Terrorists Win Again

Sony Interview fallout thwarts Alamo Drafthouse's plans to screen Team America

Alamo Drafthouse can't screen Team America: World Police now that Paramount Pictures has pulled the movie from distribution.

Photo courtesy of the Alamo Drafthouse

An amusing plan by Alamo Drafthouse in Richardson to screen Team America: World Police in response to Sony's yanking of The Interview has been foiled. The Richardson theater has canceled the screening on orders from Paramount Pictures, the distributor of the 2004 film.

According to Alamo's Facebook page, "Due to to circumstances beyond our control, the screening of Team America on December 27th has been cancelled as the film has been removed from release."

Alamo wasn't the only theater with plans to screen the film, written and directed by South Park's Trey Parker and Matt Stone; Capitol Theater in Cleveland, Ohio also pulled the plug, tweeting that its screening "has been canceled by Paramount Pictures."

Paramount has yet to publicly comment on its removal.

This comes as a blow to not only Alamo, which had been written up nationwide for the stunt, but also for local movie fans, who had sold out the free screening less than 12 hours after it was announced. And it's a rather odd decree from Paramount, given the fact that the film is available for streaming on Netflix.

The most controversial scene in The Interview, showing North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un, on a helicopter as it gets blown up, has already made its way online. A spokesman for Sony Pictures Entertainment has said that the studio is "deeply saddened" by theater chains' refusal to run the film on Christmas Day.

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This Week's Hot Headlines

Dallas shines with holiday spirit in this week's most popular stories

Photo by Stevan Koye

Vitruvian Lights at Vitruvian Park starts on November 18, running through January 1.

Editor's note: In this week's most popular stories, two topics reign supreme: holiday spirit and Guy Fieri. Here are the most-read Dallas stories of the week. And for more festive fun, check out the best things to do this weekend.

1. Dallas dazzles as the No. 2 most festive city in America this year. Dallas' holiday spirit is shining extra bright: The city was just named the No. 2 most festive city in the nation according to an annual report. This is the third year in a row that Dallas has held the No. 2 spot.

2. Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives star Guy Fieri coming to Dallas this week. Celebrity chef Guy Fieri is coming to the Dallas area in support of his and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Sammy Hagar’s Santo Spirits brand. He'll be making an appearance in Dallas on Saturday, December 7, including a consumer meet and greet and bottle signing.

3. Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives is taping in Dallas this week. Fieri's not just in town for a promotional appearance. The Food Network star is also filming future episodes of Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, his massively popular, long-running show.

Guy Fieri is filming in Dallas. Photo courtesy of Food Network

4. McKinney couple ready to shine on ABC's Great Christmas Light Fight. A McKinney couple whose annual holiday lights extravaganza attracts visitors from all over North Texas had the chance to shine in the national spotlight on ABC’s The Great Christmas Light Fight. Also in the spotlight: The Hughes family from Rockwall, who appeared on the show's season premiere.

5. Dallas climbs back up in ranking of 'World's Best Cities' for 2025. Dallas made a big rebound in its status among the top 100 best cities in the world, according to a prestigious new report. Resonance Consultancy ranked Dallas the 55th best city worldwide for 2025 in its annual "World's Best Cities" list.