Looks like Sony isn't the only entertainment company self-censoring—according to reports, a green-lit Steve Carell-anchored thriller was indefinitely shelved, thanks entirely to the film's North Korea-centric plot.

According to Deadline, Pyongyang was a paranoid thriller developed as a "star vehicle" for Carell by director Gore Verbinski. Based on a graphic novel by Guy Delisle—a cartoonist who spent time in the country on a work visa— the film follows an American who is accused of espionage.

Production was scheduled to begin in March, but New Regency pulled the plug Wednesday, claiming Twentieth Century Fox had reneged on their distribution agreement.

Carell called the entertainment industry's willingness to collectively shit its pants over an anonymous threat on the internet, "a sad day for creative expression."

[image via AP]