Warner Bros Expected to Decide Today Whether to Move Release Date for Gangster Squad
Gangster Squad does not look like it will be coming to a theater near you any time soon.
In the wake of the mass shooting at a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, Colo., an industry insider tells Movieline that Warner executives are expected to decide today whether to reschedule the release of the Ruben Fleischer-directed film about the L.A. police departments war against the organized crime in the 1940s and 50s.
And the insider says odds the picture — which stars Ryan Gosling, Sean Penn and Josh Brolin — will keep its Sept.7 release date are pretty long.
EW.com reported that the studio pulled the Gangster Squad trailer, which had played before some screenings of TKDR film and ordered it re-cut because of a scene in which mobsters fire machine guns at a crowd of moviegoers.
The site also noted that the scene, which is pivotal to the plot, would either be cut or "at least extensively reworked."
That means script re-writes and re-shoots, and our insider says "a lot depends on the how quick the fix can be made."
Given that the film's original release date is a little over a month away, the source says it's looking increasingly likely that the release date will be moved.
A Warner spokeswoman did not respond to requests for comment.
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Comments
Yeesh.
Wow. I can't believe that this is happening, I was really looking forward to the film. There really should be a line drawn between being respectful and being ridiculous, and I feel that this crosses it. The film has been shot and cut for a while now, there is no possible way the makers of this film could have known about the shooting before releasing their promotional information, including the first trailer.
Things happen in the real world all the time. Filmmakers shouldn't have to compromise their artistic intent because of the actions of one person.
I agree. I think that if Warner does move the release date, it should allow the film to remain unchanged. As you point out, it was completed before the events in Aurora, so I don't see how it could be perceived as being insensitive.
Around 300 Americans were killed in automobiles last month, I assume that Warner is going to cut out any future scenes which involve people driving cars.
This movie should be put on the shelf for six months.