Paramount Pictures apologizes for tweeting Ninja Turtle 9/11 poster

[July 30, 2014]  SYDNEY (Reuters) - Paramount Pictures film studio apologized on Wednesday for a poster for its upcoming film "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles", showing the four characters jumping down from an exploding skyscraper underscored with a Sept. 11 release date.

The poster went out in a tweet posted by the Australian Paramount Pictures Twitter account and also appeared on its official Facebook page, which has more than six million fans.

Both posts received a barrage of criticism and were deleted, though some screenshots were still being shared on social media.

"We are deeply sorry to have used that artwork for the marketing materials promoting the September 11 opening in Australia," Paramount Pictures Australia said in an emailed statement to Reuters.

"Combining that image and date was a mistake. We intended no offence and have taken immediate action to discontinue its use."

The live-action reboot, starring Megan Fox and Johnny Knoxville and produced by "Transformers" director Michael Bay is due for release on Aug. 8 in the United States.

In Australia it will be released on Sept. 11, the thirteenth anniversary of the al Qaeda militant attacks on U.S. cities and the destruction of the World Trade Center twin towers in New York.

(Reporting by Thuy Ong; Editing by Robert Birsel)

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