Possibly the most poorly advised publicity stunt ever

[Rican]

Movie theater manager finds way to make Iron Man 3 exciting by having fake gunmen storm the screening

Tasked with finding some way, any way to get people excited for Iron Man 3, the manager of a movie theater in Jefferson City, Missouri, hit upon the idea of having people dressed in full tactical gear and carrying what appeared to be assault weapons storm the screening, thus causing the audience to freak out over what a great time at the movies they were about to have. Also, unfortunately and somehow unexpectedly, over the possibility of this being a deadly theater shooting akin to last year’s tragedy in Aurora, Colorado—a conclusion many jumped to, after their own comic-book movie premiere was similarly interrupted by gun-toting, body armor-clad men. Regrettably, they didn't stop to consider the possibility that maybe those men were supposed to be members of the fictional government agency S.H.I.E.L.D., and not just everyday crazy people out to murder everyone, probably due to the creeping adult cynicism that so erodes our childlike sense of wonder.

Yikes. What the hell was that theater manager thinking?

[Unaffiliated]

Of all the things one could possibly think of...

[Koda, Master Crunchyroller]

Wow......just...............wow.........

That's, wow........

What an idiot. That's the kind of stupid moves that can get someone fired.

[Psy]

This is the part that... just wow.

Among those successfully entertained by Wilkins was retired Army war veteran John Molock, who said Wilkins’ stunt had triggered his PTSD—which we can only surmise stands for “Party Time Superhero Day.” Congratulations to Bob Wilkins for making that happen for him.

What the hell was that guy thinking?

[fuzzywarble, squat cobbler]

That happened here in San Antonio? Wow. I thought we had smarter people than THAT living here.

[stinger]

Wait, were the people there to see the movie not already excited for the movie?

[Mattification]

Good thing none of the customers shot back.

[hotshotalex]

May 10, 2013 15:29:00 GMT -5 fuzzywarble, squat cobbler said:

That happened here in San Antonio? Wow. I thought we had smarter people than THAT living here.

It didn't happen in SA. Read the article.

[Deleted]

This is Homer Simpson levels of idiocy. This can't be real, no one can possibly be this stupid. Can they?

[Bo Rida]

Well that's stupid, however if you imagine it was the wrestling version of The Shield storming the cinema it's a much better story.

[Clash, Never a Meter Maid]

May 10, 2013 16:30:01 GMT -5 @akeem said:

This is Homer Simpson levels of idiocy. This can't be real, no one can possibly be this stupid. Can they?

*fires shotgun into the air* Iron Man! Get your Iron Man right here!

[A Platypus Rave]

May 10, 2013 15:25:18 GMT -5 Psy said:

This is the part that... just wow.

Among those successfully entertained by Wilkins was retired Army war veteran John Molock, who said Wilkins’ stunt had triggered his PTSD—which we can only surmise stands for “Party Time Superhero Day.” Congratulations to Bob Wilkins for making that happen for him.

What the hell was that guy thinking?

... wouldn't going to a movie filled with a lot of explosions be a bad idea if you have PTSD?

[OGJB is Slender]

Full retard.

[Orange]

Seriously, f*** this theater. This is the worst idea one can have after what happened up in Aurora.

Whoever green lit this idea is a moron and should be fired. As was said above, the theater's lucky nobody in there shot back. Dumbasses.

[Wolf Hawkfield no1 NZ poster]

Surely after what happened last year in Colorado you would figure whoever the f***wit was who came up with this would of realized that having fake gunmen storm a movie screening would be a really really really really bad idea.

[Cela]

Could have just rented an Iron Man suit...

[Deleted]

*look at link*

......isn't AVClub.com an Onion site?

[Confused Mark Wahlberg]

I can see one clod coming up with this idea, but to have 6-7 others as well not say 'what're you, stupid?'

[Rican]

May 10, 2013 18:40:38 GMT -5 @knapp said:

*look at link*

......isn't AVClub.com an Onion site?

They're affiliated with The Onion but post real stuff.

Here is the original story from the local report:

www.abc17news.com/news/movie-theater-publicity-stunt-triggers-officers-to-respond-to-active-shooter-situation/-/18421100/20089958/-/66o97fz/-/index.html

[Deleted]

It's Iron Man 3... Was this stunt really necessary to put butts in the seats?