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| Poster property of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |
It was one derivation too many.
Deeply mortified by the many unfaithful renditions of favorite comic book
characters on screen, 3,201 fans killed themselves Thursday night in the traditional
Japanese disembowelment ceremony. The incident took place all across America as they walked out of theaters right after watching
the new Marvel Studios film, “Guardians of the Galaxy.”
What pushed them over the edge was Vin Diesel’s performance
of the character Groot. The character, which is a super-powered, sentient
tree-person, has never before in any medium said anything besides “I am Groot.”
However, there is one scene in the film where the character says something slightly different. It created a very powerful moment in the story, but that wasn't justification enough for many.
“We just couldn’t handle any more,” said Jeff Barry, one fan
living in Los Angeles
who chose not to kill himself after going to the midnight showing last night. “We were already pretty broken up over all
that Thor-becoming-a-woman, shock-publicity [stuff]. Then DC gives Wonder Woman a
Xena outfit. And now this, violating Groot. I’m sorry, I can’t talk about this
anymore.”
Jeff has been ostracized by his family over the dishonor of
his cowardice in refusing to partake of the suicidal rites, he said to
KeyWeekly. Both Marvel and Disney reps have issued statements of sympathy over
the disappointment, but they have elected not to edit the scene out. Disney
marketing executive Linda Post’s argument was simply, “Frankly, it makes the
movie better. And almost no one cares.”
Editor’s Note: Not
long after the interview, Jeff’s family called up to thank us for reaching
out to him. Soon after he spoke with
KeyWeekly he sliced open his belly in front of the Marvel Studios building in Burbank, restoring his honor.
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