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Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues...

MPAA cuts for PG-13 and reports that the UK 15 rated cinema release is uncut


Link Here23rd December 2013
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues is a 2013 USA comedy by Adam McKay.
With Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate and Paul Rudd. YouTube icon BBFC link IMDb

The US Theatrical Version was cut for an MPAA PG-13 rating for crude and sexual content, drug use, language and comic violence.

Hollywood website Collider asked Will Ferrell and David Koechner about the cuts that were made for an MPAA PG-13 rating:

  • Ferrell said that the crack scene was a battle, that's been augmented. Originally there was more footage and the shots were wider. Also the censors weren't impressed when Brian actually gives the recipe for crack on the air! Some of the missing footage can be seen in the British trailer, the Vials of Smiles.
     
  • The word vagina was said too many times in the 50 Greatest Vaginas in History. These had to be changed to "gina," "va-jay-jay".
     
  • There's a scene where Brian says "We can do stories on the amount of ejaculate on hotel duvets". This had to be changed to avoid use of the term term ejaculate .

Uncut in the UK?

As well as the comment that the UK trailer contains deleted footage, it is reported on Twitter that the UK cinema release contains footage that was cut in the US.

In the UK, the cinema release was passed 15 uncut for infrequent strong sex references and hard drug use. The BBFC Insight explained further:

There are infrequent strong visual and verbal sex references, including a scene in which a man graphically explains different types of condoms, and a scene in which a man explains in detail how to perform oral sex on a woman. The film also contains frequent comic sex references of a less detailed nature.

There is a scene in which men are seen smoking crack, which is comically presented as part of a news investigation. However, the men doing the smoking are subsequently arrested. There are also verbal references to drug use. There are occasional scenes showing adults drinking alcohol and a scene in which a man has a cigar in his mouth.

The film contains one use of strong language ('fuck'), as well as some milder bad language, including uses of wanker , dick , shit , bullshit , bastard , bloody , son of a bitch and asshole . There is also some discriminatory language and behavior, all of which is clearly disapproved of. In one scene, rival news teams engage in a comic mock battle with makeshift weapons. This includes some heavy blows, as well as comic sight of an arm being severed and an eyeball landing on a hockey stick. There is also a scene in which Ron is depressed and attempts to hang himself. The attempt fails and there is no detail.

More to Come

Director Adam McKay has previously said that the improvisational nature of the film has provides loads of alternative jokes. He is putting together another version with alternative dialogue.

 

 

Shopping: Afternoon Delight...

Director Jill Soloway talks of cuts made to obtain an R rating


Link Here22nd December 2013

Afternoon Delight is a 2013 USA comedy drama by Jill Soloway.
With Kathryn Hahn, Juno Temple and Josh Radnor. YouTube icon IMDb

US: Cut for an MPAA R rating for:

  • 2014 DOCURAMA RA Blu-ray at US Amazon released on 18th February 2014
  • 2014 DOCURAMA R1 DVD at US Amazon released on 18th February 2014

See  article from  flavorwire.com

Jill Soloway had a film come out this year called Afternoon Delight. The movie stars Kathryn Hahn as Rachel, a stay-at-home mom who meets McKenna, sex worker played by Juno Temple. As you can imagine, the premise gives rise to some racy situations (at least, by old-fogey-MPAA lights, anyway). And when Soloway went through the MPAA ratings process, she told me, she was forced to cut quite a bit from certain scenes. In one case, she had to cut words, or expressions of enjoyment --- oh yeah type-stuff --- from a scene in which Rachel watches McKenna do her job. They wanted it to be less intense, less uncomfortable, Soloway says. And I went crazy trying to get that done. In another, there was a problem with the length--- which was under ten seconds--- of a silhouetted sex scene, which was apparently too much for the MPAA folk.

Soloway Said: Director friends of mine said, 'Let it be NC-17,' what do you care? But she had a contract with a distributor, and the contract said that she had to deliver an R-rated picture, so she ended up making cuts she didn't like.

