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The shooting in Aurora, Colorado during a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises has caused some broadcasters to drop some programming with violent content this weekend. “With a sensitivity to current events, Showtime has replaced several movies in their schedule for the weekend,” a Showtime spokesperson said. Showtime declined to give specifics about what would be replaced. However, the network does have films like Nicholas Cage’s extremely violent Drive Angry, the Paul McCartney documentary The Love We Make about 9/11, the terrorism drama Five Fingers, the vampiric Bitten, Kenneth Branagh’s Dead Again, the 2003 The Italian Job remake, the 2008 Brian Cox violent drama Red and Ralph Fiennes’ The Constant Gardener, where a man investigates the death of his wife, on the schedule to play this weekend.
Related: Warner Bros Won’t Report Box Office For ‘Dark Knight Rises’ All Weekend
NBCUniversal is pulling an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit tonight on USA Network. It’s also pulling an episode of The Unit, dealing with a hostage taking and shooting, set to run Sunday on CLOO. TNT
actually has 2008’s The Dark Knight, the previous Batman movie, on its schedule both tonight and Saturday. A network spokesperson told Deadline that they presently plan to air the movie as originally scheduled. (UPDATE: FX also plans to air the first movie in the trilogy, 2005′s Batman Begins, as scheduled tonight and Sunday night.)
CBS had already announced a special edition of 48 Hours from Colorado this evening, replacing the previously scheduled Undercover Boss. ABC and NBC had 20/20 and Dateline on their primetime schedules already but now both are broadcasting from Aurora. Other schedule changes could come as broadcast and cable networks further evaluate their programming in lieu of the events in Colorado this weekend.
Related: Networks, Not Warner Bros, Pulled ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ TV Ads
Deadline's Dominic Patten - tip him here.
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Is it wise to let the actions of a maniac determine what we watch? I have sympathy for the victims, however, I hope this inciddent is not used as a tool to silence, restrict or censor.
What if this kind of broadcasting stirs up the crazy facets of life, contributing to violence?
But stations will still be airing the story about the shooting, which they should, and which is no less violence in the media. Even worse, it actually happened.
I’d argue the 24/7 news coverage of the Aurora shooting (and mass shootings in general) does more to contribute to the violence. Check out Charlie Brooker’s Newswipe piece on how the media covers mass shootings.
Stirs up the crazy facets of life? People are either screwed up in the head, as this kid was, or they’re not. Movies do not make people just decide to go out and kill people. That’s a very ignorant assumption.
If they dropped all their violent programming permanently, this would have some meaning.
We are a blood thirsty society. This will be forgotten about in a couple of months, just as all mass shootings are and we will go about enjoying our murderous entertainment.
Bloodthirsty society? I would say we are a much more civil, ethical, and understanding society than at any other point in human history. Movies, video games, legal obtainable firearms… none of these thing caused that man to murder. Whatever it was that put his mind (oxygen depravation, beaten as a child…) in a state to commit such an act is what we should be looking at. Trying to glaze over the real issue is like a doctor prescribing pain medication instead of performing surgery. We need to understand and treat the root cause of such behavior. Allowing the actions of the few to dictate the way millions of people live their lives is absolutely not the right approach.
Movies and video games don’t kill people. Guns kills people.
french fries and slurpies kill people. Dehumanizing each other kills peple, parents of children who are not attended to, guided, nurtured, are the people creating the real weapons.
Grow up. Violence in Hollywood? It’s movies, it’s pretend. Who are you people, the ss? Take responsibility. It is not movies or books it’s thoughtlessness you are taught.
So who will you designate as the wise sage who will tells us what to watch, what to censor?
Let creators create, you go get high and let your babysitter put your kid in front of the tv. But don’t decide for me what is violent, appropriate or significant. Don’t dare tell me what violence is or where it is.
Thank you ‘Riddle me this”.
Just stay home if you can’t handle it, watch your children, you pay for their rehab but stay out of my life.
Actually there many things used to kill people, but it’s people welding those weapons.
Thank you. And this move should be permanent. Sick of the violence that Hollywood continues to flood the marketplaces with.
I take it you’re one of those fundie idiots that has no problem with PG13 movies that glorify violence like Transformers yet bitch and moan about R rated movies that have an anti violence message like Children Of Men.
Enough with the knee-jerk reactions already!!
“It is sad to think that the first few people on earth needed no books, movies, games or music to inspire cold-blooded murder. The day that Cain bashed his brother Abel’s brains in, the only motivation he needed was his own human disposition to violence.”
So, my viewing options have to be changed because of some lunatic? Great.
I praise God that these networks had the sense to drop the violent programming tonight. I pray for recovery and healing to all involved in any way. I will never be able to understand this senseless evil that has been wrought to innocent moviegoers and families and friends.
Yeah, and where was god when this shooter decided to murder a bunch of people. Right…
Show of hands, anyone ever watched CLOO, or know where it is on your TV lineup?
Yes! This made me laugh..thank you! I agree!
So let me get this straight… continuing to play THE DARK KNIGHT and THE DARK KNIGHT RISES trailers is considered insensitive, but all the news stations rushing to exploit this situation by doing their newscasts from Aurora isn’t insensitive?
You’re viewing options don’t have to change because of some lunatic. You can go rent or Netflix any movie you want if you really need that violence fix.
However, some people were clearly traumatized. 12 dead and 50+ injured is thousands of relatives and even more kind-hearted people who give a damn about completely senseless crimes.
