Following "This Is The End," which featured cameo appearances from Rihanna, Paul Rudd, Emma Watson and pretty much every funny actor in Hollywood -- all playing variations on themselves -- it was assumed that co-directors Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg would continue to play with reality in "The Interview." The comedy, which was pulled from theaters this week, is built around an entertainment interview program, "Skylark Tonight," where host Dave Skylark (James Franco) interviews a variety of celebrity guests. (During an MTV special to promote the film this summer, Franco as Skylark spoke with Nicki Minaj and Iggy Azalea.) And when the 210-page budget for "The Interview" leaked online this month, many famous names appeared: Jay Z, Beyoncé, Brad Pitt, Neil Patrick Harris, Zooey Deschanel, Michael Vick and even Kevin Federline, among them.
But the finished film includes none of those stars in any significant capacity, if at all. (It's possible they could appear in the background or during a brief glimpse of the "Skylark Tonight" opening credits. Having seen the film twice, however, I feel comfortable saying they're absent altogether.) In fact, only three recognizable faces appear as variations on themselves in "The Interview": Rob Lowe (who reveals he's bald), Eminem (who reveals he's gay) and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (who reveals he likes puppies).
There were reports too that Kanye West made an appearance in "The Interview." He doesn't either, but it's likely audiences would have seen West before the movie, in a trailer for an untitled Christmas Eve comedy (that might be called "XMas"), which stars Rogen, Gordon-Levitt and Anthony Mackie. Sony is set to release that film next year.
"The Interview" is not coming out on Christmas Day.
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