Steve Carell film also cancelled over Sony hack

A film by Steve Carell set in North Korea has been pulled in response to cyber-attacks at Sony Pictures.

It follows the cancelling of comedy film, The Interview, starring Seth Rogen about North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

The high-profile hack, earlier this month, included terrorist threats of 9/11 style attacks on cinemas.

A group called #GOP or the Guardians of Peace has claimed responsibility.

Now, New Regency, the film company behind Steve Carell's latest film project, has also confirmed it will scrap production.

The star tweeted it was a "sad day" after films cancelled over Sony hack

Carell's paranoid thriller, called Pyongyang, was about a Westerner's experiences working in North Korea for a year.

The movie was based on Guy DeLisle's graphic novel, A Journey in North Korea.

Filming was due to begin in March with Gore Verbinski as director and Steve Conrad (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty) as writer.

Security was tight at The Interview premiere in Los Angeles on 11 December, Sony cancelled the film six days later

The Interview storyline centres on a fictional assassination attempt on the North Korea leader, Kim Jong-un.

Speculation has mounted that North Korea may have had a hand in the attack as a form of retaliation for Sony's release of The Interview.

A North Korean foreign ministry spokesman called the movie an "act of terrorism" in June, promising "merciless" retaliation if it was released.

The country eventually denied involvement, but heaped praise on the hack, calling it a "righteous deed". The secretive nation's ability to wage cyber warfare is not unknown, but it has not previously used the name Guardians of Peace.

The US government said it was considering a "range of options" on how to respond to the cyber-attack.

"We know that criminals and foreign countries regularly seek to gain access to government and private sector networks - both in the United States and elsewhere," a National Security Council statement said, adding that the FBI was leading the investigation.

"We take very seriously any attempt to threaten or limit artists' freedom of speech or of expression."

James Franco and Seth Rogen at The Interview premiere in Los Angeles, earlier this month

Shortly after the film cancellation news Steve Carell tweeted: "Sad day for creative expression #feareatsthesoul

The actor is famous for playing Michael Scott in the US version of The Office and has also starred in films such as The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Anchorman.

He also voiced characters in the animated films Despicable Me and Despicable Me 2.

The 52-year-old was nominated as America's funniest man in Life magazine and received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Comedy Series for his work on The Office.

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