Steve Carell arrives with his wife Nancy Carell for the Golden Globe Awards Sunday, Jan. 16, 2011, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles) (AP2011)
New Regency has decided not to produce a paranoid thriller starring Steve Carell, which they planned to set in North Korea. The company’s decision came after a group of North Korean-backed hackers calling themselves the Guardians of Peace threatened a 9/11-style attack on theaters showing “The Interview,” which centers on an assassination attempt against dictator Kim Jong-un.
Unsurprisingly, the dictatorial regime has denied involvement, but did praise the hackers.
New Regency announced the project in October with plans for director Gore Verbinski to start shooting in the month of March. The untitled film was the first in a multiyear deal between Verbinski’s Blind Wink and New Regency.
Steve Conrad, the writer of the film starring Ben Stiller, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” was in the middle of writing the screenplay.
