Human Rights Groups Plan THE INTERVIEW Drop Over North Korea

Activists planning The Interview Distribution. Human rights activists have announced that they are planning to drop and distribute DVDs of the comedy film The Interview over North Korea. The Cinema for Peace Foundation stated during a press conference at the Berlin film festival that it will launch hydrogen balloons carrying copies of the movie, which depicts an attempt to assassinate North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, from South Korea over to North Korea. Seth Rogen and James Franco star in The Interview (2014) as two journalists who receive the opportunity to interview Kim, played by Randall Park, and are tasked by the CIA with assassinating Kim during their visit to North Korea. The goal of this operation is that North Korean citizens will be able to acquire and watch the film, which satirizes the North Korean communist regime. It is hoped that the film will inspire further dissent among North Koreans and attempts to escape the regime.

“We will start sending hydrogen balloons with DVDs of The Interview to North Korea so that the people there can watch the movie. They can copy the movie and have their own impression if it’s a good or bad movie,” explained Jaka Bizilj, founder and chairman of the Cinema for Peace Foundation. “Because for us, it’s not a question of whether it’s good or bad; no matter if you like something or not, you have to fight for freedom to exercise this art.”

Exact locations of the drop sites are being kept secret, so that people who find the film will be at lower risk of being arrested for possessing the film. Just before its release last December, The Interview faced significant controversy before its premiere. It was temporarily banned from theaters when Sony suffered a hacking attack, which North Korea was suspected of carrying out. However, protests caused the film to be released. The controversy and attention given to the movie are believed to have helped it gain more viewers; the film grossed approximately $31 million in video-on-demand streams and $5 million in box office ticket sales.

Leave your thoughts on the release of The Interview in North Korea below in the comments section. For more photos, videos, and information on The Interview, visit our The Interview Page, subscribe to us by Email, “follow” us on Twitter, Tumblr, Google+,  or “like” us on Facebook for quick updates.

Source: The Guardian, Imdb (1, 2, 3, 4), Polygon