Prometheus

Ridley Scott's highly anticipated Prometheus is set for cinema release in a month or so. The issue of whether it will be PG-13 or R has been providing some goo publicity for the film.

A year ago Ridley Scott said he would be shooting the sci-fi film both in PG-13 and R-rated versions. Then at the end of March, he said that the movie should be rated R.

Fox boss Tom Rothman says, either way it will be Ridley's vision:

I can assure the fans---I'm very aware of their concern---absolutely they can take it that the film will not be compromised either way. So if that means that the film is R, then it'll be an R. If it's PG-13, then it'll be a PG-13, but it will not be compromised.

heyuguys.co.uk asks:

The big question is, will Fox really gamble on an R rating for a genre that typically is a hard sell, with a cast led by a host of names that for most moviegoers are a complete mystery? Or, has Ridley Scott been able to deliver the movie he wants within the constricts of a PG-13 rating?

theflickcast.com writes:

For all of you who have been buying into the drama surrounding Prometheus ' ultimate rating, we have some good news for you. Fox has confirmed that the moody, dark and probably terrifying sci-fi film will indeed be rated R for sci-fi violence including intense images, and brief language.

Many people never believed that a PG-13 rating was possible for the subject matter, so when it took this long to get a confirmed rating people were getting nervous. It also didn't help that Ridley Scott has been telling people conflicted things about the movie, the process and the rating for months now.

...Read the full article

Update: BBFC 15 Rated

10th May 2012. See article from entertainmentcocktail.com

The BBFC have rated Prometheus a 15 uncut for Intense images and brief strong language .

This was confirmed by Fox studio execs at a press conference, they said:

Fox confirms there will be no edit to Prometheus to secure a lower rating, it will be a 15.

Update: BBFC 15 Officially Conformed

11th May 2012. See article from bbfc.co.uk

The BBFC have now officially rated Prometheus as 15 uncut for 'strong violence, gore, threat and horror' for:

• UK 2012 cinema release in 2D and 3D

Update: BBFC Extended Classification Information

 23rd May 2012. See article from bbfc.co.uk

The BBFC have now released its Extended Classification Information. The general tone is that the 15 rating is compared against the possibility of a 12/12A rating but that it is pretty firmly a 15. Maybe a few spoilers for purists but it doesn't seem to give too much away:

PROMETHEUS is a science fiction horror film which was classified 15 for strong violence, gore, threat and horror.

The film contains a number of scenes of strong violence that feature heavy blows and bloody detail. For example, in one scene a character's arm is broken, revealing blood and bone, and in another scene a character's head is smashed against the floor, resulting in a large spurt of blood. This emphasis on bloody detail exceeds the terms of the BBFC's Guidelines at 12A/'12 and is more appropriately classified at 15 where the Guidelines state Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury . There are also some scenes featuring gory detail, both when dead bodies are seen and when people are injured. One scene features some gory surgical detail that exceeds the type of occasional gory moments that may be permitted at 12A .

The Guidelines at 12A'/'12 also state Moderate physical and psychological threat may be permitted, provided disturbing sequences are not frequent or sustained . The second half of the film in particular features a sense of threat towards the central characters that is both frequent and sustained.

PROMETHEUS also includes one use of strong language and one implied use of strong language, when a remark is broken up by static. It also includes some undetailed verbal sex references and a brief scene in which a couple start to have sex, without any nudity or other detail.

The Video Standards Council announced this morning that the Department for Culture Media & Sport (DCMS) has confirmed their intention to appoint the organization as the regulator for rating games in the United Kingdom using the PEGI system used for the rest of Europe. The DCMS has informed the UK Parliament of their intentions.

Laurie Hall, Director-General of the VSC said:

This news is very welcome and gives us the mandate to undertake the role of statutory video games regulator in the UK. It is role that we will relish and which will ensure that children and younger people are protected and kept safe from inappropriate video games.

It has been a long and arduous task to arrive at this point and we thank all those involved in helping to establish PEGI as the legally recognised system. All the necessary administrative and technical systems are in place and we are simply awaiting confirmation of when we can officially start. The VSC has been rating video games since 1994. We will use our wealth of skill and experience to good effect in our new role as the national video games regulator.

No official date has been set but July this year has been mentioned several times.

Update: New Rules

21st May 2012. See article from gamepolitics.com

The Video Standards Council (VSC) has issued a press release announcing details on how the PEGI ratings system will work in the United Kingdom.

