Get Rich' pulled after shooting
Pittsburgh-area death prompts chain to drop film from theater
Friday, November 11, 2005; Posted: 8:37 a.m. EST (13:37 GMT)
LOS ANGELES, California (Hollywood Reporter) -- The Loews theater chain pulled rapper 50 Cent's new film "Get Rich or Die Tryin' " from a theater near Pittsburgh after a man was shot to death in the lobby Wednesday night.
Police said Shelton Flowers, 30, of Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, was shot at 11:06 p.m. and died later at an area hospital.
Gerald Barger of the West Homestead Police Department said four people were involved in the shooting but that there were no suspects. Local police plan to increase patrols at the 22-screen Loews Cineplex at the Waterfront from 6 p.m.-2 a.m.
Loews president Travis Reid said the incident occurred while most of the theater's patrons were in their seats in the complex's individual theaters.
It is not clear whether the individuals involved in the shooting had just left the screening of "Get Rich," which had started at 10 p.m., but Reid ackowledged that they had come from that direction.
While Loews will not play the Paramount Pictures release at the Waterfront until the investigation is completed, the New York-based exhibitor will continue showing the movie at its other locations around the country.
"There was a lot of preparation done for this film after Paramount's research told us that it was drawing a primarily young male crowd," Reid said. "We had taken all the precautions possible to limit any possibility of violence, but I'm skeptical that the film itself incited it. I think it was more an issue where the wrong people came into contact with each other."
A Paramount spokesperson could not be reached for comment.
Other exhibitors are watching the situation but will continue to play the movie.
"We are closely monitoring the film and the reactions of patrons in our theaters, but as of today we have no incidents," Greg Dunn, president of the Regal Entertainment Group, the country's leading exhibitor, said Thursday. Regal would not comment on its booking decisions, but sources said the chain had agreed to play the film in just 96 theaters, though Paramount had requested a significantly higher number.
AMC reported that a couple of fistfights had broken out in its theaters showing "Get Rich" but did not consider that unusual. National Amusements reported no incidents across its circuit.
"We regret this tragic incident, but we have to remind our patrons that violence at theaters is extremely rare," said John Fithian, president of the National Association of Theatre Owners. "We've had 1.5 billion people come to the theaters in each of the past three years, and there were only a handful of violent incidents. Though very unfortunate, this type of incident is very rare at the cinema. At this time we don't know if there is any association of this particular incident in connection with the film that was playing. We'll let the police do their investigation."
The R-rated "Get Rich," starring rapper Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, opened Wednesday in 1,652 theaters nationwide.
) maar rap zal altijd blijven bestaan!
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