Hours after another campus rampage broke out at the Northern Illinois University, it was announced that the delayed film which tone is similar to Virginia Tech incident will be released on April 11.
- Feb 16, 2008
AceShowbiz - Hours following the bloody campus rampage at the Northern Illinois University, it was announced that Meryl Streep' delayed drama "Dark Matter will be released in spring 2008. According to Associated Press, the film's distributors let out on Friday, February 15, that the dark drama film starring also Liu Ye and Aidan Quinn will make its first theatrical release on April 11 in New York City and then followed by other American cities.
In an phone interview with AP, the president of First Independent Pictures, Gary Rubin, also revealed that the film directed by Chinese-born director Chen Shizheng were scheduled to hit theaters last year. He further explained that the movie was delayed due to last year's campus massacre in Blacksburg, Virginia citing that the decision was made "out of respect for the Virginia Tech incident". On the picking of the release date, Rubin stated, "Obviously that (Virginia Tech) was a long time ago. We're not even focusing on that aspect of it at this point. It's a good movie and we feel it should get out there."
Slated for limited release, "Dark" picked up the story resembling the Virginia Tech incident where an Asian student went berserk. Inspired by true events, it tells the story of Liu Xing, a Chinese science graduate student who went to the U.S. to pursuing a PhD degree. When everything he is working for crumbling, he turns to rage and become violent. In the film, Streep stars as the wealthy university's patron who became Xing's friend, whereas Ye plays the central character, Xing.
Before the release date was let out on Thursday, February 14, a campus shooting once more broke out. The rampage took place in the Northern Illinois University's classroom killing 7 people in the process, including the suicidal gunman, former graduate student Stephen Kazmierczak. Armed with three handguns and a brand-new pump-action shotgun, Kazmierczak stepped from behind a screen on the stage of a lecture hall and shot on a geology class wounding 15 other people.