When asked if she had any opportunity for a back-and-forth with the MPAA, on any of the cuts they asked for on Afternoon Delight, Soloway replied:

Yes. They just said, too sexually intense. Tony and Joan [Hey and Graves] are nice people, I like them. And you know, when I showed the film at Sundance, I also felt like some scenes were too intense, and I cut them down a little myself for the theatrical version before the MPAA even got involved. Which I sort of regret, because this is a political process and in a way if I had started with a more intense version I could have kept in what I wanted in the end, maybe.

The fact is that when I watch the movie now and I experience that scene, something is materially missing. The [MPAA's] cuts ended up making that scene worse in a way that I can feel--- or rather, I miss what I used to feel--- when watching it. The movie is not as good with those cuts.

Promotional Material

A provocative comedy about sex, marriage and finding yourself again, AFTERNOON DELIGHT follows Rachel (Kathryn Hahn, Step Brothers, We re the Millers), a quick-witted, yet tightly-coiled, thirty-something bored with her daily routine of preschool auctions and a lackluster sex life and career that has gone kaput. Looking to spice-up her marriage, Rachel takes her husband Jeff (Josh Radnor, How I Met Your Mother, Liberal Arts) to a strip club and meets McKenna (Juno Temple, Killer Joe, The Dark Knight Rises), a stripper she becomes obsessed with saving. Rachel adopts McKenna as her live-in nanny, wreaking havoc on her friends, family and herself.

Special Features:

Behind-the-Scenes; Audio Commentary with Director and Kathryn Hahn

 

 

For Homosexual References?...

Film makers unimpressed by being given an R rating for upcoming comedy G.B.F.


Link Here21st December 2013
G.B.F. is a 2013 USA comedy by Darren Stein.
With Natasha Lyonne, Evanna Lynch and Sasha Pieterse. IMDb

In G.B.F., social warfare erupts when three high school clique queens battle for supremacy: drama diva Caprice, Mormon princess 'Shley and blonde fashionista Fawcett. When unassuming Tanner is outted, he finds himself cast as the hottest new teen-girl accessory: The Gay Best Friend.

The MPAA rated the US comedy G.B.F. (gay best friend) as R for sexual references.

However, the film makers were targeting a PG-13. The film's director, Darren Stein, wrote in a Facebook post:

I always thought of G.B.F. as a PG-13 movie, Unfortunately, we were given an R 'For Sexual References' while not having a single F-bomb, hint of nudity or violence in the film. Perhaps the ratings box should more accurately read 'For Homosexual References' or 'Too Many Scenes of Gay Teens Kissing.'

I look forward to a world where queer teens can express their humor and desire in a sweet, fun teen film that doesn't get tagged with a cautionary R.

Screenwriter George Northy told Gawker:

I watch the shows Awkward and Glee and you can find pretty much around the same level of references, and those are TV-14. It's so silly when you really think about the MPAA in terms of how every 13-year-old in the country has seen hardcore pornography in this age of the Internet, and yet they can't go to a movie theater and see a movie like G.B.F. It would be funny if it weren't so sad.

 

 

Rated PG-13 for crude mating calls, stoned crows and a few tits...

A Birder's Guide to Everything is downrated from R to PG-13 on appeal


Link Here 5th December 2013
A Birder's Guide to Everything is a 2013 USA comedy by Rob Meyer.
With Ben Kingsley, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Katie Chang. IMDb

Summary Notes

David Portnoy, a 15-year-old birding fanatic, thinks that he's made the discovery of a lifetime. So, on the eve of his father's remarriage, he escapes on an epic road trip with his best friends to solidify their place in birding history.

The MPAA's Classification and Ratings Appeal Board has overturned the R rating given to the film A Birder's Guide to Everything for some language and crude references.

The film is now rated PG-13 for language, sex and drug references, and partial brief nudity.

 

 

Offsite Article: If PG-13 Is the Moneymaker...


Link Here5th December 2013
Why Is Hollywood Cranking Out So Many R-Rated Movies?

See article from thewrap.com

 

 

Oral Excesses...

