LOS ANGELES: "Dark Knight" director Christopher Nolan lamented Friday the "senseless tragedy" of the massacre at a Colorado movie theater showing his latest Batman film, calling it "unbearably savage."
The Oscar-nominated filmmaker, who cancelled the French premiere of "The Dark Knight Rises" and a media junket in Paris hours after the shootings, said the killings violated the "innocent" place he calls his "home," the cinema.
"Speaking on behalf of the cast and crew... I would like to express our profound sorrow at the senseless tragedy that has befallen the entire Aurora community," he said, referring to the town where the massacre occurred.
"I would not presume to know anything about the victims of the shooting but that they were there last night to watch a movie."
British-American Nolan is director of the Batman trilogy that started with "The Dark Knight" in 2008 and of which "The Dark Knight Rises" is the final installment.
He also wrote and directed 2010 thriller "Inception," which won four Oscars and was nominated for four others.
He was also nominated for best screenplay Oscar in 2002, for "Memento."
"I believe movies are one of the great American art forms and the shared experience of watching a story unfold on screen is an important and joyful pastime," Noland said.
"The movie theater is my home, and the idea that someone would violate that innocent and hopeful place in such an unbearably savage way is devastating to me," he added.
"Nothing any of us can say could ever adequately express our feelings for the innocent victims of this appalling crime, but our thoughts are with them and their families." (AFP)