The Los Angeles Times and movie studio Paramount could face a federal lawsuit after a publicity stunt to promote "Mission: Impossible III" sparked a bomb scare, the paper reported. Around 4,500 sidewalk newspaper boxes across California were rigged with devices last April that played the "Mission: Impossible" theme when customers opened them in the build-up to the release of the Tom Cruise blockbuster.
But several customers thought the music players were bombs and reported them to law enforcement officials. An arson squad blew up one of the newspaper boxes in Santa Clarita, just north of Los Angeles, as a precaution.
In West Los Angeles, federal police at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center called the bomb squad after a newspaper buyer spotted wires rigged to the music player within the box. Hospital officials evacuated the building.
The Times quoted assistant US attorney in Los Angeles Linda Kontos as saying that the hospital had suffered around 93,000 dollars in losses because of the evacuation.
In letters sent to The Times and Paramount, Kontos said her office would recommend that the government sue the newspaper and studio, The Times reported.
Kontos however said her department would provide both parties "with the opportunity to resolve the allegations" without litigation.
News of the lawsuit comes as authorities in Boston pledged to take action over a marketing stunt that sparked a full-scale security alert in the city on Wednesday. Two men have been charged with placing a hoax device after allegedly planting several flashing circuit boards around Boston to promote a late-night animated program on Turner Broadcasting's System's Cartoon Network.