Video games rated PEGI 3 and 7 will remain advisory, but games in higher rating categories, PEGI 12, 16 and 18 will become mandatory and enforceable under the law. Games rated under these categories cannot be sold to individuals below the age-restriction shown on the packaging. If retailers sell games to an individual who is not in the prescribed age group, it may result in heavy fines or, in severe cases, even imprisonment. The VSC notes that these rules apply to online retailers as well as high street stores. (In the past PEGI ratings have been advisory, but BBFC ratings have already been mandatory with the banking of criminal sanctions).

Since PEGI and VSC are not enforcement agencies, they will pass on any reported breaches of the law to Trading Standards Officials, who will handle prosecutions.

Games featuring the depiction of real sex will still be classified by the BBFC.

The new rules are not retrospective and do not apply to games sold under the previous rules.

Update: New Name

31st May 2012. See Games Rating Authority from videostandards.org.uk

The Video Standards Council (VSC) has updated its website with a fair amount of information about the organisations impending role as games censors.

The Video Standards Council will use a separate operating name for this new role, namely the Games Rating Authority. And of course it has splashed out on a new logo.

A five-member panel of the Classification Review Board has unanimously determined that the films Prometheus (2D & 3D) are classified M (Mature) with the consumer advice moderate science fiction violence and a medical procedure .

The Classification Guidelines provide that the treatment of themes may have a moderate sense of threat or menace if justified by context and moderate violence is permitted if justified by context. In the Classification Review Board's opinion Prometheus (2D & 3D) warrants an M classification because the treatment of themes and the depictions of violence in the films are moderate in impact.

The overall impact of the classifiable elements in both versions of Prometheus was no higher than moderate.

The M classification is not recommended for persons under 15 years of age. Consumer advice is additional information about the main content of a film which is intended to help consumers decide if they want to view this type of material.

The Classification Review Board convened in response to an application from the original applicant, 20th Century Fox Film Distributors to review the decision made by the Classification Board on 24 May 2012 to classify Prometheus (2D & 3D) MA 15+ (Mature Accompanied).

Update: Sensitive Stomach

11th June 2012. See  article from  dailytelegraph.com.au

Surgery scenes in new sci-fi movie Prometheus resulted in a 15 year old boy being rushed to hospital after suffering a seizure yesterday. The boy's condition is now reported as stable.

The boy's collapse raised nutter questions about whether the film was given too low a rating.

The film was was given an M rating in Australia, an advisory 15 rating. The Australian Classification Board originally classified Prometheus as MA15+, meaning under 15s needed to be accompanied by a guardian. But that was dropped to M on appeal by distributor Fox to the Australian Classification Review Board so it could be seen by younger viewers without an accompanying adult.

Either way, the lad would have been allowed to see the film anyway.

An update from games trade body UKIE says than pan-European PEGI games ratings will become law on July 23rd. This is still a provisional date though.

From that date retailers could face prosecution or a fine if selling video games with PEGI ratings 12, 16 and 18  to those under those ages.

The PEGI rating system will be administered by the Games Rating Authority, the name for a group operating as part of the Video Standards Council.

Prometheus has been released in the US as an R-rating. In the UK it is a 15 certificate.

The film is violent and tense but director Ridley Scott insists he cut as much he could to open the film to a wider audience.

It has to be be about the movie, so I've made concessions. There's a moment where you don't want to harm the movie.

But he acknowledges its a case of simple economics and getting an 18 certificate could be the difference of $80m or more.

...Read the full article

Follow up articles suggest that there is no hope of a future 'Unrated' version.

Extract: Director's Cut

12th June 2012. See article from collider.com by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub

With Prometheus now playing, 20th Century Fox held a massive press junket in London last week where I was able to interview most of the cast and director Ridley Scott.

During my on-camera interview with Scott we talked about how much fun he had making Prometheus and his desire to do the sequel, the difficulty in tackling serious issues when a movie costs so much, what will be on the eventual Blu-ray/DVD, director's cuts, and more. In addition, Scott talks about a possible scene from the Blade Runner sequel and reveals the Prometheus Blu-ray might have 20 to 30 minutes of deleted scenes and describes one of them.

Scott says that his first cut of Prometheus was 2 hrs. 27 minutes. He was asked: Is the version in theaters his directors cut or will the home video release be the director's cut. He answers by alluding to how he regrets not releasing the longer version of Kingdom of Heaven as his directors cut.

...Read the full article

Offsite: Producers were seriously considering a child's version after all

14th June 2012. See article from herocomplex.latimes.com which contains serious spoilers