Warner Bros bans press from 'Joker' red carpet Hollywood premiere
Warner Bros announced that no broadcast or print reporters will be allowed to interview actors during "Joker’s" red carpet Saturday night amidst the alert of possible threats targeting the film's Oct. 4 release, Variety reported on Friday.
While members of the press will still be invited to the premiere at the TLC Chinese Theater in Hollywood, only photographers will have access to the red carpet, according to Deadline.
“A lot has been said about 'Joker,' and we just feel it’s time for people to see the film,” a studio spokesperson said of the movie’s premiere.
The Los Angles Police Department has said that although there are no credible threats at the moment, they will still be an extremely visible presence at movie theaters on opening night. Meanwhile, Regal, Landmark and AMC theaters have publicized their safety precautions in an effort to alleviate moviegoers anxiety about a possible attack.
Film industry sources told Deadline that the FBI and Homeland Security have also yet to find a credible threat over the film’s Oct. 4 release.
However, a Stars & Stripes report from earlier this week revealed that an Army Criminal Investigation Command memo was issued regarding the film’s upcoming theatrical release, after a Texas law enforcement agency and the FBI uncovered “disturbing and very specific chatter in the dark web” over a possible mass shooting at an unspecified theater.
The concerns for "Joker" stem from James Holmes infamously killing 12 people and injuring another 70 after storming an Aurora, Colorado movie theater during a midnight screening of another Batman movie, "The Dark Knight Rises," in July 2012.
Survivors of that tragic mass shooting penned a letter to Warner Bros this week in a plea to have the studio not show "Joker" in the same theater where the incident took place in Aurora, Co. seven years ago.
Joaquin Phoenix plays the titular character in “Joker,” Todd Phillips’ sinister, R-rated film about the origin of the Batman villain.
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