"Team America" screenings canceled in wake of Sony hack
Programmed as a playful substitute to "The Interview," Trey Parker and Matt Stone's North Korea comedy "Team America: World Police" also has been pulled from theaters.
After Sony dropped its planned Dec. 25 release of "The Interview" on Wednesday, a handful of theaters plugged in 10-year anniversary screenings of "Team America," the 2004 puppet film that features North Korea leader Kim Jong Il as a singing marionette.
Cleveland's Capitol Theater said its "Team America" screening was canceled by Paramount Pictures, the studio that released the film. Texas' Alamo Drafthouse said it was pulling "Team America" showings on Dec. 27 "due to circumstances beyond our control."
Due to to circumstances beyond our control, the TEAM AMERICA 12/27 screening has been cancelled. We apologize & will provide refunds today.
— Alamo Drafthouse DFW (@AlamoDFW) December 18, 2014Please note: Our Late Shift screening of Team America: World Police has been canceled by Paramount Pictures. pic.twitter.com/TlPVzIeICW
— Capitol Theatre (@CapitolW65th) December 18, 2014Breaking Plaza news : Team America World Police pulled from all theatres as per Paramount Pictures .
— Plaza Atlanta (@PlazaAtlanta) December 18, 2014Paramount didn't immediately comment Thursday.
The news comes a day after Sony Pictures canceled the release of "The Interview" -- a comedy starring James Franco and Seth Rogen as a TV host and producer recruited by the CIA to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un -- after numerous theater chains in North America dropped the film in the wake of hackers' threatened terrorist attacks.