Post by david g. on Nov 12, 2005 17:50:20 GMT -5
Pittsburgh Man Killed at Fiddy Flick
Fri Nov 11, 7:23 PM ET
One Pittsburgh-area movie house has said get lost to 50 Cent's Get Rich or Die Tryin' after a fatal shooting.
The Loews Cineplex in West Homestead yanked the rapper's controversial semi-autobiographical flick on Thursday, a day after a 30-year-old man was gunned down near a concession stand.
The man, Shelton Flowers, had come to the multiplex just east of Pittsburgh for the opening night of Fiddy's film debut.
Police say Flowers got into an argument with others inside the bathroom around 11 p.m. The altercation spilled out into the concession area. Gunshots erupted and Flowers was struck twice.
He was taken to an area hospital, but doctors were unable to save him.
Local media reports say up to four people were involved in the fight, but police haven't announced any suspects.
Loews' vice president of marketing, John McCauley, told the Associated Press that the theater chain was still trying to determine to what extent Get Rich may have been factor in the shooting.
"We're unclear whether there is a direct connection," he said.
For his part, 50 Cent was more certain that his movie didn't have anything to do with the shooting. "I feel for the victim's family in this situation," the rapper, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, said on ABC's The View on Friday. "But you know, these weren't kids. This was a 30-year-old man [who] had a dispute with three other guys."
Paramount chose to open the film on a Wednesday in part because of some theater-owners' fears of an overcrowded and violent Friday night opening, according to the Wall Street Journal. The studio also agreed to pick up the tab for additional security at some theaters.
Security was extremely tight at the "In Da Club" rapper's Hollywood premiere last week--with Los Angeles police taking up posts on the rooftops of buildings near the famed Chinese Theater.
Controversy has dogged the film for several weeks. Community activists in Los Angeles and Philadelphia successfully petitioned to have billboards touting the movie removed from gang-ridden neighborhoods. There have been similar protests in Fiddy's hometown of New York City, but no signs have come down there yet.
The controversy hasn't translated into blockbuster box office, though. Get Rich, which fictionalizes Fiddy's rise from Queens crack peddler to hip-hop mega-star, only managed to take in $3.6 million on approximately 1,500 screens nationwide on its first day out, per BoxOfficeMojo.com. Still, Variety is predicting a second-place finish for Get Rich this weekend, estimating a modest haul in the "mid- to high teens."
Meanwhile, the film's soundtrack, which dropped Tuesday, is expected to top the album charts next week.
And on Nov. 22, Vivendi Universal Games is set to release the 50 Cent videogame Bulletproof, which will feature three new tracks and over eight hours of music from 50 Cent and other G-Unit members.
SOURCE E! Online
Fri Nov 11, 7:23 PM ET
One Pittsburgh-area movie house has said get lost to 50 Cent's Get Rich or Die Tryin' after a fatal shooting.
The Loews Cineplex in West Homestead yanked the rapper's controversial semi-autobiographical flick on Thursday, a day after a 30-year-old man was gunned down near a concession stand.
The man, Shelton Flowers, had come to the multiplex just east of Pittsburgh for the opening night of Fiddy's film debut.
Police say Flowers got into an argument with others inside the bathroom around 11 p.m. The altercation spilled out into the concession area. Gunshots erupted and Flowers was struck twice.
He was taken to an area hospital, but doctors were unable to save him.
Local media reports say up to four people were involved in the fight, but police haven't announced any suspects.
Loews' vice president of marketing, John McCauley, told the Associated Press that the theater chain was still trying to determine to what extent Get Rich may have been factor in the shooting.
"We're unclear whether there is a direct connection," he said.
For his part, 50 Cent was more certain that his movie didn't have anything to do with the shooting. "I feel for the victim's family in this situation," the rapper, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, said on ABC's The View on Friday. "But you know, these weren't kids. This was a 30-year-old man [who] had a dispute with three other guys."
Paramount chose to open the film on a Wednesday in part because of some theater-owners' fears of an overcrowded and violent Friday night opening, according to the Wall Street Journal. The studio also agreed to pick up the tab for additional security at some theaters.
Security was extremely tight at the "In Da Club" rapper's Hollywood premiere last week--with Los Angeles police taking up posts on the rooftops of buildings near the famed Chinese Theater.
Controversy has dogged the film for several weeks. Community activists in Los Angeles and Philadelphia successfully petitioned to have billboards touting the movie removed from gang-ridden neighborhoods. There have been similar protests in Fiddy's hometown of New York City, but no signs have come down there yet.
The controversy hasn't translated into blockbuster box office, though. Get Rich, which fictionalizes Fiddy's rise from Queens crack peddler to hip-hop mega-star, only managed to take in $3.6 million on approximately 1,500 screens nationwide on its first day out, per BoxOfficeMojo.com. Still, Variety is predicting a second-place finish for Get Rich this weekend, estimating a modest haul in the "mid- to high teens."
Meanwhile, the film's soundtrack, which dropped Tuesday, is expected to top the album charts next week.
And on Nov. 22, Vivendi Universal Games is set to release the 50 Cent videogame Bulletproof, which will feature three new tracks and over eight hours of music from 50 Cent and other G-Unit members.
SOURCE E! Online