please welcome seth rogen! (cheers and applause) ♪ >> stephen: hey! mr. coming on. good to see you! >> thank you. >> stephen: thank you for being here. >> thank you for having me, sir. >> stephen: what a pleasure to have you here. thank you for wearing a suit. you look like you're ready to go to court. >> i feel like i am. >> stephen: are you on trial? at least they legalized carrying weed. >> stephen: the weed is not the issue. >> no. >> stephen: it's going toe to toe with the north koreans in thermonuclear conflict. (laughter) >> okay. >> stephen: laugh it up. you've made some of the funniest movies i've ever seen. knocked up, super bad, pine upapple express, this is the end. the new film is called the interview, opens on christmas day. >> yes. >> stephen: okay. it upset the north koreans. >> it did. >> stephen: okay. did you think it would upset the north koreans? >> uh... >> stephen: did you picture them as a jolly regime? >> people are getting a kick out of that lube every time they see that picture. >> stephen: oh, they love it. that's his friend lu

james franco and seth rogen taking on the hacking scandal surrounding their new movie. my name's louis, and i quit smoking with chantix. i had tried to do it in the past. i hadn't been successful. quitting smoking this time was different because i got a prescription for chantix. along with support, chantix (varenicline) is proven to help people quit smoking. the fact that it reduced the urge to smoke helped me get that confidence that i could do it. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. some people had seizures while taking chantix. if you notice any of these, stop chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix or history of seizures. don' take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you develop these, stop chantix and see your doctor right away as some can be life-threatening. tell your doctor if you have a history of h

. >> where do you think this puts seth rogen and james franco going forward?it hurts their careers but certainly hurts sony financially. it cost $40 million to make. it was expected to make at least $20 million in its opening weekend. if this is not in theaters christmas day, sony takes an additional hit on top of all of other hits it's taken by the hack itself. that's why they're trying to release it on demand on christmas day. >> you there go, the big surprise, once again, it's become this international issue with so many implications. >> and all the other films on christmas day have to be concerned they don't want people to be concerned about going to the movies on christmas day. this is not a physical threat. the fbi has been clear about that, but there's a chain effect over all of hollywood. >> it's hard enough to get people in movie theater seats anyway. brian steltzer, thank you for being with us. one of the implications of this film, this mediocre comedy. the release of "the interview" has really only increased the friction between north korea and japa

the approximate cause is a forthcoming buddy flick starring seth rogen and james franco. plot revolves around a plot to kill the supreme leader of north korea. unsurprisingly, kim jong-un was upset about it. he decided to take it was the look is action imaginable -- that is exposing the salaries of a bunch of hollywood's suits, which has unleashed widespread pandemonium in fact, when you think about it, all of this actually makes for a much better and funnier story than the one in the movie. so we put together a trailer for the flick we would actually like to see. >> this christmas, seth rogen and james franco are best friends in the dictator strikes back. starring, the real supreme leader of the people plot them a craddick republic of korea. still bitter over a film that portrayed his father is a tiny puff it -- tiny puppet he is now the target of a dastardly plot -- a movie plot, and wish to stoners are sent to north korea to take them out. >> you want us to kill the leader of north korea? >> this makes kim jong-un very unhappy and his response is to strike back at amer

and there was talk and seth rogen sed nope, i'm going to do the movie how i'm going to do the movie.ere aware. >> they with are fully aware but that doesn't necessarily mean they were irresponsible to do what they did. it's a tough call. but i do agree with tom. i do believe there could be a chilling effect that just about any hollywood production that is going to produce something on the order of kim jong-un is going to think twice and be more conservative than they would have been had this incident never happened. >> what will be the next step sony takes, do you think? now individual theaters are deciding whether to pull the movie. sony says, pull it if you must but we're not going to order any edict to do that. so what's next for sony through all of this? >> i think sony has an awful dilemma. right now they're sticking to their guns. but they know that even the sheer -- the mere prospect that there would a tragic incident exposes them and the theater owners to legal liability. on the other hand they don't want to be seen as caving in to what in all likelihood is an empty threat. h

