In Jefferson City, Missouri, Capital 8 Theaters manager Bob Wilkins had one of the dumbest ideas ever for a publicity stunt. Wilkins hired cosplayers dressed as Iron Man and armed (!) S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to storm a screening of Iron Man 3. Wilkins told ABC 17 News that the stunt was planned for months, and that his job is to entertain theatergoers and make sure they’re safe. For some reason the theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado never crossed his mind.
Though Wilkins initially defended his incredibly stupid idea, a half-assed apology was posted last week on the Facebook page for Capital 8 Theaters, which read:
We apologize and are sympathetic to those who felt they were in harm’s way with our character promotion for Iron Man 3. This was not a publicity stunt. We have worked with the Cosplacon group on many movies to dress up and help entertain our customers. We have had many complaints about the members dressed specifically as S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives carrying fake guns. We didn’t clearly tell our customers and some people didn’t realize it was for entertainment purposes only. We apologize that police were called to come out to our theater. We have a wonderful working relationship with the Jefferson City Police Department. Going forward we will take the necessary steps to make sure this doesn’t happen again. Security and safety for our customers is our number one priority.
Are you not entertained?!
[ABC 17 and Capital 8 Theaters on Facebook via Gawker and The Beat]
