Whew... these people are pissed.
Every once in a while, a new controversy becomes the talk of the town in our beloved genre. I suppose when the majority of our films consist of mass murder, torture, and masked psychopaths – that’s bound to happen. The interesting thing is that these themes are used time and time again. They often make use of actual events, such as the dreaded “based on a true story” taglines would infer. Place your story in a non fictional location where an actual tragedy happens though, and it looks like you have yourself a problem.
The trailer for Shaun Hart’s Del Playa just hit the internet last week, and in about 5 days time, an online petition has gathered around 25,000 signatures to halt the films release. You see, on May 23, 2014 – a shooting spree was committed by Elliot Rodger near the campus of University of California, Santa Barbara. Del Playa is also set in Santa Barbara. Apparently that’s enough for outrage to ensue.
Hart doesn’t deny the fact that Del Playa had some inspiration from those tragic events, but he is adamant that his film stands on its own as a work of fiction. Hart had this to say:
“First and foremost, I would like to publicly apologize to everyone who has been offended in any way by our making of this film,” Hart wrote. “It was never our intent to monopolize on the tragic shootings in Isla Vista that took place last year. While I do admit there is the connection of Santa Barbara, this film is not about Elliot Rodger. The fictional character in the film is not meant to portray anyone in particular. It is meant to portray incidents that take place, not only in Santa Barbara, but across the country on a daily basis. Our intentions were not to make light of such a serious issue, but to engage our audience in an active discussion about bullying and violence.
“As a graduate of UCSB and a former resident of Del Playa, that day was a knife to my heart. For me, the actions of one individual tainted a lot of good memories of an innocent time and brought darkness to a place that should only be home to the hopes and dreams of the young.For all touched by the tragedy at DP, know this: I stand right there with you. And share love and compassion for our fallen Gauchos.”
I’m going to go on record and say that this is ridiculous. Horrible things happen every day in every part of the world. About 50 seconds from where I write this article, a man was shot and killed just a few days ago after attacking moviegoers with a gun and hatchet at a local cinema. That’s awful, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a film in the near future making use of the recent rash of theater shootings as a backdrop.
I suppose the rage stems from the nonfictional setting of Del Playa. Had the film been set in Haddonfield as opposed to Santa Barbara, would there be this outrage? I’m not sure, but I’m not about to let an otherwise promising film be dragged down with this nonsense. Del Playa exudes many of the qualities that we love about this genre – and it looks to be shot really well to boot! I can’t help but think all of this drama will help the film in the long run. But enough babbling – check out the trailer that set the world on fire below:
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