, in his typical seth rogen way.ere it is. >> it's stolen information! i think it's [ bleep ] up that anyone's [ bleep ] talking about it. and i'm okay talking about my [ bleep ] honestly because i don't [ bleep ] care that much. >> right. >> and the stuff that was stolen from me on the grand scale of [ bleep ] is not that bad. but it's [ bleep ] stolen. >> okay. so we've been talking about whether people should be reporting it or not. sharon, you know, sony is really in a terrible position here. the hackers have promised more spectacular leaks. but if sony pulls the movie now they'd be giving in to blackmail, right? >> they would be. i mean, this is the conversation we're having. we just published a story that asked the question should they pull "the interview"? the problem is that the hackers still have control and still have the ability to strike at sony and they have promised, as you've reported and everyone else, that there's going to be a big surprise coming at christmas. so the question is do they want to -- a

>> wow. >> the james franco seth rogen comedy appeared online yesterday.me a major motion picture has ever been made available online before i

caller: i want to see it because i enjoy seth rogen's adolescent humor very much. i also think it is hypocritical. if north korea put out a film were trying to assassinate president obama, people would be hitting the ceiling's around here. i think it is really provocative for this movie to be made. in light of the tensions on the 38th parallel with nukes and the sinking of south korean coast guard ships and artillery duels with islands. i think it is highly irresponsible. i think sony should be condemned a movie thatut purports to make entertainment out of a assassinating a world leader. however abhorrent and evil he is. if somebody were to make a movie about assassinating obama or the leader of britain or france or russia or whatever, this would be a completely host: different discussion. thank you. philadelphia, john, you will not see it? ? caller: i'm not. we have 38,000 probably green troops on the 38th parallel across the fifth largest standing army in the world. after dick cheney and that crowd, you probably have the craziest person, that dictator, ready to d

a threat invoking 9/11, imflipping attacks at theaters plank to show "the interview," that seth rogen and james franco comedy about journalists attempting to assassinate kim jong-un. >> you want us to kill the leader of north korea? >> yes. >> what? >> reporter: the group claiming responsibility for the hack calling itselves guardians of peace, saying online, we recommend to keep yourself distant. if your house is nearby, you'd better leave. promising, soon, all the world will see what an awful movie sony has made. the world will be full of fear. and now, tonight, sony apparently backing down. telling theater owners they are free not to run the $44 million feature. >> you want to go kill kim jong-un? >> totally. it's a date. >> reporter: sony not commenting on the latest threat. but the movie's stars canceled a press tour in the wake of today's message. seth rogen and james franco earlier this week telling abc's george stephanopoulos they stand by their comedy. >> any second thoughts at all? >> at this point, it's too late to have any, really. i mean, no, i mean, i think, again, i lik

. >> this controversial pick shows an assassination tame president of north korea's leader by seth rogenand james franco. mro employees filed a class action lawsuit against sony saying theshl neglect saying the computer was vulnerable. >> thank you robert. while you are sleeping a man in portland escaping arrest by throwing pipe bombs at the police. he sped away launch will a pipe bomb out of the window. they knocked down roads finding three more bombs in the area. police say this is the third time he has led the morning chase for a few days and is wanted for reckless driving charges. >>> a manhunt coming to an end. bradley william stone found dead in the woods near his philadelphia home. police say he took his own life. this comes days after he allegedly killed his ex-wife five of their relatives and then fled. they were in a bitter custody battle since 2009. he was on lock down for two-days. >>> another fox news alert breaking overnight killing four pakistan members in eastern afghanistan. a horrific attack on army of pakistan that was carried out by taliban insurgents. what are you le

