Fox changes name of 'Neighborhood Watch' film

[May 05, 2012]  LOS ANGELES (AP) -- "Neighborhood Watch" will now be known as just "The Watch."

Fox said Friday that the name of the film starring Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn as suburban neighborhood watch volunteers who uncover an extraterrestrial plot was changed in light of the shooting of an unarmed black teenager in Florida.

"As the subject matter of this alien invasion comedy bears no relation whatsoever to the recent tragic events in Florida, the studio altered the title to avoid any accidental or unintended misimpression that it might," the studio said in a statement.

Fox previously pulled early promotional materials for the movie because of the Trayvon Martin case.

The unarmed, 17-year-old Martin was fatally shot in Sanford, Fla., by neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman on Feb. 26, causing a national controversy.

"The Watch" is set for release July 27.

[Associated Press]

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