Tragedies often affect films with untimely footage and/or marketing. Usually it’s something like 9/11, a space shuttle disaster or a sniper on the loose that causes Hollywood to show its sensitivity by delaying film releases and pulling trailers from theaters. I can’t recall a situation when the death of an individual influenced an upcoming movie’s ads or content. Last night, though, out of respect to Michael Jackson, the makers of Bruno cut a scene featuring MJ’s sister, LaToya Jackson.
I haven’t seen the film so I can’t say how the scene played out, but it is odd how PC the filmmakers are being considering the intentionally offensive tone and focus of their mockumentary. Does it even have that much connection to MJ to be viewed as being in poor taste? And anyway, won’t most of the audience for this film be over MJ’s death enough in two weeks, when the movie opens in theaters?
Check out what the film blogs are saying about the cut after the jump:
I am one of the biggest supporters of digital 3D, but I just can’t get behind Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D. It appears to be the most exploitive of the technology as little more than a gimmick and attraction. Every bit of computer generated imagery looks tailor made to look neat in three-dimensions. And then the story was probably constructed around those shots. Hell, even that non-CGI shot of Brendan Fraser spitting into the sink seems to exist only so that the spit will appear to fly at you. This isn’t a movie; it’s an amusement park-appropriate spectacle — like Captain EO.
Directed by Oscar-winning ILM effects master Eric Brevig (Total Recall) and based on the classic Jules Verne story, Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D is obviously about a journey to the center of the earth, in 3D. It also apparently features dinosaurs, phosphorescent hummingbirds, giant man-eating fly-trap-type plants and a really, really long fall that reminds me of Fraser’s role in the underrated Joe Dante comedy Looney Tunes: Back in Action. Those things alone at least make the movie sound better than The Core. Of course, that isn’t saying much. …Read more
Maybe I read too much Curbed, but it seems we’ve been having a lot of construction accidents in New York City lately (actually, the Daily News has also taken notice). So, while watching the new teaser trailer for M. Night Shyamalan’s The Happening, I couldn’t help but think about last Wednesday’s tragedy in Brooklyn involving a man falling 13 stories to his death. The trailer, which features construction workers throwing themselves off a site due to some strange “happening” that causes people to suddenly commit suicide, may hit too close to home for other people, too. A few blogs and forums have noted the similarity to the images of airborne jumpers/fallers from the World Trade Center on 9/11 (this wouldn’t be the first time Shyamalan made a 9/11 metaphor).
Now, I’m not the kind of guy to normally get sensitive about trailers unintentionally evoking tragedy (I thought it was unnecessary for trailers for The Coreto be pulled following the Columbia disaster, but I guess I’m heartless). But this one hit me differently. Maybe it’s because these accidents are more of an ongoing/continuing problem, and certainly I’m also letting my bias against most NYC real estate developers get me heated up. However, I don’t think the trailer should be pulled — no, I’d rather it be seen by enough locals who might also relate the imagery to the tragedies.
We’ve had a bit of trouble getting this episode to go through the iTunes feed, so we hope this re-post will fix the problem. The original post, with episode description and embedded player, is here.
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Tragedies often affect films with untimely footage and/or marketing. Usually it’s something like 9/11, a space shuttle disaster or a sniper on the loose that causes Hollywood to show its sensitivity by delaying film releases and pulling trailers from theaters. I can’t recall a situation when the death of an individual influenced an upcoming movie’s ads or content. Last night, though, out of respect to Michael Jackson, the makers of 
