Park the PR Machine

Clearly everyone is outraged about the rampage at the DARK KNIGHT RISES showing in Colorado. The details have been widely reported. So I’ll get to my point: Warner Bros. should pull all marketing campaigns and PR tours today. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to see a commercial for this movie. And I sure as heck don’t want to see Christian Bale on David Letterman doing a guest spot. In the movie's defense, I've seen neither. It sucks for Warner Bros and everyone who worked hard on the movie that this had to happen like this.

I will not go as far as saying the studio should pull the movie, put it straight to DVD. But I’d be the first to applaud if they did. The movie itself will make hundreds of millions, and people worked long and hard on the 250-million dollar final product. But, wow, to pull it would be sending the message that the scope of this event is more important than the almighty dollar, even 250 million of them. It's a really bad break and a really big tragedy.

I will admit I am not a BATMAN/DARK KNIGHT movie fan. I don’t think it’s been good since Nicholson asked, “Ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?” and I thought the Heath Ledger version was overrated, posthumous release or not. But a lot of people have been excited about the movie. And I don’t think the movie played a symbolic role in the murder spree. The crazy motive on this Holmes kid cuts far deeper than that. Sidebar: Aren’t BATMAN movies always so dark? Well, never darker than this. Speaking of that: Perhaps it's time to stop the midnight first-showings altogether.

Warner Bros would be within its rights to market this movie, but they'd also be wrong to do so. So far, the studio response has been right on. Will that last? This murder spree is Columbine big, it’s Virginia Tech big, it’s BIGGER than Penn State, and they took down statues at Happy Valley. They might end football at Happy Valley. Warner Bros.: Park the PR machine. There's no other choice.

Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/9417057/Batman-shooting-survivor-recounts-how-he-escaped-killing-spree.html

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/police-colo-suspect-planned-massacre-months-033025968.html

Read more: http://www.democraticunderground.com/101742847

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/20/dark-knight-movie-shooting_n_1690868.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

Brian Huba
7/22/12