Paramount apologizes for TMNT '9/11' poster faux pas

Much like fellow 80’s toy franchise in the “Transformers” and its recent blockbuster film sequel “Transformers: Age of Extinction”, the pizza-loving, heroes in a half shell heroes known as the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” are coming back to the big screen with a brand new movie that is produced by Michael Bay and Paramount Pictures. However, their return to the spotlight may have encountered its biggest bump yet, and it doesn’t involve any dastardly plot from their nemesis The Shredder either.

 

According to Variety.com, in what is widely considered to be a bad PR move by one of their international offices, the Australian branch of Paramount Pictures tweeted the brand new poster for the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie with a local release date set for September 11—the anniversary of the terrorist attacks on New York City in 2001.

 

While it may seem like an unintentional and harmless coincidence, what didn’t help the case of TMNT was that the poster, depicting Leonardo, Raphael, Michaelangelo, and Donatello jumping out of an exploding high rise building, eerily evoked bad memories of those who remember 9/11 and the bad memories the date represents.

As a result, uproar and controversy from the world followed suit, forcing Paramount to pull the poster. Unfortunately the damage was done, and as soon as the tweet with the date and poster went viral, various news outlets and websites took to the story and reported the bad marketing move by Paramount Australia.

 

With only a few weeks left to hit theaters, this latest development is only the latest snag the newest incarnation of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have encountered this far. The film has been mired with bad publicity thanks to some controversial announcements and decisions, which includes Michael Bay announcing that the turtles were going to hail from an alien race – a stark contrast to the original mutant origins of the characters that have become a popculture staple since the 80’s.  

While fans were very vocal about it at first, Bay and the filmmakers reassured they had the fans interests in mind and that it would still stay true to the spirit of the franchise. Now that trailers and promotional material and merchandise have been released, only time will tell whether this new iteration of the turtles will be welcomed by longtime fans and newcomers when it finally hits theaters.

 

The new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie hits Philippine cinemas on August 13. — TJD, GMA News