seth rogen tweeted "that freedom has spoken. sony did not give up."e don't know if north korea knows about any of this because their internet has been on the blink for a couple of days. all the attention is on north korea and potential u.s. responses. with fewer angelina jolie gossip, is the pressure now off of sony? >> not really. those hacked embarrassing e-mails are still out there. moreover, people who have seen this film say it is a dud. sony may have the new "lone ranger" on its hands and that is not going to help the bottom line. >> i think people have not -- since they announced they will air this -- i think people have forgotten that the people who hacked in are still sitting on more stuff. it is totally possible that they will retaliate on or by christmas that will bring up all the problems that sony was worried about in the first place. i think they will be applauded in some circles, but maybe have more problems. >> they should have done it. they should not have equivocated earlier. this is the right decision, but it remains to be seen. >>

i like seth rogen.anco's performance at the oscars a couple years ago, when he was clearly on a different substance other than sobriety -- >> ooh, jimmy. [ all speak at once ] >> i got to push you here. these e-mails, though are not a pr scheme. they actually -- wait a minute. they hacked and got -- >> i understand the hacking. >> -- real e-mails. this is serious. whether the threat was real or not, the hacking and the e-mails and the revelations of some of what was going on and is going on in that company was very real. >> yes, absolutely. and if i were the head of sony pictures, i would have doubled down and said, i'll be damned if i'm not going to release this film on christmas day. i know the north koreans hacked into our system, i'm still going to release this film. they spent $80 million to produce it and make it. for gosh sakes, at least make 80 million bucks so you can call it a draw. >> like build a school. >> that's a hot one. let's agree to disagree. >> indeed. >> stay with me. when we come o

the comedy blockbuster starring seth rogen tells the story of two journalists hired by the cia to killthe north korean leader. according to the fbi pyongyang was involved in the hacking. an unprecedented act of cyber warfare with barack obama saying it cannot go unpunished. >> we will respond proportionally, and we will respond in a place and time and manner that we choose. >> a few days at a, north korea suffered a 10-hour-long internet shutdown. china, a lie pyongyang, has repeatedly defended its neighbor and warned against drawing hasty conclusions. >> we hope the relevant parties can keep restraint. china's position on cyber security is clear. china is opposed to all forms of cyber attack and cyber terrorism. >> relations between washington and pyongyang have been tense since the end of the korean war in the 1950's spirit when barack obama entered office, he tried to break a two-deking long standoff over pyongyang''s nuclear program. in a 2009 inaugural speech, the u.s. president spent -- sent a message to regimes. >> to those who claim power through corruption and defeat in the sa

. >> the point of view stars seth rogen and james franco. >> after reams of embarrassing e-mails, movies, screen plays and employees personal information were released online. they are claiming responsibility for hacking into sony pictures is making threats that extend far beyond hollywood, all in an attempt to stop the release of the film "the interview." . >> the goal is very clear. they want the movie pulled and not released. >> reporter: the group takes aim at theaters that show the movie. the message says the world will be full of fear him remember 2001. homeland officials said in a statement, quote, at this time there is no credible intelligence to indicate an active plot against movie theaters in the united states. >> we take those threats very seriously. we will take extra precautions during the holidays at theaters. >> reporter: meanwhile, as federal investigators say they are facing the source. the movie giant could be headed to the courtroom. sony declined to comment on the latest hack and threat from hackers. a few threat, revenge, the country vowing payback over that horrifi

we have not heard from seth rogen and james franco.have never seen or heard anything like this. hollywood has done neville chamberlain well today. a lot from jimmy kimmel and others decrying this thumb on freedom of expression. this was a canundrum. you can understand both sides of the thing. think of the movies next week. "unbroken" and "into the woods" and other films that are supposed to have big blockbuster openings. a lot of concern from theater owners and studios that people would not go to the movies next week because of the threat. >> if you don't like a movie or like what is in a movie, do you just threaten to cyber attack? send a threatening e-mail? >> that is what jimmy kimmel said. this sets a terrible precedent. a comedian or actor or writer or want to be some day. you are worried. nobody will forget what happened in this case. >> one of the things i suppose is unknowable is this film "the interview." i don't think anyone thought this would be "titanic." a movie that makes $1 billion. a christmas comedy. seth rogen, james

