SANTA MONICA—The Santa Monica Police Department are investigating a case from the Mark Gordon Company after the company claimed to receive threats related to their new film starring former NFL star Aaron Hernandez.
The company’s employees were first harassed after acquiring the movie rights to a book about Aaron Hernandez titled “All-American Murder: The Rise and Fall of Aaron Hernandez, the Superstar Whose Life Ended on Murderer’s Row.”
The company turned to a Santa Monica court and petitioned for a restraining order against Todd Guzze, the man who sent the emails. The petition explained that Guzze claimed to be linked to the Bloods and the Latin Kings, two large Los Angeles gangs. He indicated that he was working on his own Aaron Hernandez project.
According to the petition, Guzze emailed an employee, writing “…so I don’t need to tell you how they work… I’m keeping them at bay right now, they don’t even know this is going on at this second. So that’s my last little tidbit for you, and they’re right here in L.A.” Attached to the email was a photo of men with guns, possibly from the gangs.
In another incident, Guzze reportedly sent an employee a picture found on the employee’s Facebook page that featured his wife. Guzze included threats like “are you ready?” and “I hope it’s worth it.”
When asked about the threatening emails by Deadline, Guzze replied:
“The Entertainment Industry is big business, and it usually lacks a sense of humor. We’ve had to use guerrilla marketing techniques, at times, in order to get some people’s attention.”
He continued, writing that his campaign was for “a group of artists, some minority, that have worked really hard to get to this point, and are just looking for a specific window of opportunity to shine, or be recognized.”
The company filed a police report this week. At this time, the SMPD are currently looking into whether Guzze’s emails can be considered actual threats.
The Mark Gordon Company, which was behind the Aaron Sorkin film “Molly’s Game,” is planning on turning the Hernandez book into a movie, which will chronicle the rise and fall of Aaron Hernandez. Hernandez was a star player for the New England Patriots. He was charged for killing his friend, Odin Lloyd, in 2013, and was imprisoned in 2015. He was later put on trial for a double murder, found acquitted, and committed suicide in his cell a few days later.