Man shot in movie theater for talking during “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
December 26th, 2008 by Scott Marks
James Joseph Cialella Jr., a cinephile’s best friend.
It’s a good thing that I don’t own a gun.
A 29-year-old Philadelphia man, angered when a father and his son kept talking during a Christmas screening of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, took matters into his own hands when he pulled a .380-caliber gun and shot the father.
Not guilty!
James Joseph Cialella Jr., 29 is charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault, and weapons violations. Police spokesman Lt. Frank Vanore told the Philadelphia Inquirer, “It’s truly frightening when you see something like this evolve into such violence.”
The incident took place at the Riverview Theatre at about 9:30 p.m. The victim, a Philadelphia man who was not identified, told police a man sitting near him told his family to be quiet and threw popcorn at his son.
According to Lt. Vanore, Cialella allegedly got out of his seat to confront the family when the father got up to protect them. That’s when the victim was shot once in the left arm, sending others in the theatre fleeing for safety. Once silence had been restored, Cialella sat down and continued watching the picture. Police arrived a short time later and arrested Cialella and confiscated his weapon, Vanore said.
What about crimes against art and what should be viewed as Mr. Cialella’s heroic act? Do you think that David Fincher made a three hour film for yahoos to blab through? And what kind of a role model was the victim, encouraging his son to talk during a movie?
Mr. Cialella’s handsome photo should be flashed during pre-show entertainment on movie screens across America as a warning to all potential inconsiderate disturbance makers.
Tags: philadelphia, Riverview Theatre, south philadelphia, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button