Gang Movie Pulled After Disruption at Theater

A small disturbance involving reputed gang members during an opening night screening of the film “Colors” at Horton Plaza caused the movie to be yanked from the theater Saturday.

About 20 youths were escorted out of the theater by police Friday night after they became disruptive near the end of the 7:30 showing of the controversial movie about rival Los Angeles street gangs, police spokesman Bill Robinson said. No arrests were made.

After the incident, shopping center management asked the United Artists theater to stop showing the movie, according to a theater employee who asked not to be named. No replacement film has been selected, and the one screen in the seven-theater complex where “Colors” had been showing will remain empty for a week until the next scheduled film arrives, the employee said.

Management personnel at Horton Plaza did not return phone calls Saturday, and security employees declined to comment on the decision to have the movie pulled from the theater.

Robinson said the San Diego Police Department’s street gang unit monitored the activity outside other area theaters showing the movie in anticipation of gang violence, but no confrontations were reported. Security will be beefed up for the rest of the weekend, but no problems are expected, he said.

The movie stars Sean Penn and Robert Duvall as police officers dealing with the rival gangs the Crips and the Bloods.