it's not something funny that would behoove james franco and seth rogen. but i cannot imagine how much more we can isolate the north koreans. >> it's a good question and i think it will probably not deal with the burgeoning movie business in pyongyang but have much more likely to deal with, you know, some of the computer networks inside a defense structure or something like that. my hunch is that the proportional response that we ultimately read about will not be something -- will be something probably in -- written by peter and a couple of reporters in his newspaper but not something we will visibly see. but i think it will be definitely -- i mean, i think the passion with which you saw the president give this response means it's not simply about creative expression it's the response a strong country has to take if a country like north korea can so change the actions of a company like sony which appears to have such amazing ability to spread messages through movies and other things. >> peter, one of the more chilling aspects of this is the ripple effect o

i'm a big seth rogen fan.ut it's shock to think there's that much discussion and really international tension over a film from a guy who was in "knocked up." will, how has this interview affected the relationship between japan and north korea? >> well, allel we know, frankly, is that north korea is outraged. and you see the reaction, we don't know whether north korea's role, what role if any, played in the attack. if you look at the clues, if you look at the fact that the cyberattacker, the guardians of peace, are threatening more disastrous things leading up to the release of this movie on christmas day. they certainly are upset about the interview, north korea officials, high-level officials, called it an act of war because in asia, especially in north korea, they hold their leaders up. the honor of their leaders is everything. and it appears now this is an attempt to defend the honor of kim jong-un, the leader of north korea, to carry out what they're going it do next. >> will ripley, fascinating story. tha

james franco and seth rogen are canceling media appearances. seen loads of embarrassing sony e-mails and celebrity information revealed online. we are only showing still images of the material since it's stolen. it shows a helicopter getting blown up with the actor playing the dictator, kim jong-un, inside, to the beat of a katy perry song. so who is behind guardians of peace? who are they? . the fbi are closing in on that question. pamela brown has been in touch with her sources. who are these people? >> i want to talk about this new development today with a message that was sent out as you talked about. we have learned that the fbi is investigating this threatening message purportedly from this hacker group promising to address this matter but in talking to law enforcement sources, it's not something we should be overly concerned about. they want to figure out if this is coming from the original sony hackers and also how credible it is. similar to what they would do with a bomb threat, trying to see if this is something that we should be conc

. >> seth rogen, american hero. thought you would never hear those words but in the aftermath of sony to make the interview available, he might be adding freedom firefighter to his resume. will you see the interview? i will talk to one of the theater owners playing t"the interview" and a critic who a's seen the movie. >>> and killer tornadoes in then south. >>> out in the streets with those protesters tonight, miguel, what's the very latest? how many people do you think are marching now? >> reporter: well, we're looking at 2 maybe 300 people. they picked up a lot of steam when they moved into harlem. a band of protesters from the bronx met them here. things really got a little more interesting. several hundred were here at that point. now, it seems folks are probably starting to go home. there's almost more police now looking at the crowd here, than there are protesters. there is a heck of a lot of police. they would like them to get out of the streets. the protesters, we thought they were ending their protest at 12

have the state mount an all-out assault on a movie studio because of a satirical movie starring seth rogennco. i love seth and i love james. but the notion that that was a threat to them i think gives you some sense of the kind of regime we're talking about here. >> as for george clooney and maybe only a guy george clooney big can rip into showbiz like this without fear of recrimination, he committed a statement arguing, they should not give into the demands of cyber terrorists. quote, to give into these criminals now will open the door for any group that would threaten freedom of expression, privacy and personal liberty. we hope these hackers are brought to justice but until they are, we will not stand in fear. joining me to talk about the ongoing fallout is matthew bellamy. matthew, what's the response in hollywood to what the president had to say and then the sony response, that they had been working with the white house? >> i think you've got a clear back-and-forth here. the president was clear, he called it a mistake. he called out a studio for the way they handled this. i think peopl

