Hollywood is still reeling from Tuesday’s horrific attacks as studio executives shuffle release dates for upcoming sensitive fare featuring bombs and terrorism. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Collateral Damage and adverts for Spider-Man have been pulled and their futures cast in doubt.
Collateral Damage stars Arnold as a fireman who loses his family when a terrorist blows up a Los Angeles skyscraper. The film was to hit US cinemas on October 5, but its release has been delayed due to the “national tragedy that occurred”, according to a statement from producers Touchstone.
The trailer for 2002’s eagerly-anticipated Spider-Man, in which a helicopter is caught in a giant web between the Twin Towers, has disappeared as well, and Sony executives have recalled the film’s poster, in which the towers are visible in the hero’s eyes. There is no word on whether similar scenes will be dropped from the film. Tim Allen’s forthcoming project Big Trouble – a comedy which centres around a mysterious suitcase and a terrorist plot – has also been delayed.
And in the UK, the John Travolta-Halle Berry cyber-thriller Swordfish has been withdrawn from cinemas. The film features both disastrous explosions and terrorists and was pulled by Warner Brothers. “It’s been done at the distributor’s request and it’s a position that Odeon totally supports,” said a spokesman for Odeon Cinemas.
The tragedy has forced US TV bosses to reconsider the upcoming weeks’ scheduling. ABC, CBS and NBC have been airing news around the clock, commercial free, since Tuesday’s attacks. And though they face a loss of upwards of $35 million in revenue daily, they are expected continue to run nonstop on Thursday.
The autumn TV schedule, featuring heavily hyped new programmes, was to kick off next week. However, the line-up remains unclear at this point. “In light of recent tragic events in our country, NBC has decided to postpone the premieres of the network’s fall primetime programmes… Further developments could alter this plan,” read a statement from network executives. NBC will now debut its new season on September 24. ABC and CBS are still discussing how best to proceed.
Fox network will go ahead with next week’s scheduled debuts of its light-hearted shows, including the popular comedy That ’70s Show. “We might be launching then because everyone’s been looking for light fare,” said a spokesman for the network. Sensitive dramas like The X-Files, however, have been moved.
The WB network was to air the Neve Campbell film The Craft, which features a plane crash, on Wednesday but dropped the movie from its programming. ABC followed suit: George Clooney’s 1997 terrorist thriller The Peacemaker was slated for Saturday, but has since been replaced by the Sandra Bullock romance Hope Floats. Fox had hoped to air Independence Day on Sunday but will go with the Robin Williams comedy Mrs Doubtfire instead.
Tapings of popular late-night chat shows The Tonight Show With Jay Leno and Late Night With Conan O’Brien have been suspended. Major League Baseball game cancellations have most likely pushed the playoffs and the World Series back one week. The Miss America Pageant will air on September 22 as previously scheduled. The beauty contest has never been cancelled in its 80-year history.
No new date has been set for the 53rd Annual Emmys, despite reports suggesting they’ll air on September 23.
Elsewhere in Tinseltown, Disney Land and Universal Studios theme parks reopened on Wednesday as did several other tourist attractions.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
