Universal Will Not Pull 'United 93' Trailer, Despite Criticism [View All]

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

LOS ANGELES, April 3 — Universal Studios said on Monday that it would stick with plans to show an adrenaline-pumping trailer for "United 93," its forthcoming thriller about the passenger revolt on one of the planes hijacked on 9/11, despite qualms from some moviegoers and families of 9/11 victims.

Adam Fogelson, Universal's president of marketing, said the trailer, which was pulled from AMC Loews Lincoln Square 12 Theater in Manhattan on Saturday after complaints from patrons, would be shown only before R-rated movies or "grown-up" PG-13 ones. He said the trailer was created to give a candid sense of the film itself, which opens at the end of the month


"The film is not sanitized or softened, it's an honest and real look" at the events on United Airlines Flight 93, Mr. Fogelson said. "If I sanitized the trailer beyond what's there, am I suggesting that the experience will be less real than what the movie itself is? We as a company feel comfortable that it is a responsible and fair way to show what's coming."

The studio's challenge — how to promote a film about the tragedy without seeming to exploit it — is likely to surface repeatedly in coming months, as a cluster of movies that touch on the events of 9/11 begins to surface.

MKJ