Supporting the hype for Charlie Countryman


Link Here28th November 2013
Charlie Countryman is a 2013 Romania/USA action comedy romance by Fredrik Bond.
With Shia LaBeouf, Evan Rachel Wood and Mads Mikkelsen. YouTube icon IMDb

Evan Rachel Wood co-stars with Shia LaBeouf in Charlie Countryman , an indie drama that earned an R-rating from the Motion Picture Association of America because of some brutal violence, language throughout, sexuality/nudity, and drug use. According to Wood, however, an early MPAA ruling forced director Fredrik Bond to sanitize a key sex scene in order to avoid an adults-only NC-17.

Wood ook to Twitter to admonish members of the ratings board for their stance on female sexuality, noting that the scene in question was cut down because it showed a male performing oral sex on his female partner.

Charlie Countryman is cut and MPAA R rated for:

  • 2014 Millennium RA Blu-ray at US Amazon released on 21st January 2014
  • 2014 Millennium R1 DVD at US Amazon released on 21st January 2014
  • 2013 Millennium VOD [US only] at US Amazon available now
  • 2013 Now on theatrical release

 

 

Updated: 'Fucking' at the MPAA...

MPAA rating for Philomena reduced from R to PG-13 on appeal


Link Here25th November 2013
The Weinstein Company criticised the Motion Picture Assn. of America for assigning the studio's upcoming release Philomena an R rating. The MPAA has now downgraded the rating to a PG-13 on appeal.

Philomena , which stars Judi Dench as a woman trying to locate a son she was forced to give up for adoption 50 years earlier, was initially given an R because it included two utterances of 'fuck', when in fact only one is normally allowed in a PG-13.

Philomena, which has earned strong reviews, will debut in limited release on Nov. 22.

Update: Steve Coogan speaks of MPAA appeal

25th November 2013. See  article from  metro.us

Metro.us spoke with Steve Coogan soon after that R rating was reversed on appeal. Coogan said:

They reversed their decision today after we appealed this morning, and I was there as a producer of the film putting the case for reappraising the rating. It was myself and Bert Fields --- he's one of the hotshot Hollywood lawyers, a very, very good advocate, very impressive. He's got a great manner. It's like watching some sort of seasoned Hollywood actor. It's like watching Henry Fonda in 12 Angry Men or something. I put forward the artistic side of it. They listened to our arguments and we convinced a two-thirds majority, which is what's required amongst the panel of people who can challenge the original rating.

It's such a mysterious organization. They have these triggers. If you have more than one profanity then you automatically get an R. But there are examples of other films that have many profanities that have been given a PG-13. We have two profanities that are quite marked, but I think they're entirely justifiable and if you took them out you'd compromise the integrity of the film. The film has to be judged as a whole, and the film as a whole is quite a gentle story that I think should be available to everyone because it's got something important to say. Sometimes they have these rules that they adhere to, and there's probably very good reasons for that, but you can't have a one size fits all rule because every film is different.

 

 

Er Action Movies Have a Lot of Gun Violence...

MPAA responds to criticisms sparked by research showing that there is more gun violence at PG-13 than in R rated films


Link Here19th November 2013
A study by the Annenberg Public Policy Center and the Ohio State University recently published in the medical journal Pediatrics found that gun violence in the most popular PG-13 releases since 1985 has tripled in frequency. The number of scenes featuring gun violence in PG-13 films, the study found, has come to rival or even surpass the rate of such sequences in R-rated movies.

Surely hardly surprising as most high budget action movies now target an PG-13 rating. Guns are not particular popular in higher rated horror films when slightly more nasty and slower deaths are preferred.

The MPAA's ratings board has now responded to the generally negative press coverage of this research. Critics have claimed that the MPAA is far more permissive of violence in PG-13 films than fleeting nudity or a handful of expletives. Dan Romer of the Annenberg Center said: It may be time to rethink how violence is treated in movie ratings.

Joan Graves, head of the MPAA's ratings board, told The Associated Press that the MPAA is in line with parents' standards. She explained:

We try to get it right. The criticism of our system is not coming from the parents, who are the people we're doing this for.

PG-13 is not a namby-pamby rating, and is intended as a strong warning to parents.

Graves said parents more frequently object to language or sex in movies, and that: they feel they're getting the correct information about the violence:

We're certainly listening on the sexuality and the language. We'd be very interested in adjusting violence if in fact we were hearing from them we're getting it wrong. They don't seem to think that.

