Studios mull options as reality intrudes on pix plotlines
September 12th, 2001
By Dana Harris
HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - For a couple of high-profile Hollywood pictures, plotlines may now be too horribly close to the reality of Tuesday's tragic events in New York and Washington.
Warner Bros.' ``Collateral Damage'' may in fact become just that in the wake of the worst terrorist attack ever on American soil. Studio execs planned to meet Wednesday to discuss the now-problematic release of the terrorist-themed thriller.
Set for an Oct. 5 launch, the picture stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as a man whose family is killed in front of him when a downtown skyscraper is hit by a massive bomb blast. The picture's title refers to innocent people who lose their lives as the result of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
And director Barry Sonnenfeld's comedy ``Big Trouble,'' starring Tim Allen and Rene Russo, has been summarily pushed back from its Sept. 21 release. The Disney picture centers around a mysterious suitcase, which turns out to be a bomb that ends up on a plane. The studio has also canceled this weekend's press junket for ``Big Trouble.''
Meanwhile, production on other, less-problematic pictures was also temporarily halted.
The Sonnenfeld-helmed ``Men in Black 2,'' which is set and was partially shot in New York, was scheduled to continue shooting on Sony's soundstages in Culver City Tuesday. That production too has been suspended.
read more
HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - For a couple of high-profile Hollywood pictures, plotlines may now be too horribly close to the reality of Tuesday's tragic events in New York and Washington.
Warner Bros.' ``Collateral Damage'' may in fact become just that in the wake of the worst terrorist attack ever on American soil. Studio execs planned to meet Wednesday to discuss the now-problematic release of the terrorist-themed thriller.
Set for an Oct. 5 launch, the picture stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as a man whose family is killed in front of him when a downtown skyscraper is hit by a massive bomb blast. The picture's title refers to innocent people who lose their lives as the result of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
And director Barry Sonnenfeld's comedy ``Big Trouble,'' starring Tim Allen and Rene Russo, has been summarily pushed back from its Sept. 21 release. The Disney picture centers around a mysterious suitcase, which turns out to be a bomb that ends up on a plane. The studio has also canceled this weekend's press junket for ``Big Trouble.''
Meanwhile, production on other, less-problematic pictures was also temporarily halted.
The Sonnenfeld-helmed ``Men in Black 2,'' which is set and was partially shot in New York, was scheduled to continue shooting on Sony's soundstages in Culver City Tuesday. That production too has been suspended.
read more
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