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Sony Corp scrapped its Christmas Day release of "The
Interview," following threats by hackers who have leaked
internal company documents and emails, as well as unreleased
movies, on the internet. U.S. government sources have said
investigators had determined the attack was "state sponsored"
and that North Korea was the government involved.
But even before the cancellation of the film, Sony executives
responsible for the international release of the movie were
concerned the action-comedy featuring Hollywood stars Seth Rogen
and James Franco would not translate to a foreign audience, the
leaked e-mails show.
Reuters has not been able to verify the authenticity of the
documents, although Sony has confirmed that at least some are
authentic.
"The unanimous point of view here is that this (is) another
misfire from the pairing," said an e-mail purportedly written by
Peter Taylor, of Sony Pictures UK.
Taylor said the film was "desperately unfunny and repetitive,"
and "James Franco proves once again that irritation is his
strong suit which is a shame because the character could have
been appealing and funny out of his hands."
Taylor and other executives agreed that the first half hour of
the film, which features a satirical interview with hip-hop
artist Eminem, was amusing but was later overshadowed by
"realistic violence that would be shocking in a horror movie".
Staff in Holland said the film was "unbalanced," and a French
executive said the film went too far. "Seth Rogen's humor
doesn't really translate," the executive said.
South Korean colleagues raised concerns over the potential
political issues and inaccuracies in the North Korean accents
used in the film, and said the leading actors were "weak".
Sony staff in Taiwan said the film "didn't stand a chance" in
their market, according to the e-mails. Australian executives,
however, enjoyed the film and requested lead actor Franco lead a
promotional tour of the country.
British executives were less enthusiastic.
"Tour-wise, our choice would be to have no one. However if this
is not an option (and I suspect it isn't) then we would like the
lot," Taylor said.
"Not just Rogen and (writer Evan) Goldberg, but God help us
Franco as well."
Film review website RottenTomatoes.com gave the movie an average
rating of 6.4/10 based on 26 film critic reviews.
(Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
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