MOVIES - Sept. 16, 1988

And speaking of controversy, “Tougher Than Leather”--the film made by and featuring the rap group Run-D.M.C.--opens today in six Eastern cities, but not in any New York theater after police told theater officials extra security guards would be needed. As a result, the film (which also stars the Beastie Boys) was pulled from New York’s Levittown Twin cinema in the wake of a fatal stabbing at a rap concert in the nearby Nassau Coliseum. Mitchell Goldman, senior vice president of distribution for New Line Cinema, the film’s distributor, called police involvement “unfair” and said the film would incite no more violence than any cop film or “inner city action picture.” Theater officials said they pulled the film rather than hire guards and risk damage to the theater.