North Korea Calls James Franco’s New Project a ‘Blatant Act of Terrorism’

Actor, writer, former NYU professor, and pseudo-artist James Franco and his sidekick Seth Rogen are in trouble with North Korea. The pair’s upcoming action-comedy film The Interview (set to hit theaters October 10) follows the adventures of a television host and his producer who are invited to interview Kim Jong-un, and are subsequently recruited by the CIA to assassinate the leader.

According to the BBC, the North Korean government does not find the plot line very amusing, and has stated that the movie’s release will be viewed as an “act of war.” A spokesman for the country was also quoted by the state KCNA news agency as saying: “Making and releasing a movie on a plot to hurt our top-level leadership is the most blatant act of terrorism and war and will absolutely not be tolerated.”

A trailer for the film on YouTube features fight scenes involving what appear to be North Korean tanks and helicopters, and a missile launch. Franco has yet to comment on North Korea’s retaliatory threats, but Rogen has remain lighthearted about the situation, tweeting “People don’t usually wanna kill me for one of my movies until after they’ve paid 12 bucks for it.”

The North Korean spokesman said that “if the US administration allows and defends the showing of the film, a merciless counter-measure will be taken.” And there you have it: one more thing to blame James Franco for.