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Sandy Hook-Related Movie Facing Opposition In Ridgefield

RIDGEFIELD, Conn. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A Connecticut town official said he'll do everything he can to prevent a TV movie related to the Newtown school shootings from being filmed in his community.

A film crew arrived in Ridgefield on Monday to scout locations for director Jonathan Bucari's planned movie in connection with the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

But Ridgefield First Selectman Rudy Marconi said that Bucari's movie is a bad idea.

Ridgefield First Selectman Opposes Sandy Hook Movie

He said that for a movie producer to seek to profit from a tragedy still so raw, not only there, but across the country, is outrageous.

"And I don't think there was any doubt in anyone's mind who has half a heart to think that a movie like that at this point would be something that people would welcome to your community, it's beyond belief," Marconi told WCBS 880 Connecticut Bureau Chief Fran Schneidau.

"I will do everything in my power to prevent this," he told The News-Times. "If you were to poll the residents in town, they'd be overwhelmingly against it."

He said Bucari hasn't yet asked the town for permission.

Bucari said the movie titled "Illness" would be about a teenager with mental illness who fears his parents after the Dec. 14 shootings when a gunman fatally shot 20 first-graders, six educators and himself.

Ridgefield is 20 miles southwest of Newtown. Bucari said he picked Ridgefield because it looks like Newtown and he didn't want to upset Newtown residents so soon after the killings.

(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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