Graves said the association is aware of school shootings and other violence and the debate on the possible connection to violence in movies. She said the association is open to making adjustments.

Certainly, it's always under consideration. It's not a static thing, ever.

 

 

Offsite Article: Is the Ratings System Helping?...


Link Here29th October 2013
US R rating covers everything from 2 fucks in the dialogue to just short of 2 fucks in the sex scenes

See article from news.moviefone.com

 

 

Update: Well if they can't even use clear language in the instructions...

US cinema not keen on enforcing the adults only restriction for Blue is the Warmest Colour


Link Here 25th October 2013
The US film censors at the MPAA have rated Blue is the Warmest Colour as NC-17: No one 17 and under admitted. This convoluted way of defining an 18 certificate is a mere recommendation as it is not backed up by US statute.

The recommendation does not legally bind theaters, however, and exhibitors told theWrap that no effective enforcement mechanism exists to make them comply. In the MPAA's official Classification and Ratings Rules, all the sanctions aimed at violators deal with the companies that release films, not the theaters that show them.

Now one major New York theater, the IFC Center, has announced that it will not enforce the NC-17 rating given to Blue Is the Warmest Color , and there is nothing the Motion Picture Association of America can do to make them do it.

John Vanco, senior vice president of the IFC Center, told the New York Times in a statement that the film:

Is not inappropriate for mature, inquiring teenagers who are looking ahead to the emotional challenges and opportunities that adulthood holds. High-school age patrons would be admitted to the movie.

Update: OK for French teens too

24th November 2013. Thanks to Sergio

The film has been awarded a 12 rating in France albeit with a warning to parents.

 

 

Forced to Adopt an R Rating...

Weinstein to appeal against the MPAA rating for Philomena


Link Here19th October 2013

Philomena is a 2013 UK/USA/France drama by Stephen Frears.
With Michelle Fairley, Judi Dench and Steve Coogan.
YouTube icon IMDb

Summary Notes

A world-weary political journalist picks up the story of a woman's search for her son, who was taken away from her decades ago after she became pregnant and was forced to live in a convent.

For comparison the BBFC passed the cinema release 12A uncut for infrequent strong language and moderate sex references

Film producer Harvey Weinstein is to appeal against a decision by US film censors to give his studio's latest film an R rating. Philomena received the rating from the Classification and Ratings Administration for two instances of bad language.

But the Weinstein Company will now officially appeal against the rating, The Hollywood Reporter has said .

 

 

A Birder's Guide to Everything...

Distributors appeal to the MPAA wanting a PG-13 instead of the awarded R rating


Link Here17th October 2013
  A Birder's Guide to Everything is a 2013 USA comedy by Rob Meyer.
With Ben Kingsley, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Katie Chang. IMDb

Summary Notes

David Portnoy, a 15-year-old birding fanatic, thinks that he's made the discovery of a lifetime. So, on the eve of his father's remarriage, he escapes on an epic road trip with his best friends to solidify their place in birding history.

The film was rated R For some language and crude references. The distributors presumably wanted a PG-13 for its teenage audience and so have appealed to the CARA Appeals Board

 

 

Offsite Article: World War Z...


Link Here7th October 2013
Movie-Censorship.com reveal the many cuts to produce the PG-13 rated Theatrical Version

See article from movie-censorship.com

 

 

Rated R for Religion...

Church filmmakers find that they are not above MPAA's classifications rules


Link Here13th September 2013
My Son is a 2013 USA drama by Jarod O'Flaherty.
With Restin Burk, Kate Randall and Micheal Willbanks. YouTube icon IMDb

Rated R (17A) for some violence and drug use

The filmmakers behind the faith-based flick My Son were shocked when their low-budget movie was handed an R-rating from the Motion Pictures Association of America. Now, the church behind the movie is claiming that the MPAA handed out the strict rating because of the film's religious message.

Jarod O'Flaherty, the movie's director, told Fox News:

When you compare the content that is this film to even the mildest PG-13 action movies that are out there, the content of our film comes in as much less graphic... So it raises some questions about what was it in this film that got us the R-rating?

O'Flaherty said he's convinced the rating had to do with the religious message the movie promotes.

