--- description: It was described as a “paranoid thriller" title: Steve Carell's North Korea-Set Movie Is Dropped Amid Sony Scandal image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [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 # Steve Carell's North Korea-Set Movie Is Dropped Amid Sony Scandal by [Entertainment Weekly](/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Entertainment Weekly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 18, 2014 1:25 AM CUT by [Entertainment Weekly](/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Entertainment Weekly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 18, 2014 1:25 AM CUT As plans for the release of The Interview unravel with Sony canceling plans for a [Christmas release](http://insidemovies.ew.com/2014/12/17/sony-cancels-christmas-theatrical-release-of-the-interview/ "undefined"), New Regency’s North Korea-set project has been halted. A source has confirmed to _EW_ that an untitled film with Gore Verbinski and Steve Carell attached as director and star, respectively, is not going forward. Deadline [first reported the news](http://deadline.com/2014/12/north-korea-thriller-gore-verbinski-steve-carell-canceled-new-regency-1201328532/ "undefined"), describing the film as “paranoid thriller.” Over the past week, a message claiming to be from the group that hacked Sony [invoked 9/11 in a threat](http://news-briefs.ew.com/2014/12/16/sony-hack-911-threat/ "undefined"), which prompted movie [theater chains to decide not to show the film](http://insidemovies.ew.com/2014/12/17/theaters-cancel-the-interview-sony-threats/ "undefined"). Following the theaters’ decisions, Sony canceled plans for the film’s Christmas release. The _New York Times_ has since [reported](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/18/world/asia/us-links-north-korea-to-sony-hacking.html?module=Notification&version=BreakingNews®ion=FixedTop&action=Click&contentCollection=BreakingNews&contentID=27743722&pgtype=Homepage' "undefined") that the U.S. has reached the conclusion that the North Korean government was “centrally involved” in the hacking. In _The Interview_, a comedy, James Franco and Seth Rogen play a television host and producer who are recruited by the CIA to assassinate Kim Jong-un. [_This article originally appeared on EntertainmentWeekly.com_](http://insidemovies.ew.com/2014/12/17/steve-carell-north-korea-set-movie-dropped/ "undefined") Steve Carell's North Korea-Set Movie Is Dropped Amid Sony Scandal ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3639313/steve-carell-north-korea-movie-sony/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3639313/steve-carell-north-korea-movie-sony/"},"headline":"Steve Carell's North Korea-Set Movie Is Dropped Amid Sony Scandal","datePublished":"2014-12-18T01:25:16.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T02:57:47.150Z","description":"It was described as a “paranoid thriller\"","url":"https://time.com/3639313/steve-carell-north-korea-movie-sony/","keywords":["movies"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Entertainment Weekly","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/entertainment-weekly/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[],"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/3639313/steve-carell-north-korea-movie-sony/","name":"Steve Carell's North Korea-Set Movie Is Dropped Amid Sony Scandal"}}]}] ```