As witnessed by its response to being tormented with Wahlbergian what-ifs, the nation just doesn’t feel like talking about 9/11 right now, okay? Maybe later. Of course, that’s bad news for Warner Bros., which is currently tasked with marketing Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close, and convincing still-rattled New Yorkers that the film is a sensitive examination of that tragedy, as seen through the eyes of the scared 9-year-old boy that resides in all of us who’s just looking for Tom Hanks—a metaphor for post-9/11 America if ever there was one. So naturally, it’s been getting the word out by placing subway video ads all around the city—including some just a few yards away from Ground Zero—that play trailers featuring footage of the burning Twin Towers on a constant loop. Which is certainly one way to get a New Yorker’s attention.
Unfortunately, it seems some locals haven’t yet reached the stage of acceptance where they’re cool with seeing the attacks over and over again, even if they’re crucial to the plot and intercut with shots of Sandra Bullock crying, so you know that it’s sad. Locals like Bill Doyle, whose son was killed in the north tower, and who complained to the New York Post, “Everybody’s trying to make money off 9/11. A lot of families got upset. Why couldn’t they warn us about this? I don’t think people really realized that these people are really still stressed.” So after learning that, in fact, some New Yorkers still have a few hang-ups about 9/11, Warner Bros. has issued a statement saying it was “never our intention to cause any distress,” and vowed to “make best efforts to pull the material from pertinent locations.” Warner Bros. did, however, remind those upset that Tom Hanks is in the movie and also a U2 song, which are things that always make you feel better.