"The Interview"
One Texas theater will show the 2004 film "Team America: World Police" in place of "The Interview." REUTERS/Kevork Djansezian

UPDATE 3:59 p.m.: Paramount Pictures said Thursday that movie theaters are not permitted to host viewings of "Team America: World Police," according to BuzzFeed News. The Alamo Drathouse's Dallas location tweeted that it would cancel its planned screening.

"Due to to circumstances beyond our control, the TEAM AMERICA 12/27 screening has been cancelled. We apologize & will provide refunds today," the tweet said.

--

“Team America: World Police” has been the subject of much conversation in the wake of Sony Pictures canceling the Dec. 25 theatrical release of “The Interview,” and now some lucky Texas moviegoers will get to see it on the big screen. “Team America,” a 2004 comedy by “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone lampooning former North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il, has been looked to as the next best thing to “The Interview” ever since the latter film was pulled in response to threats by hackers against those who see it in theaters.

“The Interview” may be doomed to the dustbins of history, but those who were planning to see it Christmas week can drown their sorrows while enjoying “Team America” at the Alamo Drafthouse theater in Dallas at 7 p.m. Dec. 27.

"Sure, you can celebrate your independence the usual way: slow sipping a beer as you stand over a grill while people you have only mild contempt for wait inside for their free meal. OR you can join The Action Pack as we celebrate TEAM AMERICA'S 10th anniversary!" the theater wrote in an announcement on its website. "THAT is how true American heroes will be celebrating this year."

With scenes of a puppet of Kim Jong Il -- the late father of current North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un -- singing about being lonely and acting like a petulant child, “Team America: World Police” is perhaps the perfect replacement for “The Interview,” which stars James Franco and Seth Rogen and centers on a plot to kill Kim Jong Un. It ends with a graphic scene showing an actor playing the current dictator being brutally killed by an explosion near a helicopter.

"Team America" has been a popular topic online ever since Sony pulled "The Interview," trending on Twitter along with the #theinterview hashtag almost nonstop, and a steady stream of users has tweeted that they plan to watch it:

Sony canceled the release of the film Wednesday after six of the nation’s largest theater chains announced they would not show it in response to threats by the Guardians of Peace hacker group. The group said it would “doom” those who attended "The Interview" in theaters to a “bitter fate” and explicitly referenced the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

“In light of the decision by the majority of our exhibitors not to show the film ‘The Interview,’ we have decided not to move forward with the planned Dec. 25 theatrical release,” Sony said in a statement Wednesday. “We respect and understand our partners’ decision and, of course, completely share their paramount interest in the safety of our employees and theatergoers.”

The movie was pulled just hours before the New York Times reported that top U.S. officials said that the North Korean government was “centrally involved” in the hacks against Sony, which saw copyrighted materials and embarrassing personal emails between Sony employees leaked online.

RELATED STORIES