have the state mount an all-out assault on a movie studio because of a satirical movie starring seth rogen james flacco. i love seth, and i love james. but the notion that that was a threat to them, i think gives you some sense of the kind of regime we're talking about here. they caused a lot of damage. and we will respond. we will respond proportionally and in a place and time and manner that we choose. >> i wonder, when you make a movie, you've made some really important films, and i was thinking, part of the decision to make a movie is that you want the bad guy to hear it. it isn't just a joke by seth rogen, a satire movie, but it wouldn't bother you a bit to know that the people being satirized hear it and it hurts them and humiliates them. what did you make of the president saying, it's a seth rogen movie, it's a bit over the top to begin with, that it would scare them? >> well, you know, i go back to, i think it was 1997 when martin scorsese's film came out on tibbett and the chinese were in negotiations with disney, who backed down tremendously on the release of that film as a resul

in berkeley aa kron 4 news" the star of the interview, seth rogen, and the film's co- director, evan goldberg, surprised moviegoers at a midnight screening in l-a. we just wanted to say thank you. outside the theater, employees were decked out in patriotic pride -- expressing their support for freedom of speech. millions of hong kong dollars -- worth about 1-point-9 million u-s dollars -- all scattered on one of hong kong's busiest roads. it sparked a frenzy as drivers and passers-by tried to get their hands on it all. this happened on christmas eve, after three cash boxes fell out of an armored van. pedestrians dashed in from the sidewalk to snatch up the dough. police, some of them armed with shotguns, helmets and bulletproof vests, rushed to secure the area. a majority of the money has been returned or recovered. nearly 30 people have voluntarily handed back the money to authorities.it looks like they won't face any punishment. howver police have arrested two people.accused of taking the money and hiding it in their homes. still ahead -- getting into the christmas spirit the helpi

tonight on c-span, a look at the relationship between politics and humor with actor seth rogen. part of a recent conversation at harvard university, where one of several topics included lyrical correctness -- political correctness in today's entertainment. >> i would never make a joke that i think would get a laugh that is a political view don't personally believe in, because i might get asked about that one day and i don't want to look stupid. so it's like -- i do think that a lot of people who try to be edgy or political camus feel as though they are unfairly targeted at by the political correctness crowd forget that they have to be funny as well as edgy and political. and i think that if you really look at the people who complain about that and the people who w of the peoplee complaining about it are hilarious, and most of the people who are truly valerius who are incredibly edgy never complain about it at all. every time you make a joke that you know in your head is liketly -- there's almost a group of people that have to react negatively to some jokes in order for the joke

already the seth rogen, james franco comedy appears to be drawing big crowds.ers saying what it lacks in critical acclaim, it makes up for in patriotism apparently. >> you know, this is a film i probably would not have come to see but because of the controversy i thought we would come out to stand up for freedom of speech. >> i am here because i wanted to support filmmakers who were being censored by a foreign body because i don't believe that anybody should havehe

but i also saw it through the lens of the stoner comedy of the james franco and seth rogen. was walking into. >> i agree with that. >> and, you know, i think that what independent theaters are known for are for showing the films that their communities want to see, known for showing controversial subjects known for showing films that may not otherwise quitget released. and no one expected a big budget comedy like this to be that film. but the sort of perspective that i take is that if a big budget comedy with seth rogen and james franco can't get released what about all of the other ones? >> good point. thanks for joining us. barbara twist of the art house convergence which represents all those art theaters playing the int view. >> when we come back, why you will not be able to use your wifi on your next hotel and has google and microsoft firing back. "squawk alley" right back. ok, why's that? no hidden fees from the bank where no branches equals great rates. at whole foods market, values matter. so we're transparent about the fresh wild seafood we sell. and the species we do

another e-mail to seth rogen himself. "as embarrassing as this is, appreciate the fact that we have not dictated to you what it had to be given that i have never gotten one note on anything from our parent company in the entire 25 years i have worked here. they said we will make it less gory. the head explosion can't be more obscure because we honestly feel if it is any more of skier yuan be able to tell its exploding and the joke won't work. do you think this will help? this is the movie, the very reason potentially that all of this information is out there. somebody out there is very upset about this film. how unusual is it for the parent company to get involved in the specifics of a scene? >> most times, the company hires people they are confident in and they want the senior executives to make the decision for the creative options of the film. this is a highly sensitive and highly politicized movie even though it's a comedy. we are dealing with a country known to have political issues around the world. i think it is a

