Seth Rogen

Grab your popcorn: “The Interview” will be showing in select theaters on Christmas Day after Sony decided to reverse its decision to show the movie in the wake of threats and a hacking scandal. But even brief success may give countries like North Korea a blueprint for future attacks.

Kim Jong-un is far from the first world leader to get mocked on film. In 1940, Charlie Chaplin raised eyebrows when he released his comedy, “The Great Dictator,” and the reaction to the movie could be a lesson for modern society.

Just day before the Sony hack, Seth Rogen was light and funny at a Harvard preview of the “The Interview.” Now Sony has shelved for the film’s release, a move President Obama said that was a mistake..

For years, Stephen Colbert’s conservative parody showed how satire and ridicule can be powerful forms of expression. Now with Sony canceling “The Interview” in the face of apparent North Korean threats, his show’s ending seems like an even bigger blow for free speech.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is mad about it. Sony Pictures is concerned about it. But North Korean defectors are downright excited about the new Seth Rogen comedy: “The Interview.”