First Sony Pictures, in the wake of threats made by hackers against theaters, chose to pull "The Interview," and now the stars of the North Korea spoof — Seth Rogen and James Franco — have hired "giant" bodyguards, reports the New York Daily News.
"They're usually not at all the type to have security. James is the kind of guy who takes the subway all the time," a source told the paper of the actors' plans to hire round-the-clock, burly security guards.
Both were seen in public on Wednesday accompanied by the bodyguards,
The Daily Mail reported.
On Monday,
Rogen told radio shock jock Howard Stern that he was unconcerned about threats and criticized theaters that had decided not to show the film, according to the Daily News.
"I do think it’s f****d up how everyone is doing exactly what these criminals want," Rogen told Stern.
In response to a question at a Dec. 2 discussion of the movie, Rogen said threats made by Pyongyang were not surprising and "confirmed" the main point of the movie, and he expressed a lack of concern that North Korea would retaliate against him personally.
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"I would hope they have better things to do," Rogen told an audience at a forum hosted by Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.
But the pair began to take the cyberterrorism more seriously on Tuesday when they canceled all further media appearances to promote the film, the entertainment industry magazine
Variety reported.
Rogen, who attended the Los Angeles premiere last week with Franco, canceled a scheduled appearance on NBC's "Late Night with Seth Myers," as well as an interview with BuzzFeed Brews, and he and Franco also decided not to go on NBC's “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” on Wednesday.
Sony Pictures announced on Wednesday it would pull the controversial comedy, which was set to premiere on Christmas Day, from all theaters.
In an interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos, Rogen said it was not meant to be controversial, but was intended to skewer celebrity culture and American foreign policy as much as it was a parody of the North Korean regime.
Watch the video below.
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