after a movie glorifying guns and violence, a man was violently shot.
November 11, 2005 7:53 PM   Subscribe

Man shot and killed after viewing of "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" yesterday at Loews theatre in Pittsburgh. "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" is the title of the new movie by rapper 50 cent, who appeared on ABC's "The View" this morning- 50 Cent says he is sorry for the loss of life, but neither he or his movie is responsible. This isn't the first time that this theatre has had trouble; last Christmas a mob of unruly teenagers overran the theatre. Loews has since pulled the movie from its theatres nationwide, and will do so until the investigation is complete, which may be awhile- in the extremely crowded theatre nobody saw the attackers leaving.
posted by ackeber (54 comments total)
 
Also playing: A History of Violence, Doom, and Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang.

I'm just sayin'.
posted by ColdChef at 8:05 PM on November 11, 2005


Chicken Little On Top!
posted by Balisong at 8:08 PM on November 11, 2005


rapper 50 cent, who appeared on ABC's "The View" this morning

Nicely done.
posted by greasy_skillet at 8:21 PM on November 11, 2005


Man, the movie's got wicked street cred now.
posted by fenriq at 8:23 PM on November 11, 2005


First use of the minority tag!
posted by Armitage Shanks at 8:33 PM on November 11, 2005


This was a frequent occurrance in the '90s outside of theaters showing violent, urban-themed films. Menace II Society, Juice, etc. saw similar shootings. I always wondered if these types of shootings was why many of these types of films get released on Wednesdays. For instance, Friday, Next Friday, I got the Hook Up, Players Club, and Higher Learning were all released on non-Holiday Wednesdays. I assumed it was to spread out audiences in hope to eliminate the potential for violence.
posted by my sock puppet account at 8:34 PM on November 11, 2005


I've been to that theater many times; as modern movie theaters go, its relatively posh. It has a great location, so I'm sure they make enough to afford more security.
posted by gsteff at 8:36 PM on November 11, 2005


Word to the wise, don't see this in a suburban theater or you'll be disgusted by all the white 50 Cent wannabes. The urban theater with the gangsters selling demo tapes out of there cars is where you want to be.
posted by geoff. at 8:49 PM on November 11, 2005


sock puppet: These type of movies? Whachyu mean these type of movies?
posted by mullacc at 8:53 PM on November 11, 2005


Race related conversation in 3, 2, 1...
posted by Dean Keaton at 8:55 PM on November 11, 2005


You know, the ones shot in UppityScope.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 8:57 PM on November 11, 2005


50 Cent is a terrible rapper. There, someone finally said it.
posted by eatitlive at 9:07 PM on November 11, 2005


Yeah, haven't you racists heard about all the lightsaber violence perpetrated by sweaty fat white nerds at the Star Wars prequels? There were severed limbs everywhere.. the horror... the horror
posted by keswick at 9:09 PM on November 11, 2005


eatitlive: Yeah, agreed. Also, something about his face just bugs the living shit out of me. Totally iunfair, I know, but...he just has the most smugly punchable face I've ever seen. Hell, I'd probably shoot someone at random if I was forced to watch a few hours of him at cinema-screen size.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 9:14 PM on November 11, 2005


50 Cent had a feeling he should have gone with the original title, Opening Your Conscious Heartspace.
posted by digaman at 9:19 PM on November 11, 2005


I live 10 minutes from this theatre. They carded me for a rated R movie when I was 19. I don't look younger than I am at all. They were just super-over-protective.
posted by ackeber at 9:27 PM on November 11, 2005


Dammit. That's my movie theatre for over-produced spectacles. My suburban relatives are already convinced that I live in a war-zone. This will just fuel their paranoia that I will soon be murdered for going to see Harry Potter past 8:00 inthe evening.
posted by Alison at 9:32 PM on November 11, 2005


It's pretty creepy, I'm in that theater all the time, I was there last week. It is sort of a weird place, they dropped this giant shopping/entertainment center right in the middle of a very depressed little town, Homestead. So half the town is still this dead little depressed mill town and the the other half is this shiny huge retail complex. It's not really shocking that that kind of disparity breeds violence.

Bonus Trivia: this theater is almost exactly on the site of the 1892 Homestead steel strike where Henry Frick called Pinkerton agents to fire on striking steel workers.
posted by octothorpe at 9:32 PM on November 11, 2005


So half the town is still this dead little depressed mill town and the the other half is this shiny huge retail complex.

