9. The Interview
The Pitch: Entertainment journalists Dave Skylark (James Franco) and his producer Aaron Rapoport (Seth Rogen) land the interview of a lifetime, with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, hoping that this will legitimise them as proper journalists. However, they end up being recruited by CIA Agent Lacey (Lizzy Caplan) to instead assassinate him. Evan Goldberg and Rogen (who previously helmed This Is the End) are directing.
The Buzz: The premise has, unsurprisingly, been a tremendous source of controversy ever since it was first announced, with North Korean media loudly criticising the U.S. for allowing the film to go ahead, and labeling it an act of terrorism. One of the dictator's representatives did, however, declare that Kim Jong-un would probably watch the film, to which Rogen responded on Twitter, "Apparently Kim Jong Un plans on watching The Interview. I hope he likes it!!" Given the movie is still a few months away from release, it hasn't screened anywhere yet, though considering the talent involved and incendiary subject matter, it has the potential to be a thought-provoking riot. The question remains: will they kill Kim Jong-un? We hope not: the movie would be much stronger as a political satire of America, which might even make the North Koreans change their mind about the movie.
Release Date: December 25th (US), January 30th (UK).