I don't know that they set out to do something bad towards our little movie. I think it's more of a reflection of how Hollywood views Jesus in general... I mean the evidence speaks for itself.

The MPAA told Fox News:

The rating board is comprised of parents who work to give films the rating they believe a majority of American parents would give. Each rating is accompanied by a descriptor that offers parents more detail about why a film received a rating -- in the case of 'My Son,' the R rating is for some violence and drug use. The rating is simply intended to inform parents of a film's content so that they can make their own viewing decisions on behalf of their kids; it is never an indication of the quality of a film.

 

 

Seeking the Marketing Prize of a PG-13...

MPAA turns down appeal against the R rating for Nebraska


Link Here19th July 2013

Nebraska is a 2013 USA drama by Alexander Payne.
With Bruce Dern, Will Forte and June Squibb. IMDb

An aging, booze-addled father makes the trip from Montana to Nebraska with his estranged son in order to claim a million dollar Mega Sweepstakes Marketing prize.

Director Alexander Payne and Paramount Pictures have failed to win an appeal to the MPAA's rating board to have the R rating given to their film Nebraska overturned.

The MPAA said that its Classification and Rating Appeals Board has upheld the R rating given to the movie for some language.

The MPAA have always been reluctant to allow more than the one use of strong language into PG-13 films.

 

 

Update: Cuts Now a Dead Issue...

Fede Alvarez declares the cut theatrical version of Evil Dead to be his Director's Cut


Link Here17th July 2013

Director Fede Alvarez was interviewed about work on the sequel. During the Interview Alvarez explained that the cut Theatrical Version of his Evil Dead remake is now considered to be his 'Director's Cut'.

Alvarez : It's easy to come up with crazy, violent scenes, the hard part is to get an R rating and not an NC17. It's a crazy game of standing right on the line, on top of the line, juggling the ideas, and not falling on the NC17 line. Because nobody puts an NC17 movie in wide release these days. So basically that's the real challenge, how we managed to be violent, and crazy, and outrageous and keep it inside the R-rating, which is basically timing it right.

Collider: Did you end up having to cut a lot to make that rating?

Alvarez : I think all we did to get the R-rating was basically just cut down the frames, the amount of time we exposed the audience to certain images. Like when Mia was cutting her tongue or Natalie was cutting her arm. There's a lot of graphic violence that instead of showing it for two seconds we have to just show it for one second on the screen. So that's what we lost on the editing floor when we cut it down to an R-rating. That was it basically. There were no scenes that were cut out just for that reason.

Alvarez : Do you have any intention of ever putting those seconds back on the film and releasing a director's cut?

Alvarez : Eventually if they do that. I don't know it's really not up to me. Usually you always see first cut is an extended version, because it's basically everything you shot, and you have that version and then you start cutting stuff out. Just to pick up the pace or sometimes stuff didn't work out the way you wanted it to so you cut it out. Definitely my favorite cut is the one that got put out. That's my favorite version of the film, the one that I put in theaters. That's my directors cut, there's no question about it. The producers that could have come in and said, We're going to cut this a different way . That never happened. Sam saw my cut and said That the version that it's supposed to be. The cut I showed him was the cut I put out there. So what everybody saw in the theaters is the director's cut, and this first DVD is the director's cut.

 

 

Title Claims...

Harvey Weinstein is pissed off that he has been banned by the MPAA from using the film title, The Butler


Link Here4th July 2013

The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) maintains a register of film titles for films receiving an MPAA rated theatrical release in the US. Even though film viewers are well used to multiple films with the same title, the MPAA does not allow this for theatrical release.

Now Harvey Weinstein is going into legal battle with the MPAA over the refusal to him to use the title, The Butler , for the upcoming feature directed by Lee Daniels about a White House butler.

The title has already been used by a 1916 short film that has long since been forgotten.

The Weinstein Co. issued a statement saying:

The suggestion that there is a danger of confusion between The Weinstein Co.'s 2013 feature movie and a 1917 [sic] short that has not been shown in theaters, television, DVDs, or in any other way for almost a century makes no sense. The award has no purpose except to restrict competition and is contrary to public policy.

