Movie News

Shoot 'Em Up knuckle-rapped for Owen ads

Wed 21 Nov 12:20 PM

Clive Owen's recent Shoot 'Em Up film has been criticised by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for its posters.

Billboards depicting Owen with guns in both hands, aimed at the viewer, sparked 55 complaints. Another poster for the same film showed Paul Giamatti holding a gun, beneath the line, "Just another family man making a living."

The ASA, which is holding a conference soon after a sharp rise in complaints about violent imagery in advertising, said the posters could be seen to glamorise violence. It said Owen's expression was aggressive and the ads could not be re-used, even though they had already been cleared by the Film Distributor's Association.

This latest development in the issue of guns and movie advertising might interest rapper 50 Cent who felt he was unfairly targeted over the posters for his film Get Rich Or Die Tryin’.

"Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ comes out and they want to protest because they see a gun in my hand," he said at the time. "But James Bond comes out or Mr. & Mrs. Smith will come out with guns and it’s acceptable."

"You can see any kind of gun there is to see on the covers of films. You can go in Blockbuster and see every gun that was ever made. Let's not start with 50 Cent and stop with 50 Cent," he said. "Let’s do it everywhere else and make it unacceptable period. I would gladly join the rest of entertainment if we get there."