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Honolulu Officials Warn Authorities Of 'Superbad' Gimmick

City Officials Say Fake Driver's License Irresponsible

POSTED: 6:22 pm HST December 4, 2007
UPDATED: 9:45 pm HST December 4, 2007

City officials are calling a gimmick to promote the DVD version of the movie "Superbad" "irresponsible" on the part of Sony Pictures.

The DVD hit store shelves on Tuesday.

In the comedy "Superbad" a teenager tries to buy beer using a fake Hawaii drivers license.

As part of a home entertainment promotion along with the DVD and CD, the company included a fake Hawaii driver's license that looks too similar to a legitimate ID.

It is making city officials nervous.

"The textures are different. There are definitely a lot of our security devices are not on here, but it's close enough and where it might encourage people to do things that are not permissible by law," Honolulu City Information Services Director Jeff Coelho said.

Coehlo said the city has alerted the Honolulu Police Department the Liquor Commission and the Transportation Security Administration about their concerns.

The set is marketed as a Wal-Mart exclusive. The gag gift extra shows a hologram photo of two of the stars of the movie.

The city takes its licensing program seriously. It fears someone might manipulate the card and use it to do something illegal and doesn't think the promotion shows good judgment.

"If you are going to buy this as a fun, or as an entertainment piece and are just keeping this as a baseball card then enjoy it, but if you are going to try and use this as a driver's license, you should know you will be breaking the law," Coelho said.

The city said no one from the company contacted it about the promotion beforehand. Officials said they would have preferred the company stamped the card saying it was for entertainment purposes only.

The city said it is researching the law to see if it has any recourse with the manufacturer.
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