--- description: Sony appears to have yielded to pressure from Pyongyang over an upcoming comedy flick starring Seth Rogen and James Franco title: Sony to amend Seth Rogen's 'The Interview' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0f1fff82ead5c7bd/69869fa9e8524b5bb16044e8/450831932.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Sony Will Amend Seth Rogen's _The Interview_ After North Korean Threats by [David Stout](/author/david-stout/) ## David Stout Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 15, 2014 6:43 AM CUT  Seth Rogen poses during a photo-call for his latest film The Interview in Barcelona on June 18, 2014 Seth Rogen poses during a photo-call for his latest film The Interview in Barcelona on June 18, 2014Miquel Benitez—Getty Images by [David Stout](/author/david-stout/) ## David Stout Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 15, 2014 6:43 AM CUT Executives at Japanese-owned Sony Pictures appear to have yielded in the face of increasing anger from North Korea over an upcoming comedy flick, _The Interview_, [writes](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/sony-altering-kim-jong-assassination-725092 "undefined") the _Hollywood Reporter_. The movie stars Seth Rogen and James Franco, and much to Pyongyang’s dismay its plot follows two American broadcast journalists who are recruited as CIA agents and ordered to assassinate the communist state’s Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un after they score an interview with him. According to the _Hollywood Reporter_, the studio plans to digitally alter thousands of buttons worn by extras so that they no longer depict the actual buttons worn by the North Korean military to honor Kim Jong Un and his father Kim Jong Il. Sony is also considering cutting a scene where Kim Jong Un’s face is “melted off graphically in slow motion.” In June, North Korean authorities labeled the film a “wanton act of terror” and [threatened](http://time.com/2921071/kim-jong-un-seth-rogen-the-interview-james-franco/ "undefined") a “merciless” retaliation against the U.S. if the movie was released. _The Interview_ was originally set to hit the big screen in October; however, because of the controversy, its release date has been knocked back to December. \[[_THR_](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/sony-altering-kim-jong-assassination-725092 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3114936/the-interview-north-korea-james-franco-seth-rogen/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3114936/the-interview-north-korea-james-franco-seth-rogen/"},"headline":"Sony Will Amend Seth Rogen's The Interview After North Korean Threats","datePublished":"2014-08-15T06:43:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T09:41:11.505Z","description":"Little Kim doesn't see the funny side","url":"https://time.com/3114936/the-interview-north-korea-james-franco-seth-rogen/","keywords":["movies","North Korea","Kim Jong Un","kim jong il","james franco","Seth Rogen","the interview"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0f1fff82ead5c7bd/69869fa9e8524b5bb16044e8/450831932.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"David Stout","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/david-stout/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0f1fff82ead5c7bd/69869fa9e8524b5bb16044e8/450831932.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"'The Interview' Barcelona Photocall","caption":"'The Interview' Barcelona Photocall","creditText":"Miquel Benitez—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3114936/the-interview-north-korea-james-franco-seth-rogen/","name":"Sony Will Amend Seth Rogen's The Interview After North Korean Threats"}}]}] ```