Hollywood Scrambles to Sensitize its Fall Slate
In the wake of last week's tragedies, not only have several films depicting terrorism been shelved, but anything even featuring the World Trade Center in the NYC skyline is being examined for possible alteration.
By Michael Chamy, Fri., Sept. 21, 2001
In the wake of last week's tragedies, not only have several films depicting terrorism been shelved, but anything even featuring the World Trade Center in the NYC skyline is being examined for possible alteration. Sony Pictures has shelved the Spider-Man teaser trailer featuring a helicopter stuck between the Twin Towers, as well as a promotional poster depicting a reflection of the Trade Center in Spidey's eyes. Sony also said they would remove images of the Trade Center from the final movie, a decision that was hotly debated on the film's Internet fan site.
The opening of Sidewalks of New York, starring Edward Burns and Heather Graham, has also been pushed back to later this year due to similar landscape sensitivity issues.
Far less controversial were decisions to delay the releases of Collateral Damage, featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Big Trouble, starring Tim Allen and Rene Russo. The former, originally set for an Oct. 5 release, stars Schwarzenegger as a man whose family is killed in front of him when a skyscraper is hit by a bomb. Big Trouble, pushed back from Sept. 21, centers on an airline bomb-threat plot.
The Michael Douglas-Billy Crystal film Till Death Do Us Part is being rewritten due to a terrorist-related subplot involving the Trade Center, and other movies' production schedules have been halted, including Men in Black 2 and War of the Worlds. Trailers and posters for Robert Redford's The Last Castle are being pulled due to a graphic of an upside-down American flag, but the film remains on schedule for Oct. 12. Interestingly, the sequel to 1998's controversial terrorist flick The Siege is proceeding on schedule.
