Cineplex’s Delay on ‘Poetic Justice’ Angers NAACP

A local branch of the NAACP is angry over what officials say is racist behavior by the Cineplex Odeon Corp. for not booking African-American director John Singleton’s “Poetic Justice” in its popular Universal City Cinemas this past weekend.

The decision not to book the new movie at the complex was “not one of race, color or creed of the stars, director or cast,” Allen Karp, president of the Toronto-based theater chain, said Monday. “It was simply an issue of safety. In 1991, we experienced violence at Universal City Cinemas during the opening weekend of the film ‘Boyz N the Hood.’ ”

But that statement was termed “hogwash” by Sandra Evers Manly, president of the Beverly Hills/Hollywood branch of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People. “The insensitivity continues,” she said.

Karp said Cineplex chose not to open the film last Friday because first weekends are typically the time when violence occurs. Instead, the company said it will begin showing “Poetic Justice” on Wednesday at Universal City. It is already playing on more than 150 screens in the Cineplex Odeon chain in the United States and Canada.

Last Friday, Howard Lichtman, a spokesman for Cineplex, was quoted in the trade newspaper Hollywood Reporter as saying: “Our film programmers in L.A. are ensuring that the theater is programmed with an upscale demographic to make sure that CityWalk’s environment is kept safe . . . that there is a family atmosphere.”

CityWalk is Universal City’s latest attraction of trendy shops and restaurants adjacent to the 18-screen movie theater complex, which regularly draws the biggest box-office grosses in the nation.

Manly on Monday described the quote as “racist and totally unwarranted. It leaves me only one conclusion: that as an African-American, I’m not allowed at the Cineplex Odeon in Universal City or the CityWalk, since I’m a part of the demographics that would go see ‘Poetic Justice.’ ”

Manly said her group has received calls from individuals who are concerned about their continued support of Universal City Tours and the Cineplex circuit.

In a Times article Monday, Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan was quoted as saying he did not know if the theater chain was right or wrong. “Let business do (its) thing. If that’s their judgment, that’s their judgment.”

Manly said she found Riordan’s comments “appalling. . . . We can’t just let business do its thing. Often times its ‘thing’ is exclusion, such as in this case surrounding ‘Poetic Justice.’ The next thing we will see are signs saying ‘No Blacks Allowed.’ And based on the mayor’s comment, he would support this.”

Singleton, who received an Oscar nomination for his debut film “Boyz N the Hood” in 1991, declined to comment, said spokeswoman Cassandra Butcher, director of marketing and publicity for his New Deal Production company. She said Singleton’s belief is that “if they don’t want to show the movie, it’s their choice.”

Added Butcher: “So far, it’s their loss.”

“Poetic Justice,” a romantic drama starring Janet Jackson, sold an impressive $11.7-million worth of tickets over the weekend playing at 1,273 theaters and led all other films in box office receipts.

It is the third recent release that was not shown by all the theaters its distributor wanted to book.

New Line Cinema struggled to persuade theaters to shows its urban crime drama “Menace II Society” and the Walt Disney Co. labored to place its gang story “Bound by Honor.”

“The success of both ‘Menace II Society’ and ‘Poetic Justice’ is terrific news for black filmmakers,” said Mitch Goldman, president of New Line’s distribution arm. “But I think there is some sort of censorship going on.”

“It’s a difficult situation--no question about it,” said Dick Cook, who runs Disney’s distribution division. “There were some theaters that felt uneasy about playing ‘Bound by Honor.’ ”

There were no reports of violence at any of the 1,273 theaters showing “Poetic Justice” last weekend, Columbia Pictures said.

When “Boyz N the Hood,” opened, it was greeted by widespread gang-related gunfire. One moviegoer died, at least 33 were wounded and some theaters canceled the film after one day.

At Universal City Cinemas, five people were wounded in or near the complex on opening night, and the theater canceled showings.

Associated Press contributed to this story.