Sony May Remove Kim Jong-Un's "Face Melting" Scene From 'The Interview'

Sony is considering removing a scene in which Kim Jong-Un's face melts off in the comedy The Interview, to appease North Korea. Producers of the film, which stars James Franco and Seth Rogen, are considering removing the death for fear of angering the supreme leader of the militarily aggressive nation.

The studio has already digitally altered thousands of military buttons that were accurate copies of those worn by real North Korean soldiers. The badges are apparently in honor of Kim and his late father and their depiction would have been seen as blasphemy against the regime.

The movie focuses on an attempt by a talk show host and his producer to assassinate Kim Jong-Un though North Korea has threatened a "resolute and merciless" response against the US unless it moved to ban the movie. Officials warned that failure to stop the movie hitting theaters would be considered an "act of war".

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In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, Kim Myong-chol - often considered Kim Jong-Un's unofficial spokesman dismissed The Interview's lampooning of the supreme leader, saying, "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," he added.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Sony is denying that it has been pressurised by its Japanese arm to make the changes.

The Interview, which also stars Lizzy Kaplan, hits cinemas in the US and UK in October.