With mid-budget films no longer in major studios’ interests, there has been a severe scarcity of great comedies in the mainstream landscape, apart from some notable exceptions. But before IPs such as Marvel took over the industry, the 2010s witnessed a boatload of comedies, and while many of them were less than stellar, this time period also witnessed some bangers, including The Interview.
Starring Seth Rogen and James Franco, while The Interview is not the duo’s best works by far, it is still beloved by fans following its lowbrow humor. And interestingly, Rogen went to extreme lengths for the movie that unfortunately never got a theatre run.
Seth Rogen Shoved a Beef Jerky up His A** For The Interview
The Interview follows the story of Seth Rogen‘s Aaron and James Franco‘s David on their mission to take out the infamous North Korean dictator, who is a fan of the late-night show run by the duo. And for his part, Rogen, famous for starring in lowbrow comedies, went a little too hard for the movie and even proceeded to take a beef jerky up his a**. For the scene in which he gets stripped by North Korean guards, Rogen recalled that the dog that was supposed to sniff his a** “just won’t smell”, which led to the actor shoving a beef jerky up his a**. He said on Jimmy Kimmel Live:
“There’s a scene in the film where I’ve shoved a rocket up my ass. I’m concealing it from North Korean guards and I get stripped down by the guards and they have a German Shepherd who’s supposed to… the joke is that the German Shepherd is smelling me and it smells my ass… I end up shoving beef jerky in my ass,”
After the scene was done, The Sausage Party Star jokingly recalled the PETA guy on set being in disbelief by the actor’s commitment to the job.
Theater Chains’ Reluctance to Run The Interview Led to Sony Canceling Its Theatrical Release
Despite his efforts to nail the movie, The Interview never made it to the big screens, which almost caused WW3. Even though the comedy was initially set for a theatrical run by Sony, they eventually canned their plans after major US theater chains refused to run the movie after attacks were threatened.
On the bright side, the James Franco-led movie became Sony’s biggest digital release, grossing $40 million in digital rentals, making Rogen’s commitment to getting his a** sniffed by a dog worth it.
The Interview is available to stream on Peacock.
