'Bastille Day' and 'Shooter' pulled in wake of gun violence...

The recent string of gun violence in Europe and America is tragic. The events also made the entertainment industry wary of projects deemed too similar to release at the moment…

Whatever your opinion on real-life gun violence and the subjects of gun rights (and responsibilities) one cannot deny that recent events – such as the Dallas sniper, the Nice terrorist attack and the killing of yet more officers in Baton Rouge this weekend – have caused much discussion about the current climate and the dangers coming from a variety of aggressive sources.

Not wishing to be seen to be inappropriate or unfeeling, the companies behind several action projects felt a need to distance themselves from any similarities or even the perception of any direct or indirect connection. The attack in Nice during the annual Bastille Day celebrations (which has so far claimed 84 lives) has led to the film of the same name (starring Idris Elba and Richard Madden) to be pulled, for the moment, from French cinemas. The film, which sees a young con artist and former CIA agent embarking on an unsanctioned mission to stop terrorists in France was already released in the UK back in April. The connections are broad-stroked beyond the title, but it was seen as a pragmatic decision given the huge impact the massacre had in France.The film’s release in the US hasn’t got a firm date yet.

Now comes news that the USA Network is pulling the pilot of a new series, Shooter starring Ryan Phillippe* which was due to hit screens this next week. Based on the Stephen Hunter book Point of Impact and the 2007 adaptation (also called Shooter) that starred Mark Wahlberg it tells of a sniper called back into service after the uncovering of a plot to kill the President and then framed. The series had already been moved once – from the intended 19th July premiere date to next Monday – as a result of the Dallas shootings in which five police officers were killed. But now, following the subsequent Baton Rouge attack in Louisiana yesterday, the companies have agreed to delay the series entirely. At this stage it is no longer likely to feature on the schedules until late September and there are even rumours, cited by industry site Deadline, it may not be seen until after the US elections in November given its assassination narrative.

“After further consideration, USA Network, Paramount TV and Universal Cable Productions have decided to move the premiere of Shooter to the fall,” the official and brief statement read.

This was the trailer for the series that original publicised its premiere…