Families of Aurora shooting victims voice concern about 'Joker'

Family members of the victims of the 2012 mass shooting, which took place at a movie theatre in Aurora, Colorado, have written a letter to Warner Bros. voicing their concern over the studio's upcoming film 'Joker'.

Alarmed by the violence depicted in the trailer of the film, they have signed an open letter to Warner Bros. asking the studio to donate to gun control causes, reported Fox News.

The open letter, which was sent on Tuesday, was addressed to Warner Bros. CEO and chairwoman Ann Sarnoff.

During a showing of Warner Bros. film 'The Dark Knight Rises', a gunman shot into a large crowd, killing 12 people and injuring 70. The shooter, James Holmes, was sentenced to life in prison.

Following the shooting, Warner Bros. donated USD 2 million to the victims and the survivors.

The Aurora movie theatre where the shooting took place announced on Tuesday that it would not be screening 'Joker'.

The families of Aurora victims Jessica Ghawi, Alexander J. Boik and Ashley Moser, and Tina Coon, whose son was a witness of the shooting, expressed in the letter how they were given pause "when we learned that Warner Bros. was releasing a movie called Joker that presents the character as a protagonist with a sympathetic origin story."

The families who signed the letter didn't demand that Warner should not release the film, but asked that the studio stop political contributions to candidates "who take money from the NRA and vote against gun reform."

The letter urged the Hollywood film studio "to use your massive platform and influence to join us in our fight to build safer communities with fewer guns."

'Joker' follows the origin story of the Batman villain, portrayed by actor Joaquin Phoenix.

The film has been in the middle of controversies ahead of its release. Directed by Todd Phillips, the film has been receiving flak for its violence and the sympathy was shown to its main character.

Recently, Phoenix abruptly walked out of an interview when asked about the potential of the film to inspire violence.

The film is getting early Oscar buzz after winning the Golden Lion, the Venice International Film Festival's top award. Earlier this month, 'Joker' received an eight-minute standing ovation at its Venice Film Festival premiere for the origin story that the makers mapped out for Batman's arch-villain - Joker.

The upcoming flick is a part of the DC Comics universe but will serve as an independent origin story and will not feature any appearances by Batman and other caped crusaders.

Apart from Phoenix, the film also features Robert De Niro, Bill Camp, Frances Conroy, Brett Cullen, Glenn Fleshler, Douglas Hodge, Marc Maron, Josh Pais, and Shea Whigham. It is slated to hit the theatres on October 4.