The Interview
Fine. Let’s talk about The Interview. I didn’t want to, but now this shit matters.
I’ve been seeing previews for the new Seth Rogen/James Franco movie for months.��The last Rogen movie I saw was Green Hornet and that wasn’t by choice. Aron rented that piece of crap and put it on while I was in the room. So I sure as hell wasn’t in a big hurry to see The Interview.
Do I think it’s probably a crappy movie? Yes. Was it worth Sony’s money? Probably not. But now I want to see that damned thing all over the movie marquees. In case you somehow don’t know what’s going on,��the major theater chains have all yanked��the Interview ��� which was supposed to be released on Christmas ��� after hacking and threats by GOP (that’s “Guardians of Peace,” not the Republicans) of terrorist attacks on any theaters showing the movie. Later this afternoon, Sony cancelled the movie entirely. There are currently no plans to release it in any form, DVD or otherwise.
Now, as of this writing, it’s not clear if GOP is North Korean in origin (though it’s certainly looking that way), but that’s not why I’m furiously bashing on my keyboard. As a freedom of expression��issue, it doesn’t matter if GOP is a domestic or foreign group. Canceling Rogen and Franco’s crap-ass creation out of fear isn’t exactly a First Amendment issue. This is Sony’s property. They’re a private party and cancel whatever the hell they feel like. But I really, really wish they wouldn’t.
Movies like The Interview are important.��Even shitty satire is an important way we criticize and critique what’s going on in the world, in our own nations and abroad. I sure as hell don’t agree with the message of America: Imagine the World Without Her, but damned if it doesn’t have just as much right to be seen��as Team America: World Police��or The Interview. Everyone is entitled��their own dumb-ass opinion. We’re even entitled to getting in screaming arguments with each other.
If we’re too scared to make fun of the shit we see wrong with the world, how the hell are we supposed to be brave enough to change it?
Sony, you’re not the government. You’re not required by law to protect Rogen and Franco’s��freedom of speech, but I and a lot of other people would encourage you to stand up for the right of this shitty piece of cinema to exist.
(And, to be fair��� if I do ever get to see The Interview, I’ll probably laugh a lot more than I would care to admit.)
