Theater Pulls Movie Linked to Rampage

Mann Theaters has pulled the controversial film “New Jack City” from its Westwood theater after a melee at the movie’s premiere Friday night in which hundreds of youths went on a rampage through the streets of Westwood Village, smashing windows, looting stores and vandalizing cars.

The announcement of the film’s cancellation in Westwood was made Monday at the same time the theater chain was being blamed by City Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky for failing to take sufficient precautions to prevent the disturbance.

The councilman said that after a similar August melee following the premiere of Spike Lee’s “Mo’ Better Blues” the theater promised to inform police about future movie premieres that it expected to draw large crowds.

Had it done so, Yaroslavsky said, “the incident could have been avoided. . . . We feel that proper communication between the city, the movie theater and the police could have averted what happened last Friday night.”

Yaroslavsky and Los Angeles police officials met with representatives from the Mann Theater chain to discuss ways to prevent a repeat of Friday night’s rampage.

At the meeting, Yaroslavsky said he asked Mann to reimburse the city for the cost of the more than 150 officers called out to quiet the disturbance, involving 800 to 1,500 people.

Deputy Chief Glenn Levant of the Police Department’s West Bureau said 21 businesses were damaged during the melee, including 16 stores that reported smashed windows. There were no firm estimates on the cost of the damage.

In addition, the councilman also asked the movie theater to hold future premieres on weeknights and to warn police of upcoming films expected to draw large crowds.

After the Yaroslavksy press conference, Mann Theaters officials could not be reached for comment. But earlier, Mann spokesman Bill Hertz confirmed the chain’s decision not to show the movie in its Mann Westwood complex where it played only on Friday night in one of its four theaters.

Nine people were arrested Friday night, including four minors. Police identified two adults arrested as Bryan Proby, 19, of Compton and William Campbell, 20, of Los Angeles.

A statement issued by director Mario Van Peebles and producers George Jackson and Doug McHenry said that “our movie was intended to make a strong statement against drugs and the violence drugs are causing in cities across America, especially in African-American communities. As African-American filmmakers we have an acute and deep sensitivity to the drug epidemic.”

The movie depicts the violent rise and fall of a Harlem drug lord.

The Westwood melee was one of three incidents of violence at the opening of “New Jack City” at more than 800 theaters across the country. But there were no incidents of violence reported at several local movie houses showing the film.

At the Baldwin Theater on La Brea Avenue, senior vice president Nelson Bennett said “New Jack City” played in that complex’s 500-seat auditorium to sold-out business Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.

“After what we saw on Friday night in Westwood, we took necessary precautions and added extra security,” Bennett said. “We had upset people (when the theater sold out), but it did not escalate into any problem here.”

Greg Rutkowski, vice president of west operations for AMC Theaters, said his company experienced “no problems whatsoever” at theaters in Century City, Santa Monica, Burbank and the City of Industry, where the film is playing.

“The timing of the release was very unfortunate,” Rutkowski said, coming as it did “on top of the police beating that came to light last week.”

The movie made $7 million in ticket sales over the weekend, making it the second-highest grossing picture, behind “Silence of the Lambs.”