LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Sony Pictures Entertainment plans to roll out the red carpet for the Thursday premiere of The Interview, but the stars of the controversial comedy about North Korea will not face the customary glare of television news cameras.

The studio said on Wednesday only still photographers and a Sony video team would document arrivals at the event, stopping reporters from asking Seth Rogen and James Franco about a massive cyber attack at Sony that some speculate is linked to the film.

People close to the investigation have told Reuters that North Korea is a principal suspect, but a North Korean diplomat has denied that his nation is involved. Pyongyang condemned the film in June.

In the movie that opens on Dec 25, Franco and Rogen play journalists who land an interview with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, then are recruited by the CIA to assassinate him.

A spokesman for Sony, a unit of Japan's Sony Corp, could not immediately be reached for comment on why press access to the premiere was limited.

The studio also cancelled a Los Angeles press day that had been planned for this week and said a press day in New York next week may not take place.

The cyber attack launched on Nov 24 shut down Sony's computer network and exposed company secrets. Among them were e-mails that revealed Sony Corp Chief Executive Kazuo Hirai ordered The Interview be toned down after North Korea complained.