LG
05-14-2013, 05:39 PM
Missouri theater patrons call 911 after actors hired by theater management show up in tactical gear sporting replica firearms.
Of all the features built into the Iron Man suit, self-awareness somehow didn't make the cut.
Patrons of the Goodrich Capital 8 Theatres in Jefferson City, Mo., discovered this last weekend when management thought it would be a great idea to mark the opening weekend of Disney's (DIS -0.04%) "Iron Man 3" with not only someone in an Iron Man costume, but a team decked out in black tactical gear and carrying fake M-4 rifles and 9-millimeter handguns.
Considering this all took place less than a year after James Holmes allegedly entered a screening of "The Dark Knight Rises" in Aurora, Colo., and proceeded to kill 12 moviegoers and injure 70 others, folks in Jefferson City felt this was kind of a big deal and immediately started calling 911.
As a Missouri ABC television affiliate reported, officers who arrived on the scene thought they were about to take on an actual shooter.
When they discovered that the folks in the black gear toting guns were actors, they stopped just short of outright calling the management fools and noted that, had an off-duty police officer been present, the theater's managers could have gotten some struggling actor with an Airsoft gun killed.
"It's an unfortunate lack of wisdom in this particular judgement that hopefully will never occur again," Jefferson City Police Capt. Doug Shoemaker told ABC 17.
Don't be so sure, captain. Despite a lengthy Facebook apology and a public acknowledgement of the events in Aurora last year, Capital 8 Theaters manager Bob Wilkins still seemed blissfully unaware of why it was all such a big deal. While he acknowledges people were upset, he chose to focus on those who weren't and considered his crew's theatrics just part of the show. Does he regret any of it? "No, my job is to entertain people," Wilkins said.
Actually, some would argue that's the job of Robert Downey Jr., Ben Kingsley, Jon Favreau and Gwyneth Paltrow. Buying the right films, collecting money, keeping kids out of R-rated movies, ensuring the floors aren't sticky, stocking popcorn and soda and making sure customers don't feel as if they're in imminent danger every moment they're in your theater -- that's more the theater manager's purview.
But hey, it's tough to disagree with satisfied customers, right? So tell us, retired Army war veteran and post-traumatic stress disorder sufferer John Morlock, just how awesome was it to see a shock unit storming through the theater and trigger all those memories you never wanted to relive?
"That's just unbelievable," Morlock told ABC 17. "The whole country is talking about gun control because of shootings in theaters and schools."
msn
Of all the features built into the Iron Man suit, self-awareness somehow didn't make the cut.
Patrons of the Goodrich Capital 8 Theatres in Jefferson City, Mo., discovered this last weekend when management thought it would be a great idea to mark the opening weekend of Disney's (DIS -0.04%) "Iron Man 3" with not only someone in an Iron Man costume, but a team decked out in black tactical gear and carrying fake M-4 rifles and 9-millimeter handguns.
Considering this all took place less than a year after James Holmes allegedly entered a screening of "The Dark Knight Rises" in Aurora, Colo., and proceeded to kill 12 moviegoers and injure 70 others, folks in Jefferson City felt this was kind of a big deal and immediately started calling 911.
As a Missouri ABC television affiliate reported, officers who arrived on the scene thought they were about to take on an actual shooter.
When they discovered that the folks in the black gear toting guns were actors, they stopped just short of outright calling the management fools and noted that, had an off-duty police officer been present, the theater's managers could have gotten some struggling actor with an Airsoft gun killed.
"It's an unfortunate lack of wisdom in this particular judgement that hopefully will never occur again," Jefferson City Police Capt. Doug Shoemaker told ABC 17.
Don't be so sure, captain. Despite a lengthy Facebook apology and a public acknowledgement of the events in Aurora last year, Capital 8 Theaters manager Bob Wilkins still seemed blissfully unaware of why it was all such a big deal. While he acknowledges people were upset, he chose to focus on those who weren't and considered his crew's theatrics just part of the show. Does he regret any of it? "No, my job is to entertain people," Wilkins said.
Actually, some would argue that's the job of Robert Downey Jr., Ben Kingsley, Jon Favreau and Gwyneth Paltrow. Buying the right films, collecting money, keeping kids out of R-rated movies, ensuring the floors aren't sticky, stocking popcorn and soda and making sure customers don't feel as if they're in imminent danger every moment they're in your theater -- that's more the theater manager's purview.
But hey, it's tough to disagree with satisfied customers, right? So tell us, retired Army war veteran and post-traumatic stress disorder sufferer John Morlock, just how awesome was it to see a shock unit storming through the theater and trigger all those memories you never wanted to relive?
"That's just unbelievable," Morlock told ABC 17. "The whole country is talking about gun control because of shootings in theaters and schools."
msn