This Is the End

Name: This Is the End
Genre: Action, Comedy
Released: 2013-06-12
Duration: 1 h 46 min
Rating: 6.5
Cast: James Franco, Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride

Nothing ruins a party like the end of the world.

This Is the End (2013)

1:46 (106 min)

Action, Comedy

United States

6.5/10
561 836

—
no scores

6.2/10
7132

6.6/10
454000

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All about film

Video 9

Photo 65

Actors and characters

Watch film This Is the End — Official Redband Trailer

2:50

Photo 65

Production

Columbia Pictures, Mandate Pictures, Point Grey Pictures

Release date

12 June 2013

Budget

$32 000 000

Revenue

$126 041 322

Director

Scenario

Composer

Producer

Actors

All actors and roles (10)

Short description

This Is the End follows a group of actors playing exaggerated versions of themselves who gather at James Franco's Los Angeles home for a party. When strange disasters begin striking the city, most guests flee, but six of them barricade themselves inside the house. As they wait out what appears to be the end of the world, supplies run low, tensions rise and their forced company becomes its own kind of ordeal.

The film is the directing debut of Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, who also wrote the screenplay and produced it with James Weaver. The two went on to direct The Interview the following year. The cast is led by James Franco, Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride and Craig Robinson, all appearing as themselves, among 61 credited cast members and 69 credited crew.

Made for a budget of 32 million dollars, This Is the End grossed 126 million dollars worldwide, a strong return on its production cost. On IMDb it holds 6.6 out of 10 from around 454,000 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 6.2 out of 10 from roughly 7,000 votes. A critics' rating of 7.1 out of 10 from 224 reviews places it above both audience scores.

What's left behind the scenes

Seth Rogen said in an interview that at some point during filming, each member of the main cast pulled him aside and told him they couldn't do what he was asking, because it was going too far and turning into something extreme. James Franco was the only actor who didn't refuse anything. And Evan Goldberg came up with a game for himself during filming. The goal of the game was to get as many actors as possible to say “No, I can’t do that,” or just refuse to do anything. According to him, the only ones who couldn't be broken were James Franco and Seth Rogen.
The role played by Emma Watson was originally written for Mila Kunis.
The bright windbreaker worn by Michael Cera in the film was his idea. According to Seth Rogen, it was Michael's only condition for agreeing to star in the film. This surprised Rogen, who thought Michael would be strongly opposed to the inappropriate behavior of his character as written in the script.
According to Seth Rogen, about 50 percent of the film is improvised.
The film features a song by the band Cults – "Go outside". Dave Franco, James Franco's younger brother, appeared in the music video for this song.
Several of the paintings on the walls of the house depict characters from the series "Freaks and Geeks" (1999-2000), in which Seth Rogen, James Franco, Jason Segel, Martin Starr, and David Krumholtz previously starred.
Directors Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen invited celebrities such as Edward Norton, Mila Kunis, and Elizabeth Banks for cameo roles in James Franco's party scene. All of them were forced to decline due to scheduling conflicts.
In an interview, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg said they originally planned to shoot additional scenes that would be shown during the end credits, featuring James Franco and Danny McBride smoking marijuana with Hitler in hell, but then decided it would be too much.
The lead actors agreed to a significant reduction in their salaries to help Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg save money for the budget.
Seth Rogen stated that the party scene was the most stressful for him as a director.
Originally, the film was to include a scene where one of the characters says they smoked crack with Whitney Houston. After her death, the joke was cut out of respect. Furthermore, during the making of the film, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg nearly convinced the artist Prince to allow them to use his song “Purple Rain” during the scene where Rogen and Jay Baruchel talk for the last time and then go to heaven. However, after Whitney Houston's death, Rogen and Goldberg broke off negotiations and decided to use Houston’s version of 'I Will Always Love You' in the scene as a tribute.
Most of the paintings seen in the background were actually painted by James Franco.
At the end of the film, in the scene with the man-eating truck, you can spot Danny McBride's sword from the movie "Pineapple Express" (2010) tied to the truck.
The original script ending featured a cameo by Morgan Freeman as himself, and simultaneously, as God.
In an interview on Rod Ryan's show on Houston radio station The Buzz, Craig Robinson revealed that Jonah Hill improvised when he asked to take a bite of a "Milky Way." The other actors supported him, and the entire subsequent conversation about who would get the chocolate bar was also improvised.
Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg made a decision early in the film's development—not to use the actors’ wives or family members in the film. They felt that this would make the film too dark. For example, Danny McBride recently got married and had a child, but this isn’t mentioned in the film. James Franco suggested bringing in his brother Dave Franco for a party scene, but Rogen rejected the idea, saying that he would ultimately have to be killed off, which would be too depressing.
Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen said that the rumors about them offering the role to Daniel Radcliffe and him turning it down are true. They admitted that it was at the very early stages of scriptwriting, and at that time, not all the roles were fully developed. Rogen and Goldberg said they understood why Radcliffe declined—because his role was not well-defined enough.
According to Seth Rogen, the plot of "Pineapple Express 2", which his character proposes in the film, is his real idea.
Initially, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg requested a budget of $40-$45 million from Sony Studios, but the studio was unsure about the film's plot and turned them down. Rogen and Goldberg asked Sony Studios how much they could give them while still allowing Rogen and Goldberg to retain "creative control" over the project. Sony's response was $32 million. Rogen and Goldberg agreed.
According to Seth Rogen, the film contains hidden cameos by celebrities that last only a second. These scenes consist of several short clips of Miley Cyrus dancing in the final scene when the characters arrive in heaven.
In his interview, Seth Rogen spoke about how he and Evan Goldberg combined the real, defining traits of the actors with elements that were completely foreign to them. He noted that in the film, Michael Cera is portrayed as a drug user, grabbing women's buttocks, and being an extremely unpleasant screamer—it's amusing that this character has nothing in common with how Cera behaves in real life.
Jay Baruchel confessed that despite all the fun and excessive naturalism, making the film felt like a kind of therapy, because he felt that some of the arguments and confrontations in the film were exactly the same as if the actors were discussing these issues in real life.
An early script idea described a story unfolding in a studio where a Busta Rhymes music video was being filmed, with the main characters present when the apocalypse began.
The film was originally going to be shot in Los Angeles to make it easier for celebrities in cameo roles. However, to save money, filming was moved to New Orleans. The only celebrity who refused to participate due to the change of location was Cameron Diaz.
The dog that Seth Rogen holds towards the end of the film is actually his own dog. Her name is Zelda.
Initially, Michael Cera didn't slap Rihanna on the buttocks; he made a hand motion and stopped a second before making contact. It was noticeable when watching and looked too unnatural. Eventually, Cera asked Rihanna if he could really slap her. She agreed, but on the condition that she could give him real slaps in return each time. Cera agreed.
Director Evan Goldberg played a cameo role – he dances with his wife in the film's final scene.