US News

Man shot for talking loudly during Brad Pitt film

Dec 27, 2008, 22:36 GMT

Washington - A Philadelphia resident, enraged because a family was talking loudly during a film, threw popcorn at a boy and shot his father, it was reported Saturday.

James Joseph Cialella Jr, 29, was charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault and weapons violations for shooting another film- goer in the left arm, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Cialella was furious for being disturbed while watching The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which stars Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett.

'It's truly frightening when you see something like this evolve into such violence ... that something like this leads to a shooting in a movie theatre,' police spokesman Lieutenant Frank Vanore was quoted as saying.

Cialella first asked the talkative family to quieten down and threw popcorn at a boy who was talking to his father. Next, Cialella and the father got into an argument, which turned physical and Cialella whipped out a handgun and shot the man.

Police said Cialella returned to his seat and continued watching the film.