There’s an action movie called Royal Kill that I’ve gotten several emails about over the past month. The film, based on a true story and starring Eric Roberts and Pat Morita, wasn’t being handled by either Allied Advertising or Terry Hines & Associates, the two marketing companies that pretty much promote every movie that doesn’t go straight to DVD.
It’s opening this Friday “at AMC theaters in Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Los Angeles.” As of today, it’s getting a whopping one screen in this area, at Hoffman Center 22. So things weren’t looking too good for director Babar Ahmed‘s long-shelved second feature.
Then this afternoon I get an email containing a press release titled, “Violent incident at ROYAL KILL press conference in Irvine, Ca.” Here it is, after the jump:
Los Angeles, CA – April 8, 2009 – A violent incident at the press conference for ROYAL KILL yesterday night disturbed guests and raised questions about the impact of the film’s story on current political issues. At the jam packed press conference in Irvine, California, an unknown supporter of the Nepalese royal family attacked an expert on Nepalese history, criticizing the film’s political view point. The attacker caused mayhem at the press conference and sped away in a white convertible sports car in plain view of the shocked attendees. Director Babar Ahmed: “The political issues in Nepal need velvet gloves to be solved. As a film maker, it is my duty to point out problems occurring in the world. It is important to exchange points of view. We should however never rely on violence as a solution.”
Details of the incident were posted by a member of the audience on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4io6IbctEhY
When I tried to watch the video, YouTube made me create an account. And even after I did so, the link went to nowhere. I can’t find any information about this alleged incident, and the whole thing sounds like a desperate, distasteful plea for attention.
If anyone is more successful viewing this press conference gone wild and can supply a working link — or any evidence that this isn’t just a hoax — let me know.