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Studio pulls 'Neighbourhood Watch' poster after Trayvon Martin shooting

20th Century Fox axes marketing materials featuring bullet holes and targets

The death of Trayvon Martin at the hands of neighbourhood watch captain George Zimmerman has sparked mass concern across America, and has now even affected the marketing of a comedy film.

'Neighbourhood Watch' is about a group of local activists who attempt to stop an alien invasion. Starring Ben Stiller, Jonah Hill, Vince Vaughn and Richard Ayoade, it sounds inoffensive enough, but some of the marketing material now seems very inappropriate.

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Studio Fox had been putting up 'Neighbourhood Watch' signs peppered with bullet holes. The teaser trailer also features a scene in which Hill mimes shooting a group of teenagers.



Now the marketing has been shifted in deference to the case, although the film will still be released in the US as planned on July 27.

Talking to The Hollywood Reporter, a Fox spokesperson said: "We are very sensitive to the Trayvon Martin case, but our film is a broad alien-invasion comedy and bears absolutely no relation to the tragic events in Florida.

"The teaser materials were part of an early phase of our marketing and were never planned for long-term use. Above all else, our thoughts go out to the families touched by this terrible event."

'Neighbourhood Watch' will be released in the UK on the August 29 2012, so watch out for our own promo campaign soon.