Well, it didn’t take Warner Bros. long to finally make a decision on “Gangster Squad.” After the tragedy that occurred in Aurora, Colorado — which happened a week ago tonight — Warner Bros. went into crisis mode figuring out how to handle the Ruben Fleischer-directed film, which in its climax features a scene of gangsters shooting through a movie screen at the audience. After first
Yesterday evening, the studio formally announced their plans to delay the film to January 11, 2013 to allow enough time for rewrites and reshoots to restructure the ending of the period gangster film. We can’t say we’re surprised by the decision — the writing has been on the wall since the beginning of this week — but we are disappointed that they would make such a drastic change to the picture. We think audiences are mature enough to handle the sequence — especially since it will now be arriving six months after the events in Aurora — and there's something to be said about not letting the man accused of the slayings have any more influence in this world.
Either way, the film’s only competition on its new weekend is the Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton-starring fairy-tale-reimagining “Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters,” which everyone seems to have forgotten exists (it was originally slated to open this spring). Presumably, this takes the movie out of the awards race (though it seemed like a Golden Globes contender at best) but perhaps if they lock the new pic in time, some kind of For Your Consideration screenings will be put together before the end of the year. [Variety]