in this country it's the latest seth rogen comedy.n why north korea may be hacking sony pictures. >> reporter: it's not nice to make fun of the dear leader. >> president kim jong un. >> reporter: but is it is possible north korea hacked sony pictures because they made a movie called "the interview" featuring seth rogen and james franco out to assassinate kim jong un? >> the cia would love it if you could take him out. >> like for drinks? >> like to dinner. >> out on the town? >> take him out. >> you want us to kill the leader of north korea. >> yes. >> what? >> reporter: that's pretty much how north korea first reacted back in june, complaining to the u.n., calling it an act of war. those who defamed our supreme leadership can never escape the stern punishment to be meted out. in reply seth rogen tweeted, people don't usually want to kill me for one of my movies until after they've paid 12 bucks for it. >> want to go kill kim jong un? >> totally. >> reporter: last week sony pictures was hacked. the company's e-mail crippled. this imag

it is a goofy comedy you come to expect from seth rogen and james franco. said he came to see it in order to show north korea who is boss. >> i just wanted to see it to stick it to north korea. got a little serious towards the end. but james franco steals the show. >> i think all around it was a really good movie. >> reporter: remember security threats were one of the main reasons that sony and some of the major theater chains decided they weren't going to show the film. the theater goers we talked to say security wasn't something that crossed their minds. sony said this made more than a million dollars. an impressive feat. sony saying it is only playing in about 10% of theaters. remains to be seen if sony and "the interview" can continue with the holiday hype. just to be able to discuss what it is about. so what film goers flock to theaters and see "the interview" if it weren't for controversy. a film critic for the denver post. am i right in thinking it was maybe on the bottom of your list of movies to watch that shot straight to the top after the hoopla?

we hope you like the movie. >> just in the salty way you come to expect from seth rogen. the comedy premiered on-line yesterday available for download on youtube and google play store and xbox. the first time a major motion picture has ever been made available on-line before a theatrical release. rosa flores joins us live in front of a theater showing the film. i was watching you two hours ago as theater goers were coming to the box office and heading into the film. i'm guessing, since it's been two hours, they may have seen it and told you what they think. give me the story from there, rosa? >> you know, they actually just walked out of the theater moments ago. i'm actually here with mark who can gives us the skinny because we talked to mark before he walked into the theater and you paid $11, you were hoping for laughs, did you get what you paid for some. >> yes. i think i got what i paid for. it's a political satire it was funny and entertaining. >> now one of the big things is the controversy. you got this plot. you know, everybody was talking about it. people were sca

this cyberattack on sony over the seth rogen james franco comedy, "the interview." the united states blaming hackers working directly for north korea. an official announcement could come as early as today on that. sony is under fire for pulling the movie about the assassination of the north korean leader before it hit theaters christmas day. that shutdown followed an online threat of a 9/11-style attack saying remember 9/11 at these movie theaters showing this film which then prompted the biggest theater chains to yank it deciding not to show the film. you check twitter and you saw actor rob lowe had a part of the interview declaring hackers won in utter and complete victory. people in hollywood aren't just mad. comedian chris rock says they are scared. >> this whole thing is just scary, man. e-mails and it's your private stuff and i don't know. the whole town is scared. everybody has to be scared. >> nobody knows what to do. >> nobody knows what to do. >> the cyberattack is much bigger than one movie or one company. it will have an impact on business everywhere. th

the president doesn't want to be responsible for starting a war over a seth rogen movie. thanks to you. >>> sony has been a gold mine for late night comics. >> big story, sony pictures has officially canceled the release of "the interview" due to continued threats from hackers. [ booing ] it means the hackers accomplished their goal of making everyone in the world want to see "the interview." i wasn't planning on it, now i can't wait to see it. i'm like what is this? >> for george clooney this is no laughing matter. he has a message for sony and it's an angry one. he says "stick it on line. do whatever you can to get this movie out, not because everybody has to see the movie but because i'm not going to be told we can't see the movie. that's the most important part. we cannot be told we can't see something by kim jong-un, of all the f-ing people." cnn correspondent samuel burke is following the story and the letter goes on and gets even better. >> what's even scarier is the fact that george clooney sent out a petition across hollywood to many stars and studios and not one

