Al Pacino-Robert De Niro movie poster draws flak

London, Dec 18: A furore has erupted over a movie poster featuring Robert De Niro and Al Pacino after it was sited at Stockwell Tube station during the Jean Charles de Menezes inquest.A regulator has ruled that ‘The Righteous Kill’ poster could have caused serious offence, as it was displayed at the station where De Menezes, 27, was shot dead after being mistaken for a suicide bomber.

The poster’s tagline read: "There`s nothing wrong with a little shooting as long as the right people get shot,” reports BBC. According to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) the posted breached guidelines on decency. "We understood the siting of the poster at the station was unintentional, but nevertheless considered that the text had the potential to cause serious offence in that location," said the ASA in its adjudication. Welcoming the decision by film distributor Lions Gate and advertising company CBS to quickly remove the poster, the ASA said that the poster also breached rules on social responsibility. However, the poster was still on display when members of the inquest jury visited Stockwell station in September. Six other complaints against the film`s advertising campaign were dismissed, which included five members of the public who contacted the ASA to say they thought the text on the poster glamorized violence, and one complainant who said the film`s newspaper advertisement was irresponsible at a time of concern about knife and gun crime. According to Lions Gate, there had been "no intention to offend" or "to suggest it was morally acceptable to kill people". While the ASA acknowledged public concerns about crime, but noted that "the poster and press ad did not contain any violence or depiction of guns". "We considered that most people were likely to understand that the poster reflected the content of the film and the quote was intended to be wryly humorous," it added. ANI