Offsite Article: More to this story than meets the eye

6th July 2013. See  article from  hollywoodreporter.com

Update: Resolution

20th July 2013. See  article from  huffingtonpost.com

The Weinstein Company and Warner Bros.' dispute over The Butler added another wrinkle as the MPAA approved the former's use of the title Lee Daniels' The Butler for the upcoming film.

 

 

Seeking a PG-13 Marketing Prize...

Paramount appeal the MPAA R rating for Nebraska


Link Here3rd July 2013

Nebraska is a 2013 USA drama by Alexander Payne.
With Bruce Dern, Will Forte and June Squibb. IMDb

The publicity material reads:

An aging, booze-addled father makes the trip from Montana to Nebraska with his estranged son in order to claim a million dollar Mega Sweepstakes Marketing prize.

The film was MPAA rated R For some language.

There is a pending appeal to the MPAA against the rating of the film. There are reported to be just a couple of 'fucks' in the dialogue that tip the film into an R rating. Paramount are keen to get a PG-13.

 

 

A Not So Short Hobbit...

MPAA rate an extended version of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey


Link Here12th June 2013

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is a 2012 USA/New Zealand fantasy adventure by Peter Jackson.
With Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage. IMDb

The Extended Version was rated PG-13 For extended sequences of intense fantasy action violence, frightening images and fleeting nudity.

Note that the 'fleeting nudity' is new for the extended version. The Theatrical Version was rated PG-13 For extended sequences of intense fantasy action violence and frightening images.

Director Peter Jackson previously confirmed that the extended edition will be released and will feature 20 to 25 additional minutes. This leads up to a final running time of roughly 189 or 194 minutes for the first film.

 

 

Monster Sized Hype...

As long as its a demon you can have an erection in the R rated film, This Is The End


Link Here8th June 2013

Apparently when Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg submitted This Is the End to the ratings board of the Motion Picture Association of America, the co-directors expected to get an adults only NC-17 rating.

In addition to scores of profanities and liberal drug use, This Is the End includes several sex scenes, including one between a demonic beast and a human, and a well endowed satanic creature.

Rogen and Goldberg seemingly loaded the film with a few sexually explicit frames that they felt certain would shock the movie ratings panel and result in an NC-17 mark. The plan was to then trim a little from the superfluously graphic shots, resubmit a slightly cleaner version to the MPAA and then get the R rating they always wanted.

But even with the additional material, This Is the End got an R rating for crude and sexual content throughout, brief graphic nudity, pervasive language, drug use and some violence.

Goldberg noted:

They let us get away with a bunch of erections. As long as it's a demon, you can have an erection.

 

 

Offsite Article: Texas Chainsaw Cuts...


Link Here16th May 2013
Movie-Censorship.com publish pictorial cuts made for the R rated cinema/DVD/Blu-ray version

See article from movie-censorship.com

 

 

Rated R for Terse Comments...

MPAA introduce a new layout for film ratings


Link Here17th April 2013

The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) has announced presentation changes to its movie rating system.

The new system, rolled out as the Check the Box campaign, will include prominent descriptions explaining why a movie received its rating. Films that might previously have been stamped PG-13 with a sentence beneath the rating will now feature those same descriptions in large type next to the ratings code.

The White House has called on the movie industry help parents monitor violence in media since the elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.

CEO Chris Dodd announced the industry's plan at the annual movie-theater convention CinemaCon and spoke generally about the need to help parents: so they can make the best choices about what movies are right for their children to watch.

MPAA spokeswoman Kate Bedingfield spoke about the change in presenting rating descriptions eg, An intense scene of war violence, some images of carnage, brief strong violence. She said: We're changing the way they're presented so that they're easier to read.

The MPAA now requires that:

  • a public service announcement is to be shown before movies,
  • posters in theaters across the country will adopt the new ratings description format
  • green band trailer screens will clarify that the trailer is approved for the audience viewing the main feature.

Nutters had hoped Dodd might use his keynote address to signal to the industry that the MPAA would begin assigning R ratings to a wider spectrum of violent movies, but this was not to be.

 

 

Extract: Tongue Wagging...

