"The movie itself is very silly and wasn't meant to be
controversial in any way," he added.
In November, Sony Pictures' computer network was crippled by an
attack by hackers who stole and released five films, employee
data and internal emails. Reuters has not been able to confirm
the documents' authenticity.
People close to the investigation have told Reuters that North
Korea is a principal suspect, but a North Korean diplomat has
denied his country was involved. Pyongyang denounced "The
Interview" in June as "undisguised sponsoring of terrorism, as
well as an act of war."
Rogen said on Monday the film goes to great lengths to separate
the regime ruling North Korea from the North Korean people
themselves, saying they are "victims of a horrible situation."
Emails released by the hackers shed light on Sony's internal
debate about the film, showing that Sony Corp Chief Executive
Officer Kazuo Hirai ordered that the movie be toned down after
North Korea complained. Rogen objected but complied before the
cyber attack.
"With every movie we do, there's a conversation creatively about
what happens, but ultimately I'm 100 percent behind the finished
product of the movie," Rogen said, when asked about the changes
he had to make.
A Sony spokeswoman could not be immediately reached on Monday
for comment, but last week a Sony Corp official told Reuters
that Hirai rarely reviews specific scenes in films.
"The Interview," scheduled for release on Dec. 25, follows
flamboyant TV host Dave Skylark, played by James Franco, and his
hapless producer Aaron Rapaport (Rogen), who score an interview
with the elusive Kim. The duo are recruited by the CIA to
assassinate Kim, but not without a series of comic obstacles
filled with crude, male-centric humor.
(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Lisa Richwine and
Jonathan Oatis)
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Rogen
defends satirizing North Korean leader in 'The Interview'
