Rogue Campaign or Vandalism? 'Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close' Poster Defaced

Mickey Kaus

Not everyone is clamoring to see the post-Sept. 11 drama Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.

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Case in point: A defaced movie poster at a bus stop on the corner of Main St. and Abbott Kinney in Venice, Calif. showed what one person thought of the film (see image above). Covering the title of the movie, a plain white paper with text in a similar font as the poster reads: "Yet Another Tediously Boring Twin Towers Collapse Movie Dramatization."

In fine print below, the criticism continues: "Ho hum ... think it's just another Redbox night for me. Thank you very much." The poster appeared to be professionally done, though it is unclear who is responsible. The sign has since been taken down.

Directed by Stephen Daldry, the big-screen adaptation of Jonathan Safran Foer's novel has received mixed critical reception since it opened Christmas Day. Culled from more than 50 film critics, Rotten Tomatoes rates the Sandra Bullock-Tom Hanks drama with a mediocre 53 percent (but THRs Todd McCarthy called it a "well-acted tale"), though audiences seemed more open to the tearjerker with moviegoers giving it an average of 3.6 out of 5.

One Hollywood Foreign Press Association member told the New York Times in December following the announcement of the Golden Globe nominations (Extremely Loud was shut out), that the voters were split on the film. Some were drawn to it, while others weren't, according to the voter.

Extremely Loud follows Oskar Shell (Thomas Horn), who loses his father Thomas (Hanks) in the World Trade Center attacks in 2001. Oskar goes on a journey throughout New York City to find a box that his father left him the key to.

The film is the latest to center on the Sept. 11 attacks. Previous dramas included Paul Greengrass' United 93 (2006) and Oliver Stone's World Trade Center (2006); Michael Moore released the documentary, Fahrenheit 9/11, in 2004.