North Korea isn't thrilled about Seth Rogen and James Franco's 'Let's kill Kim Jong-un' comedy


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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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A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
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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