This Is the End
This Is the End is a 2013 American apocalyptic comedy horror film written, directed and produced by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg in their directorial debuts. It is a feature-length film adaptation of Rogen and Goldberg's 2007 short film Jay and Seth Versus the Apocalypse, which was directed by Jason Stone, who serves as an executive producer on the film. Starring James Franco, Jonah Hill, Rogen, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson, Michael Cera and Emma Watson, the film centers on fictionalized versions of its cast in the wake of a global biblical apocalypse in Los Angeles.
Produced by Mandate Pictures and Rogen and Goldberg's Point Grey Pictures, This Is the End premiered at the Fox Village Theater on June 3, 2013, before being released theatrically in the United States on June 12, 2013 by Sony Pictures Releasing, via its Columbia Pictures label. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its humor and the six leads' chemistry. It was also a commercial success, having grossed $127 million worldwide against a budget of $32–41.9 million.
Plot
In Los Angeles, Jay Baruchel visits Seth Rogen, who invites him to a housewarming party hosted by James Franco. At the party, Jay feels uncomfortable, so he and Seth visit a convenience store where a rapture suddenly occurs. Seth and Jay flee back to James's house and find the party unharmed. An earthquake then strikes and the crowd rushes outside, where a sinkhole opens up in James's yard. Several celebrities and partygoers are killed as Seth, Jay, James, Jonah Hill and Craig Robinson run back inside and learn on the news that the earthquake has devastated most of the city. They take inventory of their supplies, set up a ration system, board up the house and await help.Danny McBride, who crashed the party earlier and is unaware of the crisis, wakes up first the next morning and wastes most of the group's sustenance. He disbelieves what the others tell him of the previous night's events until a man outside is decapitated by an unseen creature. Tensions rise due to various conflicts, including Jay and Seth's growing estrangement and the others' skepticism of the former's belief that the disaster might be the Apocalypse predicted in the Book of Revelation. Emma Watson makes her way back to James's house, but leaves with the group's remaining drinks after misinterpreting an overheard conversation, thinking they're intending to rape her.
Craig attempts to obtain water from James's cellar, only to find the doors locked. He then encounters another unseen creature, causing him to believe Jay's theory. Jay and Seth dig through the floor and find water, but Danny wastes most of it out of spite, prompting the others to kick him out. Before leaving, Danny reveals Jay was in town two months prior, but stayed at a hotel instead of with Seth due to their strained friendship. That night, Jonah prays for Jay to die and is possessed by a demon. While Craig and Jay scavenge for supplies in a neighbor's house, Seth and James are attacked by the possessed Jonah before Craig and Jay return and help subdue Jonah, tying him to a bed. During an exorcism, Jay and Seth fight and knock over a candle, starting a fire that engulfs Jonah and the house, and forces the others outside.
James suggests driving to his home in Malibu, but finds his car guarded by a demon. Craig volunteers to sacrifice himself to help the others get into the car and is raptured into Heaven, causing the others to realize they can save themselves by performing a selfless act. On the way to Malibu, the three encounter cannibals led by Danny and an enslaved Channing Tatum. James offers to sacrifice himself and a rapture occurs, only to get cancelled after he taunts Danny. James is eaten alive by Danny and his cannibals while Seth and Jay escape and encounter Satan. Jay apologizes to Seth for his wrongdoings, whereupon a rapture only ensnares him. Jay takes Seth with him, but Seth's presence prevents them from reaching Heaven together. Seth tells Jay to leave him behind, after which he is saved by another rapture and the two reconcile as they enter Heaven. Seth and Jay reunite with Craig, who tells them about Heaven's instant wish fulfillment. After Jay wishes for the Backstreet Boys, the band performs for a celebration.
Cast
Most of the film's cast portray fictionalized and exaggerated versions of themselves:Brian Huskey portrays a survivor who attempts to enter James's home and Ricky Mabe appears as one of Danny's cannibals, dressed as Santa Claus. Jason Trost, the brother of the film's cinematographer Brandon Trost, makes an uncredited appearance as JTRO, a character he previously portrayed in The FP. Carol Sutton also appears as the cashier of the convenience store Seth and Jay visit. Jason Stone provides the voice of the possessed Jonah and the vocal effects of Satan and the other demons, in an uncredited role.
