Yahoo Movies 
Italian posters for 12 Years A Slave ignore star, go for Pitt
Distributor says the posters are unauthorised and will be recalled.
Posters spotted in Italy for screenings of '12 Years A Slave' which eschew its star Chiwetel Ejiofor in favour of the film's white actors have come under heavy criticism.
Shots of the marketing material have appeared online in which both Brad Pitt and Michael Fassbender are shown as the principle characters, rather than Ejiofor, the film's star.
Ejiofor is relegated to the position below both Pitt – who produced the film but has a minor role – and Fassbender, and is a fraction of the size.
In the film, Ejiofor plays Solomon Northup in the true story of a black man born free in New York in the mid-1800s, but who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in the south.
[Martin Freeman unrecognisable in new Hobbit posters]
A Tumblr blogger called Carefree Black Girl posted the picture, which quickly spread around the web.
“I was at the movies the other day (I live in Italy) and I saw the poster for '12 Years A Slave'. I’ve been following the press for months and I can’t wait to watch it but REALLY?” she wrote.
“I don’t remember Brad Pitt being the protagonist of the film or having such a pivotal role in the story to stay in the middle of the poster.”
[Morgan Freeman mistaken for Mandela on billboard]
“I sure don’t know anything about marketing strategy to appeal audiences but isn’t this going to far?”
Italian distributor BIM is behind the posters, having worked with a marketing company called Fanatical About Film in making up the promotional materials for the region.
But since the furore over the posters, the film's international distributor Lionsgate has promised to have them recalled.
“The ’12 Years A Slave’ theatrical posters featuring Brad Pitt and Michael Fassbender that were recently released in Italy were unauthorized and were not approved by any of the producers or licensors of the film.
“Summit Entertainment, acting as exclusive sales agent for the licensors, is investigating and taking immediate action to stop the distribution of any unauthorized posters and to have those posters currently in the marketplace recalled.”
The film, directed by Steve McQueen has already won a slew of awards.
It's due out in the UK on January 24, and is likely to appear heavily in the Oscar nominations.
