Cuddly funnyman Seth Rogen and the James Franco-ish James Franco have officially earned the ire of North Korea and its Glorious Leader, Kim Jong-un, The Daily Telegraph reported at the weekend.
It would seem that Kim has taken issue with the content of the brat-pack BFFs' latest movie, The Interview, in which they play Dave Skylark and Aaron Rapoport, celebrity journalists who score some one-on-one time with the diminutive dictator (played by The Five-Year Engagement's Randall Park), only to be conscripted by the government into being unwilling would-be assassins.
It all looks like a fairly harmless romp without any genuine sense of malice behind it, but Kim Myong-chol, the executive director of The Centre for North Korea-US Peace and "an unofficial spokesman" for Kim's regime, told The Telegraph: "There is a special irony in this storyline, as it shows the desperation of the US government and American society.
"A film about the assassination of a foreign leader mirrors what the US has done in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Ukraine ... And let us not forget who killed [President John F.] Kennedy – Americans.
"In fact, President [Barack] Obama should be careful in case the US military wants to kill him as well."
Looking at the comments underneath the film's trailer on YouTube (which, yes, is always a terrible idea), too, suggests that The Interview will polarise audiences -- Western ones included -- upon its release in cinemas on October 10. For his part, Kim Jong-un will apparently be watching.
Apparently Kim Jong Un plans on watching #TheInterview. I hope he likes it!! http://t.co/5VrsgYlydE
— Seth Rogen (@Sethrogen) June 20, 2014