Yes, they happen all the time but not to this extent so is it so unreasonable to expect the networks to try and be a little sensitive for a weekend?
Could we get a grip?
Good job, Cloo. There were no senseless murders in the history of man before cable television!
If showtime finds it necessary to censor what I’m paying for.How about a refund then for this weekend or I’m canceling Showtime. And just what the hell is a Cloo- sounds like a disease
It’s not Hollywood and it’s not the networks. We as individuals have the CHOICE of what we watch and expose our kids to. Look around the theaters in “R” rated movies and take note of how many children are in them. Neither Hollywood or society bought those tickets their paremnts did. It’s about individual responsibility
for “the WEEKEND”? how about: “will review violent programming indefinitely, and it’s something we should have done long ago. but at least we’re doing it now.” more appropriate i think.
I understand, and admire, the sentiment. But, roughly 45 people are murdered every day in this country, and there’s never any concern for how “sensitive” it is to air certain programming for those families on a daily basis.
It’s a knee-jerk, hollow, gesture. One I understand, and appreciate, but still, it is.
what? that makes no sense. the “horror in aurora” as one media outlet put it will be sliced and diced and baked and tossed at us like the superbowl for the next 3+ days. i think fantasy, escapist violence structured so there’s some moral lesson or catharsis is no big deal. its the media coverage of the horror in aurora that’s disgusting and damaging. and, while i’m ranting, this one-off event, 13 dead/60 wounded, is all consuming while our drones continue to strike and kill innocent women and children because they’re in the area of SUSPECTED terrorists. where’s the national discourse on that? oh, i forgot, we’re killing non-christians and non-jews. never mind. so, back to timmy, who played dead while the white hot casings from the perps gun rained down on his head.
This is not a “one-off” event. We’ve been living with these mass killings for decades now. While America isn’t the only country to have incidents of mass murder, we have clearly cornered the market. This has happened before, and it’s going to happen again. Hence, the media should be covering it, asking the hard questions — including questions about gun control.
This is an absurd unnecessary action which Showtime, TNT and USA has made. It’s buying into a false philosophy. There is zero correlation between the actions of the unstable individual and any broadcast program or film. If you want to curb this behavior then prevent individuals from purchasing bomb making materials and weapons unnecessary except for the sole purpose of hunting game. As long as anybody without a criminal background can purchase firearms then you are going to have isolate situations blaming eating twinkies and drinking excess caffeine. Guns sold to any individual or group and disturbed individuals without being monitored are at fault. Films and TV that portray excess violence need to be checked but out of 10 million folks that see one movie or tv show you might get one disturbed individual. That person was disturbed prior to the film or tv show and has low self esteem. The show didn’t make or create the situation that person’s environment and family / friend support did.
Ok, this is just stupid. TNT, I can understand because of the movie but Showtime? Really? They might as well ban every movie on HBO,Showtime,Starz and Epix just for violent content. Ironic, how they have no problem with the violent content on their spinoff networks like Extreme and Beyond.
Like some idiot is gonna be inspired by Ed Norton in some PG13 heist movie to kill someone. There is such a thing as overreacting.
This is a poor decision. As tragic as the shooting was and is, entertainment is unrelated. This is absurd and reactionary. Good for TNT not falling to this weird form of panic.
Also, if I find anything offensive, it’s not movies. It’s all three networks commerciallizing this tragedy as a way to boost the ratings of their poorly produced, trashy primetime news magazines.
Um… I see plenty of knee-jerk reactions, but not in the actions of the networks; I see them in these comments. Nowhere here does it say these networks have altered their programming because they’re fearful of causing more violence. One would assume they are altering their programming for the sake of decency but also for their ratings; right now, they are assuming, people do not wish to watch violent television and be reminded of the events in Colorado, so they are changing their programming to things that people can watch and perhaps escape from the situation. That’s all, and that’s why it wouldn’t be sensible for them to even consider doing away with violent content forever. That would be ridiculous because, as has been stated, there is no correlation between entertainment and these senseless acts of violence.
It’s not the content on these networks I’m worried about at all. People don’t watch The Unit‘s reruns anymore because it’s on everywhere these days. How about we think about the networks we have basically turned into 24/7 murder schools like Investigation Discovery, Bio Channel and crap like HLN’s Saturday night block, TLC and OWN in dead periods, and Oxygen’s terrible and explotative “Snapped”? Nobody’s murdering somebody because an episode of SVU told them to, but I’m sure they’re taking notes about how to not be the “almost” guy on I Almost Got Away With It. It’s pathetic how these channels can be known as entertainment.
Welcome to the United States of Political Correctness!
“TNT still airing THE DARK KNIGHT” sounds almost accusatory. Surely, you’re not advocating pulling this brilliant film from syndication because some angry nut with a mad-on at the world targeted a Batman movie?
Last night, FX ran BATMAN BEGINS and TNT ran TDK. Both great movies about a tormented hero with a code against killing who has to decide how to stop murderous maniacs. Pulling these movies would almost help the Colorado maniac build his defense.
What angers me is I went too a Midnight show Thursday night for Batman in Southern California. The crowd was pure bliss: I saw happy kids and lovable nerds in Batman, Catwoman, Barbara Gordon as Oracle, Scarecrow & Bane costumes. All these people will now no longer be able to do that for fear some nut will kill them. Now you want the movies they watch to be pulled? where’s the justice in that, Nikki?
let’s also pull all books and magazines containing any violent subject matter! Another ridiculous step in the wrong direction.