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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hollywood studios, already nervous in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, have tightened security after the FBI (news - web sites) warned they could be targeted, trade paper Daily Variety reported on Friday.

Entrances were shut down, barricades were ordered set in place and studio tours were canceled, the trade paper said.

``The FBI provided a threat advisory to the movie studios in Los Angeles,'' the paper quoted FBI spokeswoman Cheryl Mimura as saying. ``The uncorroborated threat states that a film studio in California could be the target of a terrorist attack in retaliation for any possible bombing attacks by the United States in Afghanistan (news - web sites). It seems to be a credible threat.''

President Bush (news - web sites) has been steeling Americans and the country's allies for looming military action to avenge the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon (news - web sites), also demanding that Afghanistan's Taliban rulers hand over Osama bin Laden (news - web sites), the man the U.S. suspects of masterminding the attacks.

The Saudi-born militant has been living as a ``guest'' in Afghanistan. The U.S. has named him as the prime suspect behind attackers who hijacked four passenger airplanes, smashed two into the World Trade Center and one into the Pentagon. More than 6,500 people are missing or dead. A fourth plane crashed in rural Pennsylvania.

Daily Variety said it obtained memos from sources at five studios, all detailing new security measures. The studios were Fox Entertainment Group Inc.'s 20th Century Fox, Sony Corp (news - web sites).'s Sony Pictures Entertainment, Walt Disney Co, Vivendi Universal's Universal Pictures and AOL Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros, it said.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. planned to notify employees of new security measures on Friday, the paper said.

In response, some of Hollywood's top talent agencies have advised their stars to stop taking meetings at the studios for now, the paper said.

Among the studios, Universal City-based Universal would continue to operate its popular -- and profitable -- studio tours, though it is ``tightening and increasing security,'' Daily Variety said.

Warner Bros. closed three studio gates on its Burbank lot, set up barricades, and was planning to install armed guard details and metal detectors. All incoming packages were to be X-rayed, and all vehicles would be subject to search.

The Fox memo warned employees at the Century City-based studio that ``we will all be subject to long delays entering the facility,'' and as a result ``we urge you to remain on the lot during the day.''

The memo from Culver City-based Sony said local police would increase their patrols.

Last week's attacks have forced the studios and television networks to scrap, postpone or tinker with projects that had terrorist-related themes. Additionally, the TV networks, most of which are corporate siblings of film studios, have lost hundreds of millions of dollars in advertising revenues. The uncertain economic picture has sent media stocks tumbling.

-- Anonymous, September 21, 2001

Answers

heard on tv that all the tours have been canceled indefinitely. msnbc blurb.

thanks for the story.

-- Anonymous, September 21, 2001