The trailer for Brett Ratner’s Ben Stiller–Eddie Murphy comedy Tower Heist received some encouraging buzz when it debuted back in July, but not everyone was laughing. Actor Greg Grunberg encouraged his Twitter followers to boycott the movie based on a scene that’s prominently excerpted in the trailer, where Murphy gleefully recounts an embarrassing grade school anecdote about Stiller: “You were the little seizure boy having seizures all the time!” Tweeted Grunberg, whose son is epileptic, “Making fun @ people w/ seizures is NOT FUNNY & WRONG! ‘Seizure Boy!’ REALLY?” Ratner has since apologized for the joke and has promised to snip it from future TV ads, telling Grunberg, “I am so sorry you are offended … I sincerely feel bad.” (Still, Murphy’s seizure jokes will remain in the movie — an outcome reminiscent of the controversy kicked up by The Dilemma, another Universal release.) For his part, Grunberg was an easy sell. “THANKS @BrettRatner for ur SINCERE APOLOGY to the Epilepsy Community!” he tweeted, adding generously, “I’m lifting my personal boycott of ur hilarious film.” [TalkAboutIt.org via THR]
