‘Incredibles 2’ moviegoers warned about possible seizures

Marcos Gardiana, a self-proclaimed Disney fanatic with five tattoos of Disney characters on his body to prove it, was excited to see the company’s latest blockbuster, “Incredibles 2,” on Sunday, and took his girlfriend along with him.

He never got to see the end of it. Gardiana, 27, who has epi- lepsy as a result of a brain injury from a 2011 car accident, said he starte dg etting lightheaded and dizzy in the theater. He had a “small” seizure at first, he said, and then a “blackout seizure, a full-on shaking seizure.”

Hi s girlfriend, Courtney Anderson, 21, led him to a bench outside.

“He sat down for a minute, pale as a ghost,” she said. “He had a second, full-on seizure, eyes rolled back. And he lost con- sciousness.”

Gardiana had apparently suffered seizures triggered by flashing lights during the movie, an unusual but a lso a well-established peril for some people with epilepsy.

It was unclear whether the Walt Disney Co., which did not respond to requests for comment on Monday, had warned theaters about the danger. But beginning on Friday, the first full day of showings for “Incredibles 2,” signs began appearing in movie hous eswa rning th ata “sequence of flashing lights” may affec tp eople who are susceptible to “photosensitive epilepsy or other photosensitivities.”

But it appears tha t some epileptic viewers did not get the memo. Gardiana said he saw no warning signs in the Las Vegas the-

ater he went to. The manager of the theater said that a sign had been posted on Friday but that she could not comment further. In Times Square, where the movie was showing at the Regal Cinemas, a sign did not go up on Monday until this reporter asked where it was; that theater’s manager declined to comment.

The triggering images in “Incredibles 2” begin about an hour into the movie and occur in a sequence involving the villain Screenslaver. Beginning late Friday, the Epilepsy Foundation heard via email and social media from people who had seen the movie and experienced symptoms, said Jackie Aker, a spokeswoman for the group. Early Saturday, the foundation posted a memo on their social media channels and websites, requesting that Disney Pixar post a warning online. But as of Monday evening, there was no warning on the movie’s main webpage, Facebook page and Twitter account.

The foundation posted its own warning: “For those who have been diagnosed with photosensitive epilepsy — or are simply sensitive to flashing lights — and are planning to watch the movie, they should be advised that the flashing lights may trigger seizures in some people.”

Certain frequencies of light can trigger seizures for photosensitive epileptics, about 3 percent of those with epilepsy. It is more common in children and adolescents, especially those with generalized epilepsy and a type known as juvenile myoclonic epilepsy, according to the foundation.

“There are certain things that send an input into the brain that gets a little excitable,” said Dr. Jacqueline French, the chief scientific officer of the foundation. “And that input triggers a seizure.”

To do so, the flashing lights have to occur at specific frequencies, the most common being between 10 flashes per second to about 25 to 30 flashes per second. The light also has to take up a lot of the person’s visual field — a little light in the distance isn’t going to be a problem, French added. The light triggers seizures that commonly last around 30 seconds, but people could take up to a week to feel better.

Aker, the foundation spokeswoman, said she was not aware of any other recent films or video games with triggers to photosensitive epileptics. Most recently, the foundation worked with Apple to remove a scene in a promotional video with flashing lights that caused symptoms in several photosensitive epileptics.

Gardiana, a music booking agent, spent Monday in the hospital, where he suffered two more seizures. The movie, meanwhile, has been a big hit, earning $180 million in ticket sales at North American theaters over the weekend. But it won’t be on Gardiana’s list of favorites.

“I have every Disney DVD on Blu-ray,” he said. “First Disney movie that I’m not going to be able to watch.”