Publicity Stunt Sends Fake Gunmen Into Movie Theater

This "Publicity Stunt" for the premiere of Iron Man 3 is just plain stupid. The theater manager should be thankful his idiocy didn't get someone hurt.


kdvr.com...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — A man dressed in full tactical gear and carrying a fake gun crept into the lobby of a Missouri movie theater after a late-night premiere of the film “Iron Man 3″ last weekend. The theater’s owner is calling it great entertainment.

Colorado residents aren’t likely to agree with him.

According to KMIZ, Goodrich Capital 8 Theaters manager Bob Wilkins paid an actor to enter the theater wearing the a costume similar to the one donned by the gunman who opened fire on an Aurora movie theater in July 2012, killing 12 and injuring 58 more.

www.cinemablend.com...

Less than a year after an actual gunman murdered actual audience members at a screening of The Dark Knight Rises, the Goodrich Capital 8 Theater manager Bob Wilkins planned a stunt in which a man carrying a fake gun walked into a screening of Iron Man 3. The local ABC report doesn't describe exactly what Wilkins expected to happen, but I bet you can guess what actually did-- several moviegoers called the police to report to what they naturally assumed was a threat on their lives.

www.theindychannel.com...
fox2now.com...

“Everything was in place,” Shoemaker said, comparing the scene to the one that transpired at the late-night premiere of the “The Dark Knight Rises” in Aurora. “It’s the opening night of a superhero movie, it’s somebody walking in all-dark clothes — everything pointed to bad things about to happen. There was really no good that could come of that.”

Had the actor Wilkins hired been engaged by a concerned civilian — something that Shoemaker believes would have been likely had one of his off-duty officers been in attendance — the theater’s stunt could have turned tragic in a hurry, Shoemaker said.

“There is an unfortunate lack of wisdom in this particular judgement,” Shoemaker said. “Hopefully it will never occur again.”

At the very least, this stunt was in poor taste, and disrepectful. As the above quote illustrates, it could have easily ended up with someone getting hurt.

Why does any theater even have to worry about publicity for a movie like that?
This isnt some indie art house flick after all.

The distributor is already spending millions and millions on advertising.

Whoever decided to do this is a straight-up imbecile in more than one way.

reply to post by isyeye


Would a citizen carrying a gun have gotten in trouble shooting this guy? What do you think would have happened to the normal person if this would have happened?

I would imagine the theater owner would be held liable for the shooting for this terribly stupid stunt.....

This was one of the dumbest things an owner of any business could have done!

what a freaking MORON.

this was not only disrespectful for those killed in a similar manor in the recent past, but it was dangerous as all hell. this could have gone bad in so many ways. there could have been a "shoot out", as someone with a gun or even several people rightfully, take action to neutralize the perceived threat. thus killing or injuring the actor and possibly others. it could have caused a panic that ended with people being trampled to death. the actor and others could also have been injured or killed by unarmed people trying to end the threat by taking the actor out.

the "manager" should have been charged with public endangerment for this. he put everyone's life in danger with this ill conceived "publicity stunt". he even stated he would do it again.

just imagine what the outcry would be had some bystander shot the actor. i am sure we would be inundated with stories about "out of control gun owners". and calling for the killer's head. almost makes you wonder if this "manager" is anti-gun and was hoping someone would shoot the actor, to further the anti-gun cause.

What an idiot. I can't believe he is actually standing behind his decision as well. I can say that had someone done that in a theater I was in the outcome would have been a little more grim had they not identified themselves very quickly as being an actor and dropped their fake weapon.

What an idiot actor they hired as well...guess he had no care for his own life either.

reply to post by isyeye


It would have been nice if there was a police officer there and he had killed the two in the heat of the moment.
Even in MANY "gun free zones" officers and retired officers may carry their weapons.
I would have shot em both and then claimed ptsd for the cash!
Oh they ruined my life and I wanna sue everybody down to the popcorn machine manufacturer!!

And nobody thinks this wasn't planned as a test designed to provoke an emotional response?