Noted multi-hyphenate James Franco has finally given some relatively candid post-drama thoughts on The Interview. On Wednesday's Late Show, Franco thankfully exhibited absolutely no regrets, even in the face of Letterman's uncharacteristically conservative-minded line of questioning. "We made a comedy," Franco summarized to Letterman. Though hesitant to discuss exact numbers, Franco claims the film didn't take a loss but could have easily passed the $100 million mark via its original release plan.
However, the most troubling bit of information here has nothing to do with The Interview, North Korea, or disconcertingly fear-based censorship. Given Letterman's seemingly anti-2015 attitude toward Franco's responses, it appears the legend of late night is more than ready to gift his throne to Stephen Colbert. When the topic of The Interview's quite successful digital release arises, Letterman seems to believe that making money outside the traditional model is impossible.
Furthermore, Letterman's decision to employ the trite "shouting fire in a crowded theater" example of the supposed boundaries of free speech is very anti-2015 indeed. Letterman, however, is still an inarguable legend of the format — and will be surely missed.