co-star and co-director seth rogen made a surprise appearance at a midnight screening in los angeles. >> we thought this might never happen at all. >> sreenivasan: president obama, who was on vacation in hawaii and criticized sony's initial decision, wouldn't say if he would watch it, but he said, >> i'm glad it's being released. >> sreenivasan: the release of the comedy, about a c.i.a. plot to assassinate north korean leader kim jong un, was canceled last week after hackers threatened potential attacks at theaters. the president has said north korea is behind the hacking of sony. moviegoers were out early at washington, d.c.'s west end cinemas. including mohammed shouman. >> i decided to show my personal support for theaters that show it and my personal support for freedom of speech. >> sreenivasan: sarah arlinghaus admitted the rogen/franco style was not her usual movie fare. >> i wouldn't have seen it if the north koreans hadn't decided i shouldn't see it. i would like to sit near the exits just in case we have to evacuate quickly. >> sreenivasan: "the interview" is also available

can you believe we are tuk being cyber attacks and threats because of a seth rogen movie? what was thought of as a silly, maybe lousy comedy just a few weeks ago has now become a symbol of two of america's greatest values, freedom of expression, and freedom from fear. i want to say that one again. free codom from fear. it affects every movie studio, every media company, every news organization in the digital age. in fact, president obama said that this morning and we're going to play that sound bite just ahead. so i have a group of guests standing by this morning covering this from every angle. we have mark cuban, larry king, allendan dershowitz and many mo. this new threat was published in english earlier this morning. it says the dprk has clear evidence that the u.s. administration was deeply involved in the making of such dishonest reactionary movie. they're talking about "the interview." it goes on to say the army and people of the dprk is fully ready to stand in confrontation with the u.s. in all war spaces, including cyber warfare space to blow up those citadels. it

this, should the world be afraid of seth rogen? >> it depends on how you want to look at that one.ry that there is a movie about this so it must be north korea. in truth, i don't think there has been specific information that has come out yet that has tied them to that. generally speaking, all companies are being targeted. anybody with valuable information, sensitive information, cardholder information, all the breaches we have seen, make most large companies a very lucrative target for attackers. it's not unreasonable to think it would go beyond sony. >> i'm still scared of james franco. thank you very much. out.g up, sting speaks he is waging a war against spotify we will talk about the new threat to the music industry next. ♪ >> bloomberg tv is "on the markets." rally across the board but not huge. energy east trucks ironically are leading gains even though oil is lower. data on manufacturing in the new york area that came in better than estimated. movers,al semiconductors are surging after the company announced it was chipmaker stanchion for 1.6 billion dollars in stock and cre

. >> there's speculation that the james franco and seth rogen movie that somewhat ridiculously has themaders in a plot to assassinate the leader of north korea, it's said they got north korean hackers to attack them. the fbi is suggesting this might not be the case, and is a broader phishing expedition. should the world be afraid of seth rog is really the question hereen. -- afraid of seth rogen is really the question herein. [laughter] >> it makes a good story that there is a movie coming out, so north korea is doing it. not a lot of specific information is tied to that. generally speaking, all companies are being targeted. anyone with viable information, sensitive information, cardholder information, all the breaches we have seen, make most large companies very lucrative targets for attackers. so it's not unreasonable to think it would go beyond sony. >> chris eng, thank you very much. coming up, sting speaks out, the latest to weigh in against spotify. the new threat to the music industry, next. watch this streaming on your tablet, phone, bloomberg.com, or your apple tv or amazon fir

