Comedy on assassination of N Korean leader will not be shown in S'pore

Singapore will not be in on the joke that is Seth Rogen and James Franco's latest comedy The Interview.

Written and directed by US actor Rogen, the politically incorrect flick was said to be the main trigger of the hack attack at Sony Pictures Entertainment that began on Nov 24 - simply because it revolves around two reporters (Rogen and Franco) tasked by the CIA with assassinating North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un (Randall Park).

Reviews of The Interview, which opens in the US on Dec 25, are mixed, but we will not be able to judge it for ourselves. It will not be released in Singapore or the rest of Asia, according to the film's website.

Sony Pictures Releasing International Singapore declined to comment if it is due to the hacking, commercial viability or sensitivities. But The Interview was not included in its line-up of releases as of September, and that was way before the hacking scandal erupted.

Rogen's comedies tend to be controversial, and some are considered too niche or sensitive to be a hit at the local box office despite his clout in Hollywood.

His directorial debut, the disaster comedy This Is The End (2013), which saw Rogen, Franco, Jonah Hill and Jay Baruchel facing the apocalypse after a wild night, did not get a local release despite it being a box-office hit in the US.

The 2008 stoner comedy Pineapple Express, starring Rogen and Franco as marijuana smokers, did not get a theatrical release here either.

BAD END

As for The Interview, it features a prominent Asian leader meeting a decidedly bad end.

Too close to home, perhaps?

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Comedy on assassination of N Korean leader will not be shown in S'pore