Arnie's new flick causes ripples
2002-02-07 17:23
New York - Fire and police union officials are worried that former mayor Rudolph Giuliani's planned appearance at a
screening of Arnold Schwarzenegger's new movie might appear to link a September 11 charity to the film.
"It saddens us any time a tragedy is used to promote anything
like a movie," said Peter Gorman, president of the Uniformed Fire
Officers Association.
In Collateral Damage, which opens in the United States on Friday, Schwarzenegger plays a Los Angeles firefighter who seeks vengeance against Colombian terrorists who killed his family. The movie had been scheduled for release in October, but Warner Bros postponed it after the terrorist attacks.
Patrick Lynch, president of the Patrolmen's Benevolent
Association, said that while the police union had nothing against
Schwarzenegger or the movie, "we consider it exploitative and in
bad taste to promote the film by associating it with the tragedy of September 11."
Giuliani spokeswoman Sunny Mindel responded that Schwarzenegger, who donated $1 million (about R11.5 million) to the Twin Towers Fund and is a member of its board, has visited firehouses and police precincts, spent time with victims' families and helped raise money in Los Angeles for the fund.
Mindel said the former mayor would "publicly acknowledge and
thank Arnold Schwarzenegger for his unwavering support in the
aftermath of September 11."
Invited simply as guests
She said 65 tickets to Wednesday's screening had been given to
the Twin Towers Fund, which Giuliani established when he was mayor, for the families of firefighters, police and rescue workers lost at the World Trade Centre.
Warner Bros issued a statement on Wednesday saying that Giuliani and the fund's staff were invited to the screening simply as guests.
Concerns already were raised at the weekend by immigration and Colombian activists about the film's Colombian characters.
The Rev Brian Jordan, a Franciscan priest and immigration activist: "There is a small percentage of people in Colombia involved in terrorism and drug activities."
Appearing on NBC's Today programme, Schwarzenegger
said: "The bottom line is, you never can throw everyone in the same pot. This is a story about what America is doing to Colombia, and what Colombians, a few Colombian terrorists, are doing to America and what damage it causes." - Sapa-AP
- SAPA