Production House Yanks Torture Flick Ads
Oct. 27 2008, Published 7:07 a.m. ET
CAPTIVATING! Pulled poster
Captivity, the latest film to titillate moviegoers with explicit images of torture, suffering, and dismemberment, is sure to, um, captivate blood-thirsty audiences worldwide. But its marketing campaign is getting off to a choppy start.
After Dark Films, the indie production house behind the thriller, has agreed to remove billboards and taxi-top ads for the film after multiple complaints about their graphic content. (The ads show star Elisha Cuthbert enduring various torments.)
After Dark CEO Courtney Solomon tells the Hollywood Reporter that a mix-up resulted in the wrong files being sent to the printer, adding that Lions Gate, which is distributing the movie, never had a chance to review the ads. Although a Lions Gate spokesman says the company's deal with After Dark gives the latter full control over marketing materials, a source familiar with the arrangement says After Dark had promised to show the final ads to Lions Gate prior to going public with them. That never happened.