Tropic Trespassing

In what has to rank as the most poignant example yet of how upset some people have become over the “R-word” subplot of Tropic Thunder, a mentally disabled protestor and the director of a nearby school for those with special needs were willing to rack up trespassing charges to make their point.

Per an account provided by one of the arrested parties to the blog WickedLocal.com, Corty Woods, Life Experience School and Peace Abbey director Lewis Randa and the latter’s son Mike have been charged with trespassing while engaging in civil disobedience by the Framingham, MA police. The charges stem from the trio’s decision to camp out on the floor of the local AMC Theaters location lobby on Thursday, August 14th after walking out of a "beyond offensive" segment of the Ben Stiller film and refusing to leave.

Woods, who held up a sign that read “Tropic Thunder is insulting and hurtful to me and others,” was eventually moved to tears by the whole experience. “I won’t be quiet and let movies make fun of people,” he told the manager of the movie theater and the arresting officers. “People who make money making fun of being retarded should be ashamed of themselves,” he added.

Woods and the Randa’s are scheduled to be arraigned in the near future. Chances are that AMC will prevail upon its Framingham colleagues to drop the charges. Especially given the fact that the trio say they will invite other disabled rights group representatives to join them in the courtroom on arraignment day, turning this into an even bigger PR nightmare.

The town of Framingham sits roughly 15 miles west of Boston.