Fox pulls movie ads due to Trayvon Martin case

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Twentieth Century Fox movie studio on Tuesday said it is removing posters and a promotional trailer for its summer comedy "Neighborhood Watch" from theaters in Florida following the death of teenager Trayvon Martin.

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

The poster for the movie starring Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn and Jonah Hill shows a picture of a shadowy figure with a line across it and the movie's title underneath. The film, which is scheduled for release on July 27, tells of a group of people hunting aliens in their neighborhood.

Fox said the poster and trailer - promotional clips taken from the movie that run in advance of the scheduled feature film - were made well before the killing of 17-year-old Martin on February 26 by a neighborhood volunteer in Sanford, 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," Fox said.

(Reporting By Bob Tourtellotte: Editing by Jill Serjeant)