Some people are joking that the Sony hack is a viral campaign for The Interview, but a more accurate joke would be a viral campaign for Blackhat, a movie about how much power a hacker can wield in the digital age. Movie theaters have caved to terrorist threats, and now New Regency is avoiding the problem altogether by canceling Gore Verbinski‘s adaptation of Guy Delisle‘s graphic novel Pyongyang, which is a memoir following “the French-Canadian cartoonist’s travels through North Korea after obtaining a work visa (a rarity for a Westerner) for his job on a children’s cartoon show,” but his journey becomes complicated when he’s accused of espionage.
According to The Wrap, Verbinski was prepping to start filming in March with Steve Carell set to star in the comedy, but now New Regency is the latest company to cave into fear, which is exactly what terrorists want. This is a movie the company could have billed as “From the Director of Pirates of the Caribbean” and starring a likely Oscar-nominee, and they’re choosing to drop it. With The Interview and now Pyongyang, the message is clear: don’t make fun of North Korea or else. Hit the jump for a synopsis of Delisle’s book.
Here’s the synopsis for Guy Delisle’s Pyongyang:
A westerner’s visit into North Korea, told in the form of a graphic novel.
Famously referred to as one of the “Axis of Evil” countries, North Korea remains one of the most secretive and mysterious nations in the world today. In early 2001 cartoonist Guy Delisle became one of the few Westerners to be allowed access to the fortresslike country. While living in the nation’s capital for two months on a work visa for a French film animation company, Delisle observed what he was allowed to see of the culture and lives of the few North Koreans he encountered; his findings form the basis of this remarkable graphic novel. Pyongyang is an informative, personal, and accessible look at a dangerous and enigmatic country.
Read more at
http://collider.com/pyongyang-movie-steve-carell-canceled/#ys5CD8tpDxmDgwy0.99