Can’t Shut Your Mouth During Movies? You Might Get Shot was originally published on City Desk on Dec. 27, 2008, at 1:37 pm
It finally happened.
I’m not a violent person. But my temper usually hovers somewhere between Frank Grimes-frustration and Incredible Hulk-fury when I go to a public screening and people won’t shut up. It distracts me, it affects my mood, and therefore it can’t help but affect my reviews.
And if I’m actually paying to see something off-duty? Forget it. I glare, I shush, I sometimes walk out, knowing I can probably find the movie online. I take great pains to strategize which showing at what theater might be the quietest, and I’m inevitably disappointed. (Hints: Weekday matinees are obviously best, and Landmark at any time is usually pretty safe.)
Thank God I don’t carry a weapon: At a Philadelphia theater on Christmas Day, someone popped a cap in a gabber’s ass. (Well, technically, arm.) I’m not at all shocked that the incident occurred. I’m a little surprised that it happened at a showing of…The Curious Case of Benjamin Button?
According to CNN.com:
James Joseph Cialella, 29, was charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault and weapons violations, a police report said.
Cialella told the family sitting in front of him in the theater on Christmas Day to be quiet, police said.
An argument ensued while others at the Riverview Movie Theatre watched “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
Cialella then approached the family from the left side of the aisle and shot the father, who was not identified, as he was standing between Cialella and his family, according to the police report.
It’s possible Cialella was also angered by the film itself, thinking: “Best Picture contender? What a joke.”
A Curious Case of Schmaltz-Fueled Rage
