It stands to reason that any theater agreeing to host the world premiere of any movie would at the very least do its due diligence about the project in question, but that clearly wasn’t the case when it came to Kevin Spacey‘s upcoming return to the world of motion pictures in Control.
Even though the actor doesn’t actually appear onscreen and submits a voice-only performance for a handful of scenes, the Prince Charles Theater in London has suddenly decided that it’s got no interest in screening the movie after suddenly discovering that it does in fact star the disgraced two-time Academy Award-winner, with boss Greg Lynn informing star and producer Lauren Metcalfe via email, which she found “very shocking given that Kevin has been cleared.”
“We have an issue. It is with my apologies that I have to inform you that we have cancelled your hire with us. Last night it came to our attention that your film features Kevin Spacey, in particular his first film since the court case. My staff as well as I are horrified that we are being mentioned in the same breath as his new film for the premiere.”
Spacey’s lawyer has passed comment to The Sunday Telegraph, where Chase Scolnick states the case that his client was charged with committing any crimes.
“Mr Spacey has proven his innocence in every courtroom in which he has appeared. Every juror who has considered the evidence against him has unanimously rejected the false allegations. The Prince Charles Cinema’s decision to censor Kevin’s latest project is beyond disappointing. It rejects the legal process of two countries, ignores the overwhelming evidence of Kevin’s innocence, and disregards the hard work and sacrifice of dozens of impartial jurors who found Kevin 100 per cent innocent.”
Guilty or innocent, the facts remain the same; Control needs to find somewhere else to be shown to the public for the first time.