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Related It’s Official: WB Delays ‘Gangster Squad’ Till January 11
UPDATED, 7:36 PM: Warner Bros confirmed today that it has moved Gangster Squad from September 7 to January 11. The move allows the filmmakers to excise a shootout scene that takes place in a movie theater, which nobody wants to see after the Aurora, Colorado, tragedy at the midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises. There will be an alternate murder spree scene shot, but it will not be in a movie theater. The move also creates some distance for the film, which unfortunately had a trailer attached to the Batman finale. Fox faced a similar dilemma with its comedy The Watch. Even though that film is about a volunteer neighborhood patrol encountering aliens, its original title Neighborhood Watch brought unfortunate connotations to the fatal shooting of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman. Changing that title was an attempt to avoid appearing sensitive and tasteless, and it seems to have worked.
The Ruben Fleischer-directed Gangster Squad is an L.A. Confidential-style period mob tale that stars Ryan Gosling, Sean Penn, Josh Brolin and Emma Stone, and it takes place in the 1940s and ’50s during the crime reign of Mickey Cohen. The six months of breathing room should help bring the focus back to the storyline, and not a murder spree that has no other correlation to the film.
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So does it mean the movie couldn’t be eligible for the Oscars? I thought Warner Bros wanted to push it a lot for the selection.
Common knowledge refresher for you: films need only open in limited release in 2012 – LA/NYC – to be eligible for the 2013 Oscars. That will clearly be the case with this. See: The Iron Lady. Basics people.
January 11 is so close to the end of 2012 that it strongly suggests that Warner will put it into theaters in limited release around Christmas Day or so if they think it has any chance at bringing home Oscars.
Companies should let people think for themselves, this is being far too sensitive and silly.
Way to give in to a deranged maniac. This is a bad call. Delay the release, don’t censor the damn thing!
Totaly agree. WB is giving Holmes EXACTLY what he wanted. Even if he has no idea it is happening.
I am ashamed WB would do such a thing. Censoring such a thing. I would be pissed to be apart of the production team.
The scene looked REALLY cool. I really wished they never decided to do this. “which nobody wants to see after the Aurora, Colorado, tragedy at the midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises.” Come on. It was two totally separate things and made way before the shooting. I guess I am the only one, but I would have loved to watch the scene.
Here’s hoping Warner Bros. releases the uncensored version in territories that are able to realize that films are not responsible for the actions of a single individual.
Agreed. For that matter, they should take out all shoot out scenes? I mean, people shoot people in every different way…
Not in a movie theater. Don’t you all realize the publicity nightmare they would have, people are scared to go to the movies. If you all don’t want this guy to win — go to any movie this weekend — seriously — because all we will hear is that grosses are down because of the shooter.
If that were remotely true, if people were scared to go to the movies, then Batman wouldn’t have grossed $160 million the very weekend of the massacre. Clearly while disturbing, it wasn’t enough to make people not go. So why should another film suffer?
Tell the idiots like Bloomburg to stop trying to regulate guns. There is a reason why Holmes picked a theater. He wasn’t stupid.
I worked two solid nights on background doing the scene in question. WB is not being silly. If the scene is not critical to the story but just there for shock and awe then they are making the right call.
Filmmaking by committee. That’s exactly what’s wrong with this business.
Why not just keep the scene if they’re moving it to January?
My cynicism is taking over– I think all this hoopla is to cover for what is probably a bad movie that isn’t getting the best buzz. Now, if the film does poorly, the studio has the built in excuse of the tragedy. Dumping it in January? The nation’s attention span isn’t THAT long. This thing could have been moved to November.
I hope that doesn’t come off as insensitive, but that’s my take on this whole fiasco.
well you are wrong. i saw an advanced screening and it is really solid. now, they probably will make some tweaks to it as long as they are doing re-shoots anyway, but they aren’t delaying it because it is a bad movie.
you don’t reschedule a movie to have it land in JANUARY because it’s a solid film. go back to film school 101.
Oscars?? Don’t think so. Apart from the scene in question, I think they are seizing the opportunity to ‘correct’ the film, in some way. Some of the acting, maybe?
Stupid – let the movie be. Are people really THAT dumb?
Well, um, yes.
‘There will be an alternate murder spree scene shot, but it will not be in a movie theater.’
of course….gotta get that spree in there somewhere.
Oscars? I’ve seen this POS. Tragic how this superb of a cast couldn’t make for a phenomenal film. I’ve seen it and it’s a complete letdown. Gotta wonder why that might be….hmmmm…..
Penn going super-ham? Gosling’s voice too distracting? Is Emma Stone not the right fit to play the dame? I’ve never heard of the director, so did he drop the ball?
Do tell.
I love old LA, and this was at the top of my list until I saw the trailer.
Nobody knew what to do with this mothball mess of a movie before the tragedy. It is an awful film- and an expensive one that has no direction to speak of. It plays like “Dick Tracy” with all the cartoonish performances and none of the intentional camp. Now it is heading to the bone-yard of January releases where it belongs. Censoring a terrible movie might make it a little less unbearable (by being shorter).
they should take this time to reshoot the rest of the film too. from the trailer, it looks like a bad tv movie with big name actors.
The object of any film, for any big media company is to make money, NOT the artistic value, if this helps it make money then it is the right call. Time Warner is the second largest media company behind Disney. Big media companies have to worry about the sensitively of their customers in everything they do.
This is just to help the film become profitable.
this is really dumb….not to be insensitive but come on..also, can’t wait to see what magazine covers and features come out next month promoting a january release
There are problems with this movie. It’s already been pushed once, January is a dumping ground. I guess that’s what you get when you hire a comedy director who has only made 1 decent film…
Oooh I’m such an insider, I’ve seen the movie already and it’s a POS, blah blah blah
You’re full of crap, shut up.
Was looking forward to the movie, myself. Trailer was hot. Too bad we’ll see a hacked-up version that I won’t be supporting in theaters, knowing that it’s edited. Hopefully the full version will be available on home video later.
Yeah, merely replace one murder spree with ANOTHER murder spree just in a different place. Obviously.
The acting looks like a parody of a gangster movie.
I understand Hollywood’s need to feel/beleive that they are doing right by society in feigning “responsibility” by eliminating all reference to the tragic incident, much like its’ knee-jerk reaction to the tragedy of 9/11, but is censorship really the answer?
Why do the studios constantly insult/underestimate the general public and take it upon themselves to “protect” moviegoers.
Dear Hollywood Studios: Thank you very much, but I, personally, do not need your protection. Believe it or not, I have a functioning brain that helps me discern between the tragedy of reality and the contrivance of movie magic.
This is stupid. I mean, really? Reshoots for something that was beyond their control?
Stupid WB. Simply stupid.
Well…most people….
Bad call. I wouldn’t let some idiot’s actions dictate the way my film is made. Now filmmakers are going to have to watch the news day by day to see how they should film each scene of a movie. This is crap. I understand that bad things happen in life, but I don’t need Hollywood, or any corporation telling me how I should feel or trying to protect my feelings.
I love the comments of some people. ‘Censorship’? What do you think this film is, Grapes of Wrath?