In wake of shooting, Warner Bros. pulls ‘Gangster Squad’ trailer
Among the many challenges facing Warner Bros. in the aftermath of Friday’s deadly shooting at a Colorado screening of “The Dark Knight Rises” is what to do about a key scene -- involving a bloodbath at a movie theater -- in its next big film, “Gangster Squad.”
The noir film starring Sean Penn, Emma Stone, Josh Brolin and Ryan Gosling centers on the Los Angeles Police Department’s secret 1940s anti-mob gangster squad.
One of the film’s signature scenes is set at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood, when mobsters go backstage and open fire through the screen at the audience. Automatic gunfire rips through the screen as horrified filmgoers rush for the exits and the cops try to stop the mayhem. (You can glimpse the scene in the trailer above, starting at the 2:03 mark).
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The movie is set for release Sept. 7, and trailers for the film including snippets of the scene have already been playing.
A source close to Warner Bros.who was not authorized to speak publicly said the studio has pulled its trailers for “Gangster Squad” from all theaters. The source said that the trailer had not played before the screening of “The Dark Knight Rises” in Aurora, Colo., where the shooting happened.
Whether the studio will take any steps to remove or shorten the scene from the film itself remains to be seen.
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