'Team America: World Police' Has Also Been Banned from U.S. Theaters
by Andy Neuenschwander
Okay, now we're angry.
In response to terrorist threats made against theaters planning to screen the Seth Rogen and James Franco comedy "The Interview" this Christmas, Paramount Pictures has banned U.S. theaters from screening "Team America: World Police" as well.
Here's how it all went down: Hackers behind the Sony leak (working for the North Korean government, according to the FBI) make vague but alarming threats toward movie theaters, which prompted Sony to offer theaters the option to break contract and not screen the film.
After almost all of the major theater chains decided to opt out, Sony changed its tune and made the decision to cancel the release of "The Interview" altogether, both in theaters and on VOD, most likely for insurance reasons (a full cancellation might allow Sony to cash in on insurance coverage for the film).
In response to that move, theaters like the Alamo Drafthouse in Texas decided to screen Paramount's "Team America: World Police" instead, which if you'll remember mocks the then-leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Il. But today, Paramount stepped in an refused to let theaters screen their movie.
"Due to to circumstances beyond our control, the TEAM AMERICA 12/27 screening has been cancelled," the Alamo Drafthouse tweeted. "We apologize & will provide refunds today."
While it's probably a prudent move on Paramount's part—they wouldn't make much money from the few screenings that would happen, so the inherent risk isn't worth it—the fact that the United States Government has officially blamed North Korea for the attack makes it silly for anyone to take these terrorist threats too seriously. No one took them seriously when they implied they would nuke us, so how can we expect one of the poorest countries in the world to carry out a coordinated attack on movie theaters for something that they probably don't even know is happening?
In any case, "Team America" is still available on iTunes, Amazon, DVD and streaming on Netflix if you feel like having a 'Merica watch party.