Groups that advocate for the disabled have called�for a boycott of the Ben Stiller comedy Tropic Thunder, citing what they say is its minus portrayal of people with intellectual disabilities.
"We are asking people not to go to the movie and hope to bring a consciousness to people more or less using derogatory words about this population," said Peter Wheeler, spokesman for Special Olympics, one of 22 disability groups nationwide protesting the satire.
The film, directed by Stiller, will be released on Wednesday by Viacom Inc's Paramount Pictures and its DreamWorks unit.
The groups plan to picket the movie's premiere on Monday eve in Los Angeles's Westwood community.
"That volition be the start of a countrywide protest," said Wheeler. "We will continue to be vocal around the destructive effect of this film."
He said the groups ar particularly pained by the film's repeated use of the word "retard" regarding a character, Simple Jack, played by Stiller in a subplot about an actor.
A web site, www.simplejackmovie.com, beingness used to promote Tropic Thunder, has been taken down.
Representatives of the Special Olympics, the Arc of the United States, the National Down Syndrome Congress, the American Association of People with Disabilities and other groups met with studio executives last calendar week to discuss the film, but DreamWorks did non make whatever changes.
Peter Berns, executive director the Arc, said in a memo the groups presented several ideas to the studio, from requesting an apology to fixture the film before its release, to producing a national educational campaign.
Chip Sullivan, a spokesman for DreamWorks said: "We have had productive discussions with representatives of disability advocacy organizations and look forward to working with them closely in the future. However no changes or cuts to the film will be made...
"'Tropic Thunder' is an R-rated comedy that satirises Hollywood and its excesses, and makes its point by featuring inappropriate and over-the top characters in derisory situations. The film is in no way meant to pick at or scathe the image of individuals with disabilities," he said.
The film too features Robert Downey Jr as a white role player who changes his skin colour to play a black soldier.
Sullivan said that prior to the meetings, DreamWorks had taken down an on-line promotion, removing references to Simple Jack it mat could appear offensive when taken extinct of context.
The film was shown in more than 250 promotional screenings around the area since April.
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