Olivia Munn Not Impressed by Director’s Apology for Sex Offender in THE PREDATOR
Josh Millican
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The story of The Predator’s journey from inception to screen has been nothing if not turbulent. The film received 3 postponements and underwent significant reshoots over an extended period of time. Still, it was hotly anticipated by legions of horror fans who were excited to see director Shane Black and screenwriter Fred Dekker’s spin on the classic mythologies established back in 1987.
Then the bomb dropped.
Just as the film was set to enjoy its world premiere at the prestigious TIFF Festival this weekend (in advance of its nationwide release on September 14th) the Los Angeles Times reported that Fox made a last-minute edit to remove a registered sex offender from The Predator. How Steven Wilder Striegel managed to get the role is the first place is shocking and disappointing: He’s a personal friend of Black.
Related Article: Fox Cuts Scene from THE PREDATOR Because of Registered Sex Offender
It was The Predator star Olivia Munn who first outed Striegel after learning of his record on August 15th. Having this news break on the eve of The Predator’s premiere has been a PR nightmare, one that kept Black from appearing on the red carpet with the rest of the cast.
It didn’t stop reporters from asking Munn her opinion on the situation—and she didn’t mince words.
Black has emphatically apologized. He released the following statement following the LA Times report:
“Having read this morning’s news reports, it has sadly become clear to me that I was misled by a friend I really wanted to believe was telling me the truth when he described the circumstances of his conviction. I believe strongly in giving people second chances – but sometimes you discover that chance is not as warranted as you may have hoped.”
“After learning more about the affidavit, transcripts and additional details surrounding Steve Striegel’s sentence, I am deeply disappointed in myself. I apologize to all of those, past and present, I’ve let down by having Steve around them without giving them a voice in the decision.”
Not good enough, says Munn; according to The Los Angeles Times:
“I don’t accept Shane’s apology. It wasn’t given to me personally… A real apology has to be done privately — not just read publicly and I read it with the rest of the world.”
You can check out the synopsis and trailer for The Predator below.
Synopsis:
From the outer reaches of space to the small-town streets of suburbia, the hunt comes home. The universe’s most lethal hunters are stronger, smarter and deadlier than ever before, having genetically upgraded themselves with DNA from other species. When a boy accidentally triggers their return to Earth, only a ragtag crew of ex-soldiers and an evolutionary biologist can prevent the end of the human race.
Has this eleventh-hour controversy changed affected your enthusiasm for The Predator? Do you think Black owes his cast a better apology? Sound off in the comments below or on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram!
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