Django Unchained's Hollywood Premiere Canceled in Wake of Newtown Shooting Tragedy
The Hollywood premiere of Quentin Tarantino 's Django Unchained has been canceled out of respect for the victims of Friday's horrific shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.
"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the tragedy in Newtown, CT and in this time of national mourning we have decided to forgo our scheduled event," a rep for The Weinstein Company tells E! News. "However, we will be holding a private screening for the cast and crew and their friends and families."
The red carpet event was to take place at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences in Beverly Hills with an after party at Skybar in West Hollywood.
NYC screening of Tom Cruise's Jack Reacher postponed until next month
Tarantino as well as the film's stars Jamie Foxx, Kerry Washington, Christoph Waltz, Samuel L. Jackson and Don Johnson were originally set to attend, but no word yet if their plans have also changed.
The cancellation comes just two days after Tarantino expressed his doubts that violence in movies have much to do with real-life crimes. "I just think, you know, there's violence in the world, tragedies happen, blame the playmakers," he said Saturday at a Django press junket, per the BBC. "It's a Western. Give me a break."
Foxx, however, see things differently. "We cannot turn our back and say that violence in films or anything that we do doesn't have a sort of influence," the actor said. "It does."
The premieres of Tom Cruise 's Jack Reacher and the new Billy Crystal and Bette Midler comedy, Parental Guidance, were also cancelled because of the Newtown shooting.
