North Korea isn't thrilled about Seth Rogen and James Franco's 'Let's kill Kim Jong-un' comedy
James Franco and Seth Rogen's ongoing bromance has borne yet another piece of fruit: The Interview, an upcoming comedy in which the duo travel to North Korea to assassinate real-life dictator Kim Jong-un. But there's at least one person who isn't laughing: Kim Myong-chol, the executive director of the Center for North Korea-U.S. Peace (and a man widely regarded as the unofficial spokesman of the North Korean regime).
In an interview with The Telegraph, Kim Myong-chol had some particularly wrathful words about the U.S. government, whom he seems to blame for the existence of The Interview. "There is a special irony in this storyline as it shows the desperation of the U.S. government and American society," he said. "A film about the assassination of a foreign leader mirrors what the U.S. has done in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Ukraine. And let us not forget who killed Kennedy — Americans. In fact, President Obama should be careful in case the U.S. military wants to kill him as well."
Kim Myong-chol added that he thinks Kim Jong-un will "probably watch the movie anyway," because come on — if someone made a movie about assassinating you, would you be able to resist checking it out? --Scott Meslow
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Scott Meslow is the entertainment editor for TheWeek.com. He has written about film and television at publications including The Atlantic, POLITICO Magazine, and Vulture.
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