The father of a child murdered in the Columbine school shootings has expressed his unhappiness at the film-makers behind forthcoming movie The Drama.<\/p>\n
The film, which is written and directed by Norwegian director Kristoffer Borgli, is a dark romantic comedy starring Robert Pattinson<\/a> and Zendaya as a couple whose upcoming wedding is cast in doubt after she reveals that she once planned a school shooting, but backed out at the last moment.<\/p>\n Her character discloses the information while playing a parlour game with Pattinson and two friends, in which they are encouraged to say \u201cthe worst thing you\u2019ve ever done\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Speaking to TMZ<\/a>, Tom Mauser, whose son Daniel was among 13 students killed at the high school shooting in Colorado in 1999, said he feels the leveraging of such subject matter for a romantic comedy is \u201cawful\u201d. Mauser, who became an advocate for gun reform in the wake of the massacre, added that he was concerned by Zendaya\u2019s response to seriously framed questions about the twist on the Jimmy Kimmel show last week.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s difficult about even talking about the movie,\u201d said Zendaya<\/a>, \u201cis there is so many different genres [in it]. It is a romantic comedy in many ways but it\u2019s also a drama. Everybody has their own kind of feelings leaving the theatre, especially with the big twist. There\u2019s so many conversations that are had after you watch it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n To cast a star as beloved as Zendaya, said Mauser, \u201chumanises\u201d the perpetrators of such violence, and \u201cnormalises\u201d the shootings \u2013 despite her character backing out of the attack, and no such violence being depicted.<\/p>\n A24, the studio behind the film, has not screened it widely, possibly in an effort to avoid spoilers. Reaction to a small early screening for selected critics in the US earlier this week was broadly positive<\/a>. Reviews are embargoed until 31 March. The Guardian has approached the film\u2019s UK distributors for comment.<\/p>\n Elephant<\/a>, Gus Van Sant\u2019s 2003 drama inspired by the Columbine shootings, won the Palme d\u2019Or at Cannes<\/a>; Michael Moore\u2019s documentary<\/a> examining the circumstances of the massacre won the Oscar for documentary the same year.<\/p>\n