Welcome to Picksburgh. Mediocre big box stores and mullets.
posted by kcm at 9:34 PM on November 11, 2005


Something similar happened at a nearby theater when New Jack City came out and I seem to recall that the local newspaper was surprised that ticket sales actually went up afterwards.
posted by marc1919 at 9:36 PM on November 11, 2005


So half the town is still this dead little depressed mill town and the the other half is this shiny huge retail complex.

Well, I'd peg it at 75%/25%, which doesn't help the situation.
posted by gsteff at 9:38 PM on November 11, 2005


ack, i live right near there, too. i only end up going there when the squirrel hill theaters aren't playing what i want to see, but goddamn - a shooting at loew's? what?
posted by timory at 9:47 PM on November 11, 2005


Loews has since pulled the movie from its theatres nationwide

seeing as he was shot in the bathroom, maybe they should just pull all the toilets, instead ... makes as much sense
posted by pyramid termite at 9:52 PM on November 11, 2005


Welcome to Picksburgh. Mediocre big box stores and mullets.

Mullets? Excuse me? You are NOT talking about my city!
posted by ackeber at 10:11 PM on November 11, 2005


50 Cent is a terrible rapper. There, someone finally said it.

Hey, anyone with the brilliance to rhyme "birthday" and "birthday" is alright in my book.

I'm joking. He sucks.

Rap is just like pop music. The worst stuf is always the most popular.
posted by delmoi at 10:15 PM on November 11, 2005


How come blacks are always shooting each other?
posted by wfrgms at 10:57 PM on November 11, 2005


Yeah, what are they so angry about, anyway?
posted by jonson at 11:04 PM on November 11, 2005


jonson, I guess I should clarify. I went to see Jesus is Magic tonight but it was sold out. Instead of shooting anyone I decided to buy some gourmet cheese and Yellow Tail Sharaz which was on sale.
posted by wfrgms at 11:32 PM on November 11, 2005


I heard the movies sucks totally.
posted by wsg at 11:42 PM on November 11, 2005


...the movie sucks...
posted by wsg at 12:04 AM on November 12, 2005


Black people sure are whacky.

Whacky. And reactionary. And violent. And predictable. And shallow. And materialistic. And du---Fuck it, I can't even swallow my own tripe.
posted by sourwookie at 12:22 AM on November 12, 2005


Oh wait...Violent? Predictable? Shallow? Materialistic? I meant white people.

Try living in the Ozark Hills. You will learn true evil. Just a hint--it ain't black.
posted by sourwookie at 12:26 AM on November 12, 2005


after a movie glorifying guns and violence, a man was violently shot

As opposed to peacably shot?
posted by Sparx at 12:45 AM on November 12, 2005


Totally shot?
posted by Joeforking at 2:32 AM on November 12, 2005


50 is hardly a trash rapper if you knew what you were talking about.

That said, this whole movie is just another notch in 50 belt. If he and Terrel Owens walked in the same room, their egos and greed would ignite the room in flames.
posted by AMWKE at 2:59 AM on November 12, 2005


However, the rapper said neither he nor his movie are responsible, because the incident was a dispute among adults, not children.

So....if children kill each other, then he is responsible?
posted by Deathalicious at 3:25 AM on November 12, 2005


Isn't he going by 'Curtis "Fifty Cent" Jackson' now?
posted by fixedgear at 3:51 AM on November 12, 2005


It's a tragedy that somebody died because of this movie. I read a review saying the movie was absolute bollocks too (trying to find a witty punchline for here but can't). How impressionable are these idiots though? I mean aren't rappers in the same league as WWF wrestlers? Seriously. I thought it was all MTV anyway. Then you've made it!

From the linked article:

While 50 Cent does not think his movie prompted the shooting at the Waterfront theater, the Destinta Theater in North Versailles isn't taking any chances.

If it walks like a duck...
posted by sjvilla79 at 4:23 AM on November 12, 2005


I didn't know the title applied to the audience too.
posted by klangklangston at 6:33 AM on November 12, 2005


Wasn't this inevitable?
Some idiot has to act up and then we've got to get dragged into the same old "People kill people, not movies. Blah blah no censorship." conversation that we've been having since the early 80s.
Yay.
posted by Jon-o at 7:01 AM on November 12, 2005


Sales of 50 Cent brand Sucking Chest Wound kits are up 20%.
posted by furtive at 7:22 AM on November 12, 2005


This was a frequent occurrance in the '90s outside of theaters showing violent, urban-themed films. Menace II Society, Juice, etc. saw similar shootings

In the 70's too. It happened at The Warriors, IIRC.
posted by jonmc at 7:26 AM on November 12, 2005


I mean aren't rappers in the same league as WWF wrestlers?

