Studio 'pulls shuttle film trailer'

The Core shows a Nasa crew on a dangerous mission

A trailer for a science-fiction film showing a shuttle crew in trouble has been pulled from United States cinemas after the Columbia disaster, according to Hollywood paper Variety.

Film company Paramount asked cinemas to stop screening the trailer for The Core, a thriller about a group of Nasa "terranauts" on a highly dangerous mission, Variety reported.

It was thought to be too sensitive after seven astronauts died when the space shuttle Columbia broke up before landing on Saturday.

Paramount hopes to stick to The Core's planned release date of 28 March, but is looking at whether shuttle scenes should be changed.

The studio is also reviewing its advertising to make sure it is not insensitive in the wake of the tragedy, Variety said.

Encountered trouble

The Core sees a Nasa crew travel in an experimental ship to the centre of the Earth after it is discovered that the Earth's core is about to stop spinning.

Starring Aaron Eckhart and Hilary Swank, the trailer shows them encounter trouble in their craft.

It had been due for a release in November 2002, but was pushed back to allow more time to work on special effects.

It is not the first time Hollywood has found itself unwittingly striking a chord with real-life events.

In October, a movie about a sniper, Phone Booth, was put on hold as a sniper was on the loose in the Washington area.

And a number of movies, such as terrorist thriller Bad Company and Arnold Schwarzenegger's Collateral Damage, were put back in the wake of the 11 September attacks.