FREMONT, Mich. (WOOD) — West Michigan movie theaters are vowing to show the controversial movie “Fifty Shades of Grey” despite petitions asking them to keep it off local movie screens.
Celebration! Cinemas Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations Steve VanWagoner said over the phone Monday the theater giant has already pre-sold 3000 tickets for the show and expect that number to climb to 10,000 by this weekend.
“We’ve been in business for 70 years and people often times object to content, and it’s not our job to censor the content of a widespread movie,” said VanWagoner. “It’s not in our best interest. It’s not in the community’s best interest.”
In a strip mall in Fremont, there’s a two-screen movie theater — the only silver screens for about 20 miles. The American Decency Association, a Fremont-based group, is collecting signatures on a petition asking the owner of Fremont Cinemas not to show the film.
“It’s far more than so-called entertainment. This is not entertainment. This is not about entertainment. This is about pornography,” said Bill Johnson, the president of the American Decency Association. “The movie flows out of a very degrading, damaging book.”
Johnson said he hasn’t read any of the books, but he believes the sexually explicit content has no place in a Fremont theater.
“We are merely doing what parents, and grandparents have historically done for many, many years, over the course of time. And that it’s try to defend, try to protect, try to uphold that which builds up and to stand against that which degrades and destroys,” said Johnson.
He said his group isn’t trying to stop freedom of speech.
“I’m not saying [the theater’s owner] doesn’t have the freedom to show this movie. He does, but with freedom characteristically in this country, historically with freedom is also responsibility,” said Johnson.
Johnson said he thought a lot of people would choose not to go to the film even if it did play, so 24 Hour News 8 asked him why he thought the petition was necessary.
“I think it’s a very fair point. However, there’s an awful lot of people that pay little attention to what is coming or what isn’t coming. I think a lot of people see the name of the movie and have no idea what it is,” Johnson said. “If we don’t send a message, this will send a message to [the theater owner] that this kind of movie is fine with this community, and you can see more and more of this kind of stuff.”
Dan Taylor, who owns Fremont Cinemas, said that he has heard from about 600 people who support the film and about 30 with complaints.
“We can’t start picking and choosing what films are going to be, because we’re going to get a few phone calls from one specific group that finds that film morally wrong,” said Taylor over the phone from out of town.
Taylor said he was contacted by people who were disappointed by “American Sniper,” which is currently playing in his theater. He said he also has previously received complaints when his theater aired a Christian film.
“If we [don’t show a film] once, then basically we have to be fair and we have to do it constantly and then what happens? We run out of films that we’re going to be able to show,” said Taylor. “We’re not a church. We’re there for everybody’s entertainment, and people have a choice whether or not that want to watch a movie or not. If they don’t want to watch that film, they don’t have to buy a ticket.”
