James Franco, Seth Rogen still smiling at muted 'Interview' premiere

James Franco, Seth Rogen still smiling at muted ‘Interview’ premiere

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Stars James Franco, left, and Seth Rogen attend the premiere of Columbia Pictures’ “The Interview” Thursday night in Los Angeles. (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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James Franco, left, and Seth Rogen at the premiere of “The Interview,” in which they play an American TV news team enlisted to assassinate North Korea’s leader. (AFP / Getty Images)

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Movie posters for the premiere of “The Interview” outside the Theatre at Ace Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. (AFP / Getty Images)

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Sony Pictures Chair Amy Pascal arrives for the premiere of “The Interview.” Emails sent by the studio executive are among the information that was leaked from a massive cyberattack on Sony Pictures. (AFP / Getty Images)

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Security presence outside the Theatre at Ace Hotel before the premiere of “The Interview.” (AFP / Getty Images)

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Writer Dan Sterling, actor Seth Rogen, director/producer Evan Goldberg and producer James Weaver arrive for the premiere in Los Angeles. (AFP / Getty Images)

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“The Interview” star Seth Rogen and his wife, Lauren Miller. (Dan Steinberg / Invision/Associated Press)

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Actor Randall Park, who plays North Korean leader Kim Jung-Un in the film, arrives at the premiere. (AFP / Getty Images)

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Diana Bang plays Sook in the comedy. (Frazer Harrison / Getty Images)

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The marquee of the Theatre at Ace Hotel in Los Angeles for the premiere of “The Interview.” (AFP / Getty Images)

By Nardine SaadStaff Writer

Dec. 12, 2014 10:13 AM PT

Seth Rogen and James Franco went through with the premiere for their latest comedy “The Interview” on Thursday amid a cyber attack on Sony Pictures entertainment and threats on the studio from North Korea.

The film, which opens Christmas Day, features Franco as flamboyant talk-show host Dave Skylark, who scores a one-on-one with “Skylark Tonight” superfan, reclusive North Korean President Kim Jong Un, played by Randall Park.

The comedy allegedly sparked the massive cyber attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment, which was made public on Nov. 24. A group calling itself Guardians of Peace has claimed responsibility and demanded that Sony halt the release of “The Interview,” which depicts a CIA assassination attempt on the North Korean leader. North Korea has denied involvement in the hack.

Rogen, who attended the premiere with wife Lauren Miller, co-directed the film with Evan Goldberg, and he and Franco were all smiles on the muted red carpet. They did a little bit of karaoke at the after-party too.

Incidentally, the studio barred reporters from red-carpet interviews about “The Interview,” Movies Now reported, and heavy security surrounded the low-key premiere at the Theatre at Ace Hotel in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday night while the leak of a trove of hacked internal Sony emails continued online.

Sony Pictures co-Chairman Amy Pascal, whose racially insensitive e-mails about President Obama and emails slamming “Unbroken” director Angelina Jolie were among those leaked, walked the carpet with the film’s cast and crew.

In a statement released Thursday, Pascal and said she accepts “full responsibility for what I wrote and apologize to everyone who was offended.”

Follow me on Twitter @NardineSaad.