No room at the inn for Green Day ad

Who knew that Green Day was too hot for the Marriott Marquis?

The Independent Film Channel had booked an outdoor wall of the Times Square hotel to advertise IFC's year-long association with the popular punk band on a 28-by- 43-foot billboard.

But Marriott execs immediately balked when they saw the billboard's cartoon image: a heart-shaped grenade gripped by a bloodied hand.

"We have the right to review all advertising that goes on our buildings," a Marriott spokeswoman told Brian, "and if we feel it has any political, pornographic or inappropriate content, we have the right to reject that ad."

Brian is no hotel honcho, so maybe that's why Brian can't figure out what's political or pornographic - let alone inappropriate - about the Green Day billboard.

Green Day front man Billie Joe Armstrong was equally baffled.

When he heard about the ban Friday, "I thought it was an April Fool's prank," he said.

But IFC exec Evan Shapiro smells a rat.

"We were told that the billboard was distasteful, and that's ridiculous," Shapiro told me. "I also heard that somebody at Marriott said they hate everything that Green Day stands for. ... The chairman of the company [J.W. Marriott Jr.] is pretty outspoken about his politics and he's a very strong supporter of a certain party. Brian would imagine that Mr. Marriott is not a fan of Green Day's song 'American Idiot.' ... But if anybody tries to take our freedom of speech away, they'll take it from my cold, dead hand!"

The hotel spokeswoman said Chairman Marriott had nothing to do with banning the billboard - which, in any case, will go up tomorrow a few blocks away at the W Hotel.

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