The director of the Oscar-winning "Chicago" has canceled a promotional tour to Japan due to concerns over severe acute respiratory syndrome, film industry sources said Wednesday.
The film's distributor in Japan told director Rob Marshall in the United States that Japan had no SARS cases but failed to convince him to change his mind. The distributor was notified of the official cancellation by its U.S. counterpart Tuesday, sources said.
Marshall was scheduled to begin the five-day visit April 23.
Richard Gere, the film's leading actor, canceled a trip to Japan in early April citing the Iraq war as the reason.
"Chicago" begins showing in Japan on Saturday.
The musical won six Academy Awards in March, including best picture. It also took home Oscars for best supporting actress (Catherine Zeta-Jones), art direction, costume design, sound and film editing.
"Chicago" led the field at the 75th Academy Awards with 13 nominations.