New York Movie Theater Pulls Trailer for United 93 After Audience Complaints  4/2/06

NEWSWEEK: New York Movie Theater Pulls Trailer for 'United 93' After Audience Complaints

'One Lady Was Crying,' Says Theater Manager, 'She Was Saying ... That This Was Wrong ... I Don't Think Many People Are Ready For This'

NEW YORK, April 2 /PRNewswire/ -- The AMC Loews theater on Manhattan's Upper West Side took the rare step of pulling the trailer for the upcoming film "United 93," about 9/11, from its screens after several complaints, report Senior Writer Sean Smith and Reporter Jac Chebatoris in the April 10 issue of Newsweek (on newsstands Monday, April 3). "One lady was crying," says one of the theater's managers, Kevin Adjodha. "She was saying that we shouldn't have [played the trailer]. That this was wrong ... I don't think people are ready for this.

Viewers in other cities are reacting as well. When the trailer played before "Inside Man" last week at the famed Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, audience members began calling out "Too soon!" And audiences generally seem to be split on the issue. "I don't think that's a movie I really want to see," says Jackie Alvarez, 73, of San Ramon, Calif., after seeing the trailer. "It gave me the creeps. It's way too soon." But 17-year- old Antoine Richardson of Memphis, Tenn., is looking forward to it. "I don't think it's exploitative or too soon," he says. "It helps us remember."

Carole O'Hare, whose 79-year-old mother, Hilda Marcin, died on the flight, says she feels the criticism that Universal -- the studio -- is exploiting a national tragedy, is unfair. "This story has to be told to honor the passengers and crew for what they did," she says. "But more than that, it raises awareness. Our ports aren't secure. Our airlines still aren't secure, and this is what happens when you're not secure. That's the message I want people to hear."

Writer-director Paul Greengrass has gone to great lengths to be respectful in his depiction of what occurred, proceeding with the film only after securing the approval of every victim's family. "Was I surprised at the unanimity? Yes. Very. Usually there are one or two families who are more reluctant," Greengrass writes in an email. "I was surprised an humbled at the extraordinary way the United 93 families have welcomed us into their lives and shared their experiences with us."

(Read entire story at www.Newsweek.com.)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12112802/site/newsweek/ 

SOURCE Newsweek

-0- 04/02/2006