The Interview is enjoying some massive buzz, both good and bad, in the public eye. Its limited Christmas release has been pulling capacity crowds in many of the 331 independent venues that are showing the controversial film on its original release date. It's amazing how the film that pissed off a dictator has gone from persona non grata to a limited success on both sides of the law, and even Seth Rogen knows how lucky he and co-writer/director Evan Goldberg are to be showing this film to the public. In fact, to thank the fans for coming out to one L.A. screening, Rogen showed up and handed out some awesome swag themed after the film.
The Hollywood Reporter noted that Seth Rogen, alongside collaborators Goldberg and actor Randall Park, showed up to the 8:30 PM showing of The Interview at L.A.'s Downtown Independent theater with "t-shirts and rocket shaped water bottles." Their reasoning for such an awesome occurrence was the fact that they are extremely grateful for the fanbase that's sought out and shown up to screenings of The Interview, and have wanted to do so ever since the film's release status was first called into question.
The trio made some remarks at the screening as well, with Seth Rogen throwing out the following heartfelt sentiment after the film's screening:
"There was a real chance that this wasn't going to happen, which is really bizarre. But it did happen, because people like you seem to want it to happen and we really appreciate that. So honestly, thank you so much. We hope you liked it."
While the films of Rogen and company tend to be crass and push the boundaries of good taste to their limits, you can't deny the heart that goes into films like The Interview or even This Is The End. It's the type of movie making where you can tell the collaborators on the screen are friends, and you can also see where the lines between reality and comedy are blurred very finely. While others might have stormed and raged at their next big release being canceled in such a controversial way, Seth Rogen was quiet all the way through the incident, only breaking silence to celebrate the reinstatement of the film's release.
Seeing Rogen and friends show up to a screening of The Interview is one of those live theater moments that makes going to the movies that much more exciting. It doesn't always happen, and there's no real way of telling when these sorts of surprises will happen. But considering all of the talk that's circulating around the internet that the controversy The Interview suffered was nothing more than a PR stunt, a surprise like this is exactly what people need to re-enforce the fact that this whole ordeal wasn't a game. That, and who doesn't want to be handed a rocket shaped water bottle by Seth Rogen for Christmas?
The Interview is currently in limited theatrical release, as well as available on select VOD platforms.
