Major theaters shun ‘Death of a President’

updated 5:37 p.m. ET Oct. 6, 2006

LOS ANGELES - Two major theater chains say they will not show a controversial new movie that depicts the assassination of President Bush, while the film’s distributor defended it as a thoughtful political thriller.

A third major chain said it was undecided on whether to show “Death of a President.”

The movie is scheduled to open in theaters on Oct. 27 and its backers said they are booking it into many regional venues and art houses, despite being shunned by the large chains.

The fictional film is told like a documentary that tracks the political drama behind an investigation into Bush’s murder in October 2007. It has raised a ruckus because it uses digital technology to depict Bush being gunned down.

Regal Entertainment Group, the No. 1 theater operator with more than 6,300 screens in 40 states, will not show the movie because of its subject matter, Regal spokesman Dick Westerling said.

“We do not feel it is appropriate to portray the future assassination of a president, therefore we do not intend to program this film at any of our theaters,” he said.

Westerling said Regal has received “numerous phone calls and e-mails” supporting the company and even if the film became a hit in other venues, Regal would stand by its decision.

Cinemark USA, which operates roughly 2,500 screens in 34 states, told show business newspaper The Hollywood Reporter it would not screen the film.

A spokeswoman for AMC Entertainment, which runs 5,600 screens, told Reuters her company had yet to make a decision.

The film, which was directed by Britain’s Gabriel Range, made its debut at September’s Toronto International Film Festival to a barrage of media coverage. It won an award from critics and was acquired for U.S. distribution by Newmarket Films.

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It is scheduled to air on British television next week.

Richard Abramowitz, who is consulting with Newmarket on the film’s distribution, said “Death of a President” has been booked into more than 100 venues and he expects that number to rise as he expands his sales effort into other regions.

“In certain cases, there has been a rush to judgment,” Abramowitz said. “The fact is the film is not about what people are suggesting it is about. It is a thoughtful film and a political thriller.”

Typically, a film like “Death of a President” would play mostly in art houses but increasingly the major movie megaplexes such as those run by Regal, Cinemark and AMC have begun screening low-budget and independently made movies.

“Death of a President” is not Newmarket’s first controversial film. In 2004, it released Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ.”

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