Remember a few months ago, when the trailer for The Interview hit the net and word got out that North Korea considered the film an “act of war”? The Seth Rogen-James Franco comedy offers a satirical look at two TV journalists recruited by the CIA to assassinate North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un. Jong Un, a noted film buff, is said to be none too pleased about the project, and so his representatives have reached out to Sony- and even made a request to President Barack Obama- to halt the release of the film. 

Sony, which is a Japanese company, claims to not be putting pressure on the filmmakers, but nonetheless the studio is said to be digitally altering thousands of buttons worn by characters in the film. The buttons are replicas of actual North Korean military honors, and that is considered blasphemy. Also said to be on the editing block is a scene depicting Jong Un’s face being melted off graphically, and in slow motion. Though the reason for that cut may just be because the filmmakers just aren’t sure if it’s a funny enough scene to include, according to THR’s source.

Their source says that the primary issues at play here are those of “clearance,” since the film depicts an actual, sitting world leader, and the use of actual military decorations could lead to further hostility between nuclear-armed North Korea and Japan, as well as the U.S. One hidden benefit of all of these tweaks is that The Interview has now been slated for a better release date. It was moved, last week, from October to December 25.

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter