Credit: Sony PicturesA screening of the newly released Jennifer Lawrence romcom No Hard Feelings became the site of tragedy as a man was shot dead in the now-closed Century Rio theater by another patron, apparently in a dispute over reserved seats. Per Deadline, New Mexico teenager Enrique Padilla (19) allegedly shot and killed Michael Tenorio (52) at a theater in Albuquerque; Tenorio died at the scene despite being administered CPR.
Padilla reportedly fled the scene and was discovered hiding in bushes outside of the Jennifer Lawrence movie screening. At some point, he himself suffered a gunshot wound, though it is unclear exactly how that occurred. Padilla is being treated at a local hospital and has been charged with homicide, shooting at an occupied building, and tampering with evidence.
Witnesses report that the altercation was over seating arrangements at the Jennifer Lawrence No Hard Feelings screening; although it was defused at one point by theater staff, it appears to have erupted into violence at some point during the runtime of the film.
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Jennifer Lawrence’s No Hard Feelings Is a Rare Romcom for the Star
The new Jennifer Lawrence movie at which the tragedy occurred was the Gene Stupnitsky-directed No Hard Feelings, which co-stars Andrew Barth Feldman, Matthew Broderick, Laura Benanti, Natalie Morales, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Zahn McClarnon. It is a rare raunchy comedic turn for the Academy Award-winning actress and currently holds a 68% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The actual plot of the movie involves Jennifer Lawrence’s desperate Uber driver character Maddie taking a Craigslist job from a couple (Broderick and Benati) who wants her to essentially be a surrogate girlfriend to their shy, college-bound son Percy (Feldman), without his knowledge.
Given director Gene Stupnitsky’s previous work directing the darkly comedic hit Good Boys (2019) and co-writing Bad Teacher (2011), a raunchy Cameron Diaz vehicle capitalizing on the 2010s trend of movies with “bad” in the title, it should be expected that the movie is being marketed as a crass comedy.
The Actress Has Been Intimidated by Other Actors
On a recent episode of the YouTube interview series Hot Ones, Jennifer Lawrence revealed that she found working with intense Method actors like Christian Bale and Leonardo DiCaprio to often be frightening and has made her adjust her own acting style. It is unclear if her left turn into the crude comedy genre is related.
Jennifer Lawrence Denies Being in Hunger Games Prequel
Of course, Jennifer Lawrence is best known for starring in the mega-blockbuster Hunger Games franchise, in which she played the impoverished teen-turned-revolutionary Katniss Everdeen. Lawrence rose from being a critically acclaimed indie star to a marquee name and one of the biggest box office draws in the country on the back of the Hunger Games series, but it seems unlikely she will be involved in the new franchise spinoff.
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The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is an upcoming prequel that takes place approximately six decades before the events of the original films, so well before Jennifer Lawrence’s character was born. Accordingly, the star has denied that she will return to the film for a cameo, despite well-meaning fans asking for it.