Warner Bros. pulling 'Geostorm' posters from theaters because that's just the right call
"Brave the storm" may be a totally OK tagline for inspirational cards and promotional movie posters most of the time but maybe ... just ... not ... right ... now.
While Florida scrambles ahead of Hurricane Irma to effect what may be the largest evacuation in U.S. history, Warner Bros. is pulling its movie posters for Geostorm, the Oct. 20 weather disaster thriller starring Gerard Butler.
We've confirmed that the studio sent a notice around to exhibitors this week politely asking that they take down their "Brave the Storm"-tagged posters until they can print up something a little less ... topical.
Here's that poster -- or at least some version of it -- which has been around for a little while now:
To be fair, Geostorm appears to be about a man-made weather disaster, or at least a weather disaster brought about by man-made technology meant to prevent weather disasters. It's actually pretty bonkers, somewhere between Gravity, The Day After Tomorrow and 2012:
Of course there's always inherent risk in disaster films coming at a bad time, which happens more often than you might think. The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 postponed or altered several films on the schedule, including Arnold Schwarzenegger's Collateral Damage (featuring a terrorist bombing of a building in Los Angeles) and Big Trouble (a nuclear bomb aboard a commercial aircraft).
Geostorm's Oct. 20 release date -- right at the tail end of hurricane season, maybe not the best idea, but who could've foreseen this? -- doesn't seem to be in jeopardy for now, but we'll see how this one plays out.
Josh Dickey is Mashable's Entertainment Editor, leading Mashable's TV, music, gaming and sports reporters as well as writing movie features and reviews.Josh has been the Film Editor at Variety, Entertainment Editor at The Associated Press and Managing Editor at TheWrap.com.A finalist for the Los Angeles Press Club's Best Entertainment Feature in 2015 for "Everyone is Altered: The Secret Hollywood Procedure that Fooled Us for Years," Josh received his BA in Journalism from The University of Minnesota.In between screenings, he can be found skating longboards, shredding guitar and wandering the streets of his beloved downtown Los Angeles.