Production
This Is the End was based on Jay and Seth Versus the Apocalypse, a short film written by Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and Jason Stone, and directed by Stone in 2007. Regarding the film, Rogen and Goldberg told interviewers that they "always wanted to do a movie where people played themselves and something extraordinary happened; the initial version of the film was Seth Rogen and Busta Rhymes were filming a music video and a film respectively, on the Sony lot, and Antmen attacked from the center of the earth."Goldberg commented on the influences contributing to the film, "If you drilled down to the core of what I do, it's just ripping off little bits of Charlie Kaufman. Seth and I always loved The Larry Sanders Show too. And the popularity of reality television now also feeds into that idea of whether what we're watching is actually real. We thought working with our friends in that situation would be awesome because they're all comedians willing to take stabs at themselves." The actors play fictionalized and exaggerated versions of themselves in the film.
While the film is set in Los Angeles, principal photography took place in New Orleans due to financial incentives from that city. Filming rolled from February to early July 2012. The film's production budget was $42 million, with $32 million spent in Louisiana. Modus FX created over 240 visual effects for the film, such as natural disasters, set extensions for James Franco's house, computer-generated demons and the rapture beams. After filming wrapped, Rogen and Goldberg were dissatisfied with their ending; they considered putting Morgan Freeman in Heaven, but he declined. Since "Everybody " already played in an earlier scene and Rogen and Goldberg wanted to close on an over-the-top note, they decided to feature the Backstreet Boys in the scene instead.
During filming, Emma Watson left the set due to scenes being improvised that she felt uncomfortable with, such as the progression of the graphic nature of the scenes involving Danny McBride as a cannibal and Channing Tatum as his sex slave. Rogen confirmed this, stating it was "an overall shitty situation, and it must've been hard for her to say something", elaborating "I'm very sorry and disappointed it happened, and I wish I had done more to prevent it."
Originally, the film's working title was The Apocalypse, which was later changed to The End of the World. The name was then changed to This Is the End on December 20, 2012, upon the release of the first trailer and poster. This was done at the request of Rogen's Paul costar Simon Pegg, who wrote to Rogen in concern that The End of the World was similar to his own comedy film The World's End, which was also released in the summer of 2013 and centered around an apocalypse with an ensemble cast. As The World's End was also the name of a key location in that film, Pegg felt concerned he could not change the name of his film.
In a May 2023 interview, Jay Baruchel revealed that the onscreen depiction of his difficulties with Jonah Hill in the film were not entirely fictional, saying, "Not telling tales out of school, I don't think, Jonah and I don't get along super well, or at least didn't back then."
Music
This Is the End: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released on June 11, 2013, by RCA Records.Score
The film score by Henry Jackman, with additional material by Dominic Lewis and Matthew Margeson and conducted by Nick Glennie-Smith, was not officially released on its own, not even as bonus tracks on the CD or digital releases on RCA's album. Despite that, a promotional album for the score does exist, according to Soundtrack.net. Jackman took heavy influence from the music of The Omen while writing the score.Release
On April 1, 2013, Sony released a fake trailer for Pineapple Express 2, which was actually a teaser trailer for This Is the End and later shown in the film itself. According to Rogen and Goldberg, the homemade Pineapple Express 2 film in This Is the End depicts what they envision for an actual sequel. On June 7, MTV released a promotional video featuring the main cast of the film in character, in an alternate scenario in which they are roommates with two members of The Real World: Portland during the apocalypse.The film was rated R for "crude and sexual content throughout, brief graphic nudity, pervasive language, drug use and some violence" by the Motion Picture Association of America; this rating shocked both Rogen and Goldberg, who expected an adults-only NC-17 rating for the film. Goldberg stated that "all the ratings stuff doesn't make sense in the first place, but this is like ludicrous". Rogen commented, "We actually made it even a little worse than we wanted and that version got approved. Insanely, didn't have a ratings issue."
Sony re-released the film in 2,000 theaters across the United States on September 6, 2013.