Yes, of course. KRS-1 and Jake "The Snake" Roberts may as well trade places for all the difference it would make.
posted by jesourie at 8:10 AM on November 12, 2005


Yes, of course. KRS-1 and Jake "The Snake" Roberts may as well trade places for all the difference it would make.

Sorry, it was just my screwed up way of using metaphor.
posted by sjvilla79 at 8:27 AM on November 12, 2005


50 and the whole G-Unit rapping crew are indeed pretty terrible. It seems to be some sort of record company experiment. They're not even Ed Wood bad; no, theirs is the heinous entertainment crime of blandness and banality. They're the music people think of when they proclaim loudly and repeatedly that "OMG RAP SUCKS".

Nobody's mentioned the gay rumors about 50 yet? The story goes that he has to hide his sexuality because it would supposedly affect his fans' image of him as a hard rollin', shot-9-times (may be up to 10 by now...if not, they are probably planning a shooting for next week to help second week movie sales. If you think that sounds cynical, check into the elaborately manufactured "beef" between 50 and "The Game" earlier this year, when their albums came out) gangsta killa type. There was even an episode of "Jonny Zero" that centered around it (changing Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson to Earnest "Nookie" Jackson)...not that that's proof or anything, but it's interesting. Plus the cat wears more eye makeup than Eddie Izzard.
posted by First Post at 9:38 AM on November 12, 2005


Also playing: A History of Violence, Doom, and Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang.

Seriously. How does the movie even come into play? Were the shooters in that movie? The article doesn't mention it.

There was an argument in the bathroom and then somebody got shot by the video games, afaict.

50 is hardly a trash rapper if you knew what you were talking about.

Yes. He is. Absolutely horrible, and he'll be hardly remembered in five years. Think Mystikal. The industry chews up guys like this for lunch. Use 'em and lose 'em.
posted by mrgrimm at 11:10 AM on November 12, 2005


Nobody's mentioned the gay rumors about 50 yet?

Hadn't heard that yet. Very interesting after his recent comments: "Being gay isn't cool."

I bet his PR flack made him say it. If 50's not gay, he's definitely metrosexual.
posted by mrgrimm at 11:16 AM on November 12, 2005


Were the shooters in that movie? The article doesn't mention it.

Ack. Sorry. I didn't see the second half of the article.

posted by mrgrimm at 11:18 AM on November 12, 2005


After watching that movie, I'd probably shoot myself.
posted by fungible at 11:46 AM on November 12, 2005


50 is hardly a trash rapper if you knew what you were talking about.

Word to your mother! Oh you're being serious....

Really though Vanilla Ice was at least 300 times better than this guy wasn't he?
posted by aqueousdan at 11:52 AM on November 12, 2005


It's weird to imagine. The theater is so big and Disney-fied. I already try to avoid it whenever possible. Doing anything at the waterfront makes me feel a little guilty, somehow.
posted by ludwig_van at 11:55 AM on November 12, 2005


I've got no love for 50 cent. But I've gotta say, he's at least better than Vanilla Ice.
posted by Bugbread at 12:19 PM on November 12, 2005


Also, something about his face just bugs the living shit out of me. Totally unfair, I know, but...he just has the most smugly punchable face I've ever seen.

I thought I was the only one who felt this way! 50 Cent is eminently punchable. His is totally a face that I would punch, were I not certain of grave peril swiftly to befall me (as in the fistic amputation of no fewer than three limbs). I will have to save this for some day when he is old and unable to fight back, and the savory taste of victory has somehow turned to ashes, ashes in my mouth.
posted by jenovus at 4:55 PM on November 12, 2005


Mall theater closes after disturbance (reg. required)

PROVIDENCE -- The movie theater at Providence Place closed early last night, and police officers swarmed the mall after a disturbance involving "upwards of 100 people" broke out in the mall food court, police Lt. Paul Campbell said. The theater's early closure forced cancellation of several late-night movie showings.

About 9:30, "a lot of pushing and shoving" broke out among a large group of teens and young adults in the food court. The group had been on their way to see the movie, Get Rich or Die Tryin', starring the rapper 50 Cent, Campbell said.

He said there were no weapons involved, no serious injuries and the police made no arrests.

Police cruisers surrounded the mall and Francis Street was closed briefly as officers tried to control the hubbub. A police cruiser was involved in a traffic accident, and two officers were taken to a hospital with minor injuries, Campbell said.

Afterward, as rowdy teens gathered in Kennedy Plaza waiting to board Rhode Island Public Transit Authority buses, the police called to ask RIPTA to expedite service.

posted by rafter at 5:04 PM on November 12, 2005


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