Hollywood Reacts to Connecticut School Shooting Tragedy
Since Friday's horrific shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, it hasn't been business as usual in the entertainment industry.
On Saturday, "Saturday Night Live" eschewed its usual comedic opening to pay tribute to the 20 children and six adults who died in the massacre. The New York City Children's Chorus sang "Silent Night," and while "SNL" didn't explicitly mention what happened in Newtown, the song's refrain, "Sleep in heavenly peace," made the intention of the performance clear.
Meanwhile, Fox pulled Sunday's episodes of "Family Guy" and "American Dad." While they didn't offer an official reason for the change in programming, according to Entertainment Weekly, the episodes that were scheduled to run, "Jesus, Mary and Joseph!" and "Minstrel Krampus," feature content that might be deemed insensitive or inappropriate in light of the shooting. Repeats aired in their place.
Sunday night's episodes of the Showtime dramas "Homeland" and "Dexter" came with a special message urging viewer discretion: "In light of the tragedy that has occurred in Connecticut, the following program contains images that may be disturbing."
RELATED: Tom Cruise Movie Premiere Postponed
The premiere of Tom Cruise's latest movie, "Jack Reacher," was also postponed because of the shooting. The action film was scheduled to make its U.S. debut Saturday in Pittsburgh. It features gritty, violent scenes including a sniper gunning down random targets, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
"Due to the terrible tragedy in Newtown, Conn., and out of honor and respect for the families of the victims whose lives were senselessly taken, we are postponing tomorrow's Pittsburgh premiere of Jack Reacher," Paramount said in a statement. "Our hearts go out to all those who lost loved ones."
In July, Warner Bros. canceled the Paris, Mexico City and Tokyo premieres of "The Dark Knight Rises" after James Holmes allegedly killed 12 and injured 58 in a shooting during an Aurora, Colo., screening of the movie. Cast members Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, and Morgan Freeman, along with director Christopher Nolan, canceled several media appearances as well. Bale later traveled to Colorado to visit victims at the Medical Center of Aurora.
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