Sony’s “The Interview” opened on Thursday night in Los Angeles with no red carpet, a large security presence and a raucous and supportive audience.
Held at downtown Los Angeles’ Theater at the Ace Hotel, a far cry from the normal premiere spots in Hollywood, “The Interview” premiere featured nothing more than a barricade and lit marquee. There was no red carpet outside the theater, only a small group of media grouped together near the entrance in hopes of catching any stars entering the building. At least six LAPD officers and a dozen private security officers stood watch at the barricade
The film is said to the cause of a cyber attack against Sony, allegedly by North Korea, in protest of Kim Jong Un’s portrayal in the comedy, starring Seth Rogen and James Franco. The low-key premiere is just one move by Sony to take a step back from the film. Leaked e-mails have also shown that Sony’s CEO Kazuo Hirai had asked Rogen to censor Un’s death scene in the film and that Sony had requested to have the company name removed from all marketing materials for the film.
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Luckily for Sony, the premiere went off without any hiccups. As the film began, the enthusiastic crowd took to their seats. James Franco was seen mingling with audience members before Rogen and the film’s director, Evan Goldberg, took the stage to thank the audience for coming.
“Before we start this, honestly we want to thank Amy Pascal for having the balls to make this [expletive] film,” Rogen said, for which Pascal received a standing ovation from the crowd. Pascal, the embattled Sony Pictures Entertainment co-chairman, has been under fire for statements made in leaked e-mails.
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The audience was largely the film’s production crew and studio executives, as well as a couple busloads of nearby USC students. The title and credit sequences were met with rapturous applause.
In the wake of the hacking scandal, Sony also postponed the press junket for Kevin Hart’s upcoming movie “The Wedding Ringer.” On Thursday, Pascal issued a statement apologizing for her comments in the leaked emails.
“The Interview” opens nationwide on December 25.
— Marcus Mulick
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