ELDERS REACT TO THE INTERVIEW

♪ (ragtime music) ♪

- (in video: phone rings)
- (man) Hello? Who dis?

(in video) This is the Secretary
of Communication for North Korea.

Our Supreme Leader,
Kim Jong-un is interested...

I saw this movie.

- ...in an interview with Dave Skylark.
- Oh my god.

Uh oh, it's The Interview!

I swore I wasn't going to see it.

(in video) Did you just say China?

And did you just say Dong? (snickers)

Three weeks from tonight,
I will be traveling

to Pyongyang, North Korea

- to interview President Kim Jong-un.
- Pyongyang?

Kim Jong-un!

I am so glad they released this.

I'm so glad they didn't cave on it.

(in video) I'm Agent Lacey
with Central Intelligence.

I love these actors.

(Lacey) You two are going to be
in a room alone with Kim

and the CIA would love it
if you could take him out.

(in video) Hmm?

- (chuckles)
- (Lacey) Take him out.

- For coffee?
- Dinner.

Take him out for what? (laughs)

Drop him like a bad habit.

(in video) You want us to kill
the leader of North Korea?

Yes!

(in video) Whaaaaat?

(cracks up)

I wanna watch it because I keep
on hearing so much stuff about it.

(Lacey) Gentleman, please remember
Kim Jung-un is a master manipulator.

He's crazy.
He's totally insa--

(cooing)

- (in video) The dog is killing me!
- It's a cute doggie.

(in video) He's-a crazy cute.

Heh.

It's such a stupid idea.

Doesn't sound very inspiring.

(Skylark) Nice tank!

It was a gift to my grandfather from Stalin.

In my country, it's pronounced "Stallone".

(laughing)

(Skylark) You have a sound system in here?

Oh, no, no, no.
Don't-don't-don't touch.

♪ You're a firework ♪

Katy Perry?

I've never heard this before in my life.

I love Katy Perry!

Really?

(singing along) ♪ As you shoot
across the sky, sky, sky ♪

Oh, god.

It's supposed to be a Russian tank.

It's an American tank.

It is a good movie.
It's a bit funny.

(Skyler) ...Kim and I think
he's not a bad guy!

You cannot pull out of this!

- I'm pulling out.
- But we're too deep to pull out.

- I'm pulling out!
- No, you're not!

- They're making pull out jokes.
- I've been pullin' out for years, son!

Heh. What was that?

"Pulling out for years".
I don't get it.

Wait, it didn't come out at Christmas.

There was a few problems in-between.

(movie reel rolls)

(Finebros) So before we dive
into everything,

what movie was that
and what's the very basic plot?

Um, The Interview.

Two idiots are recruited
to take out the most evil dictator

in the world today.

We use these guys
on the premise of doing an interview

to assassinate the North Korean president.

And now it's become
an international issue! (laughs)

Even the government involve.

I wonder if Sony anticipated this

and they're either jerks or geniuses.

(Finebros) And what do you
think of a movie's plot

to kill an actual sitting
leader of a country?

I don't see anything wrong with it
'cause the guy's a dick anyway.

This guy deserved to die a long time ago.

I mean-- (scoffing)
He's a disaster.

I don't think it should have been made
just because, you know,

that's a big power over there.

They should not have made a movie
about killing a world leader.

They could have, like they did
with The Great Dictator

and so many other films,
they could've changed the name.

People would've known
what they were referring to.

- (Finebros) Did you watch the movie?
- No!

No.

No. This kind of comedy
doesn't appeal to me at all.

I haven't seen it yet.

I haven't had a chance.
I wanna see it.

Oh, yeah.

I saw it on a Pay-Per-View thing at home.

(Finebros) So as you probably know,
Sony was hacked by a group

called the Guardians of Peace,
who released company emails

and movies early and demanded
that The Interview not be released

in theatres, otherwise there would be

attacks on those movie theatres.

As this was all happening,
how did you feel about the situation?

Absurd. It's a silly movie.

How can anybody take it so seriously?

