MOVIES - Oct. 12, 1988

Due to several incidences of violence at area theaters showing the film, Run-D.M.C.’s “Tougher Than Leather” has been a tough sell to Detroit movie theaters: As of Tuesday, five had canceled screenings of the picture. A 20-year-old man was fatally shot Friday night at the opening of the film in the Adams Theater in downtown Detroit, and another man was shot and wounded outside the AMC Northland 2 in Southfield. Shots were fired outside the Showcase Cinemas in Dearborn and a youth was beaten with a baseball bat in the Eastland Mall, near the Beacon East theater. A spokesman for the rap group strongly denied any responsibility for the violence attending “Tougher than Leather,” adding, “These incidents say more about Detroit than they do about Run-D.M.C. and their movie.”