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Film studio bans cinemas from showing 'Team America'

After Sony Pictures pulled the release of ‘The Interview’ following an on-going act o...
Newstalk
Newstalk

09.22 19 Dec 2014


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Film studio bans cinemas from...

Film studio bans cinemas from showing 'Team America'

Newstalk
Newstalk

09.22 19 Dec 2014


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After Sony Pictures pulled the release of ‘The Interview’ following an on-going act of cyber terrorism, Paramount Pictures has ordered a number of movie theatres to not screen the movie ‘Team America: World Police’.

The Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, the Capitol Theater in Cleveland, and the Plaza Atlanta in Atlanta had all said they would play ‘Team America’ as a protest to Sony’s decision, but now Paramount has asked them to refrain. ‘Team America’, a comedy from the creators of ‘South Park’, sees a group of puppets attempt to foil a global terrorist attack planned by the then leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Il, the father of Kim Jong Un.

The film, released in 2004, is a satirical look at American foreign policy, celebrity activism, and the isolation felt by despotic world leaders.

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Upon its release, North Korea attempted to have ‘Team America’ banned, most notably in the Czech Republic, where the country’s ambassador appealed to the Czech film censors.

 “It harms the image of our country,” the North Korean diplomat said then. “Such behaviour is not part of our country’s political culture. Therefore, we want the film to be banned.”

In July, a North Korean diplomat told the United Nations that 'The Interview' “should be regarded as the most undisguised sponsoring of terrorism as well as an act of war.”

As part of the leaked Sony emails, it has been revealed that the studio had screened ‘The Interview’ – along with its explosive finale – for two members of the US State Department. The State Department gave the film its blessing.


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