There was absolutely an air of uncertainty about Amy Pascal's leaked emails to Seth Rogen. The comedy actor was unwilling to make edits to his controversial movie The Interview but, on the face of it, Pascal seemed a little disinterested anyway. 

The InterviewSeth Rogen [L] and James Franco [R] star in The Interview, though the executives have their doubts

The executives ended up getting their way and altering the gory final scene in the movie, during which Kim Jong Un's head explodes and is set aflame. However, in a new set of leaked emails, it appears the head honchos hate the entire movie anyway, calling it too offensive, "desperately unfunny" and likely to fail given the starring berth of James Franco.

Emails sent from UK Sony Pictures executive Peter Taylor to president of Sony Pictures Releasing International Steven O'Dell describe the comedy as a "misfire", "unfunny and repetitive" with "a level of realistic violence that would be shocking in a horror movie." Taylor also writes: "James Franco proves once again that irritation is his strong suit which is a shame because the character could have been appealing and funny out of his hands."

More: The Interview: why it could only have been Seth Rogen and James Franco

Sony's international partners - who watched the movie at a screening in London - showed a lot of uncertainty. Distributors in the Netherlands were worried about its "limited potential."

"The movie does start with a very strong opening scene with Eminem coming out and the plot of the producer and the talkshow host wanting to interview the North Korean dictator, but getting dragged into a murder conspiracy is for sure promising, but the execution is unbalanced at best and in the final action packed scenes, the movie spins completely out of control," read one email.

The Interview currently holds a score of just 40% on Rotten Tomatoes and its stars Rogen and Franco have gone silent. The movie had its premiere over the weekend though Sony insisted on a media blackout and the stars gave no interviews. 

More: hackers reveal Seth Rogen and James Franco's salaries for The Interview