Concerns mount over Schwarzenegger film
US fire and police union officials have expressed concerns that former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani’s appearance at a screening of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s new film might suggest it has links with a September 11 charity.
‘‘It saddens us any time a tragedy is used to promote anything like a movie,’’ said Peter Gorman, president of the Uniformed Fire Officers Association.
In Collateral Damage, which opens in the US tomorrow, Schwarzenegger stars as a Los Angeles fireman who seeks vengeance against Colombian terrorists who killed his family.
The film had been scheduled for release in October, but Warner Bros postponed it after the terrorist attacks on September 11.
Patrick Lynch, president of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, said that while the union had nothing against Schwarzenegger or the film, ‘‘we consider it exploitative and in bad taste to promote the film by associating it with the tragedy of September 11.’’
Giuliani, who watched a screening of the film with former Fire Commissioner Thomas Von Essen, said union criticism is premature.
‘‘Let’s see the movie before criticising it,’’ the former mayor said.
Giuliani said Schwarzenegger personally donated one million dollars (€1.15m) and helped raise an additional €4m for families of rescue workers killed in the terrorist attacks.
Giuliani spokeswoman Sunny Mindel said tickets to the screening had been given to the Twin Towers Fund, which Giuliani established for the families of firefighters, police and rescue workers lost at the World Trade Centre.
Warner Bros said Giuliani and the fund’s staff were invited to the screening simply as guests.
Concerns had already been raised over by immigration and Colombian activists about the film’s Colombian characters.
‘‘There is a small percentage of people in Colombia involved in terrorism and drug activities,’’ said the Reverend Brian Jordan, a Franciscan priest and immigration activist.
But Schwarzenegger said: ‘‘The bottom line is, you never can throw everyone in the same pot. This is a story about what America is doing to Colombia, and what Colombians, a few Colombian terrorists, are doing to America and what damage does it cause.’’