check it out when star seth rogen stopped in to thank them for their support.ng the sales chart on google place store and the movie's site. is this film worth seeing? >> it was good better than i thought it was going to be gifrn the mixed reviews. >> it was a funny movie. the audience was laughing and i was laughing. at the end of the movie i was on the edge of my seat. >> the movie is so scandal louse they understand why it is upset. russia has offered to carry out an investigation into the hack. >> this time a play station network a different group of packers targeting play sayings and microsoft xbox. they found thousands christmas morning when they couldn't get the gifts connected to the internet. a group called the lizard squad claiming responsibility for the attacks. some users may be having trouble this morning. >> next stop child birth a special christmas in philadelphia give birth to a healthy baby boy as shoo wee we into labor on a train. they heard the call on christmas and rushd in to help of course. there was little time to act but the little guy go

. >> they are fine, but seth rogen reminds me of every fur ball that climbed on top of me and that goof ball laugh. i am not broken up that i won't see this movie. i would rather get a pap smear from nicholas cage than have to sit through this. what? >> it is like a bizarre world dennis miller over there. is it weird that our government has basically said nothing about this? that's weird, isn't it? >> it is not as weird as what dagen just said. it is. this is like the old adage, if a movie studio produces a movie and none of the theaters want to show it, does a bear [bleep] in the woods? i understand what your first question was. you can't blame the business owners for doing the proper business decision here. we would lake to say we will stnd up to terrorism and -- stand up to terrorism and threats like this, but the reality is they have a responsibility. it is not clear that this is not a credible threat. it may just be these guys blowing smoke and getting the result they like now. until it is proven, the responsible thing is to pull the movie. and sony will make a ton of money off thi

anyway, seth rogen, who ever that is tweeted "the people have spoken. freedom has prevailed. "the interview" will play it for those willing to play it on xmas? what is that? it is christmas. james franco called president obama james flacco last week. he wrote it on instagram because he is cool. celebrating "the interview" with seth row began and gyms flacco, i mean president obama exclamation point, exclamation point, exclamation point. sorry, exclamation point, explaw mages -- exclamation point. the white house issued a statement like this. we are a country that believes in free speech and the right of artistic expression. the decision made by sony and participating theaters allowing them to make their own choices about the film. the movie will also be released on v-o-d or vo did. here is one viewer enjoying it at home. >> you are entering into the most dangerous country on earth. please remember kim jong-un is a master manipulator. >> i have a gift for you. >> this dog is killing me, this cuteness. >> he is a criesy cute. >> well, that was useless. a lot of people are sayin

seth rogen has said we have not dictated what it has to be. seth rogen follows up and said -- >> this movie, the potential reason why all of this information is out there. somebody is very upset. kathryn, how unusual is it for the parent company to get involved in specifics of a scene? >> most times, the corporate company hires people they are confident in and let the executive team make the decisions on the creative options for the film. in this case, is a highly sensitive, highly politicized movie even though it's a comedy. we are dealing with a country that has the issues around the world. it is a unique situation. a situation that has bigger impact than just a creative movie choice. as we see, maybe the reason why the hack started. i do not think it is something corporate does all of the time because they have a lot of confidence in the directors they put in place. >> north korea has denied responsibility for the hack attack even though they praised it. the people behind the attack, they wanted the movie not to be released. is there any ch

specifically seth rogen and james franco the interview that opens on christmas day. the salaries were revealed. we hear celebrities got paid millions of dollars for this. it goes down a little bit. you hear that both actors were actually paid to drive themselves to work. rogan got $10,000 to drive himself to work. neil: you like getting that type of information as a journalist, or do you say, all right, i don't like the methods, now, i'll run with it. >> any time you can get information that nobody has before, you get a little excited about it. of course, the means that the information was procured is, you know, completely unacceptable. neil: they had the same thing in congress too, for a year they were eavesdropping and getting information on citizens, when all of a sudden they were doing it with their staff. whoa. whoa. but no one is immune from this. right? >> you can bet all the big movie companies are hustling to beef up their security. thinking, oh, my gosh, what if clooney's information gets out. neil: i was amazed stalone gets so much money still. he had some