Release the effing film.
F the terrorists.

First thing I thought of, personally,
was that Sony did it

so they'd get publicity for their movie.

(Finebros) Initially, Sony ended up saying
they're not even going

to put the movie out because
all the movie theatre chains

said they weren't going to show the movie.

When Sony made that decision,
what did you think at the time?

I think they overreacted.

Baloney! They ain't gonna do nothin'.

I thought it was a very unwise decision.

If we become frightened
of a terrorist attack

and stop doing things
then our country really is in trouble.

I was so mad.
I was yelling at the TV.

You wussies! Why did you
even make the picture

if you don't have the balls to release it!

With some of the horrendous things
that have happened in our country

in movie theatres, I feel like Sony
was trying to protect people.

All those theatres who didn't to take it,

it's not because they were scared.

They saw the movie and thought,
"You know what?

We're gonna lose money."

The movie probably isn't that good.

(Finebros) So ultimately
they did release the movie

to about 300 theatres and also
made it available on the Internet.

What do you think about their decision?

I think that's great.

It shows that they have some balls left.

It would have been
a horrible decision not to do it.

Screw North Korea.
You know, to hell with them.

I thought it was a good decision
because look how many people

are looking at it now
and are gonna keep looking at it?

I read somewhere
that they spent $75 million.

They want to get back something.
That's all.

(Finebros) Well, it's done fairly well.

For its opening weekend,
estimates are that it made $3 million

in limited theatrical release,
and $15 million online,

which broke all sorts of records
for an online movie release.

Why do you think so many people
decide to check this out?

To be defiant.
To celebrate freedom.

Because of the scandal, because of Sony
not putting it out.

Just like reading books
that were banned years ago,

anything that's forbidden should be good.

It's all about the Internet.
It is, you know.

It's going to a movie theatre
and the hassle and the expense of it--

I'd rather pay my money
and see it on Hulu or Netflix

or stream it or whatever you do. (laughs)

(Finebros) A lot of people were saying
that they felt it was a patriotic duty

- to see this film--
- Oh, bull [bleep]. (laughs)

(Finebros) What do you think about that?

That's going a little far.

I think that's a bunch of baloney.

Killing another person's a patriotic duty.

Awesome!

Patriotic, I don't know about,
but I think it's their duty

is now we have to show
the rest of the world

we're not going
to be backed into a corner.

Yeah, I can understand that.

I'm free. I can see this movie
and I'm gonna do it.

(Finebros) This is a pretty big deal
for the movie industry

that this made that much money online,
but some people think

it only did that well
because of the controversy,

and the only way for a movie
to be a huge hit still

is to be in movie theatres.
What do you think?

Well, it's just like bookstores
falling by the wayside.

Of course, they used
to say that about television.

"Oh, nobody will watch it
on the small screen!"

I think there's still
a certain element of people

who just enjoy going out to movie theatres.

I like going to the movies.
I hope it never goes out.

It's a night out.
It's a social thing to do.

I'd rather see it at home
because it's getting so expensive

to go to the show now.
It's ridiculous.

You pay, I don't know how much,
$5.00 for a movie online.

Five, six, seven, eight people
can watch it!

In the movie, I think it
start from $12 and up.

(Finebros) So, bottom line,
should people see this film

- or is it not right?
- They should see the film if they want to.

No problem!

I believe, absolutely, they should see
this film if they want to.

I don't think it's right.

Even if you're a dictator,
you're still somebody's son!

Go ahead. I thought it was great.

Yes, go see the picture.

If that kind of humor
appeals to you, go see it!

If it doesn't, don't go see it.

See it if you're interested.
Nobody should tell you what to do.

(Southern drawl) My fellow Americans,

(emphatically) go see The Interview!

It's your duty as patriotic citizens.

Thanks so much for watching
another episode of Elders React.

Let us know in the comments
what movie trailer

we should react to next.

New videos come out every week,
so make sure you're subscribed.

Goodbye, guys!

It's been a pleasure
and you're a treasure. Bye.

♪ (ragtime music) ♪