Writer-Director Fede Alvarez Talks Evil Dead, Cutting Down to an R-Rating, the Appeal of the Extreme Violence, Evil Dead 2, and More


Link Here20th March 2013

Evil Dead director Fede Alvarez spoke of his experience of film censorship at the MPAA:

The MPAA is actually a bizarre thing. You don't have to try to understand it.

We didn't butcher any scene or anything. We just had to trim. We took out frames here, You know, when she cut her tongue, we were showing a lot. You see the tongue, you get to see the tongue moving. Probably there was a version where we showed more frames. We've cut about 20 frames here, that kind of stuff, where you take that out and you get your R rating.

They were very nice to us. They were very nice to us because they were saying it was supernatural horror, which means it's not real, like the other is real. It's kind of a fantasy universe, so that makes it more friendly. Don't ask me.

...Read the full article

 

 

Update: Evil Dead...

Evil Dead remake passed 18 without BBFC cuts for UK cinema release


Link Here14th March 2013

Evil Dead is a 2013 USA horror by Fede Alvarez.
With Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Jessica Lucas. YouTube icon IMDb

UK: Passed 18 without BBFC cuts for strong bloody violence, gory horror and very strong language for:

  • UK 2013 cinema release

The director Fede Alvarez has revealed that his remake of Evil Dead received an NC-17 rating from the MPAA when it was first submitted for consideration. The director noted that they indeed made some cuts to secure an R-rating, but I imagine we'll get to see the full unrated cut when the film hits Blu-ray and DVD.

 

 

Naked Shoulders...

Bill Condon hypes censored sex scenes in PG-13 rated Breaking Dawn Part 2


Link Here28th February 2013

The Director of Breaking Dawn Part 2 , Bill Condon, has been hyping the DVD/Blu-ray release on March 2.

He ludicrously claims that a sex scene between Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart 'is so hot' that it had be to censored for the children's PG-13 rating. He says via a press release and in a making of DVD extra:

We had one shot that the MPAA complained about where there's a closeup of Rob kissing [Kristen's] shoulder. They thought they saw nudity, but there wasn't any, but they have filthy minds, clearly... We had to keep showing it to them until they were sure they weren't seeing anything naughty.

As Twilight series devotees know, there was a lot of ground to cover in adapting Breaking Dawn to the screen. Between the wedding, the honeymoon, the birth, and everything in between, naturally there were things that didn't make it into our final cut. But I wanted to make sure that for all the Twihards out there, there was a chance to see some of these cut scenes.

 

 

Update: Slippery Sloping...

Chris Dodd of the MPAA speaks against restrictions of violent films and games


Link Here17th February 2013
Full story: US Mass Shootings...Gun lobby vs violent media

Reports say MPAA chairman Chris Dodd has warned against efforts to regulate violence in films and instead suggested that the film industry will work with the White House on voluntary steps to help parents decide what movies and TV shows are appropriate for children.

Campaigners and state lawmakers have been suggesting that the marketing of violent movies and videogames should be restricted.

Asked whether Hollywood there is too much violence in videogames and movies, Dodd said the industries give people enough choices across the spectrum, but warns that if you start to get into the business of trying to regulate content, that is a very slippery slope. Dodd said that the focus should be on giving people the information they need to make their choice of what to watch, adding that we are working to provide whatever support and assistance we can to the White House.

Dodd said more attention should be paid to mental health, noting that is the space where we really need attention.

 

 

Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning...

It seems that the UK DVD and Blu-ray releases are the uncut version


Link Here16th February 2013
Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning is a 2012 USA action sci-fi by John Hyams.
With Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren and Scott Adkins. YouTube icon IMDb

UK: The Unrated/NC-17 Version was passed 18 uncut for strong sex and bloody violence for:

  • UK 2013 Studiocanal RB Blu-ray at UK Amazon released on 11th February 2013
  • UK 2013 Studiocanal R2 DVD at UK Amazon released on 11th February 2013

See  review from  blogs.indiewire.com : "Combines Art House Intentions & Strong Action In A Franchise Return To Form"

Censorship History

There is also a cut US release.

See pictorial cuts details from movie-censorship.com . The Theatrical Version suffered 33s of cuts mainly due to bloody shootings in a brothel being toned down by reducing blood an injury.

See  interview with director John Hyams from  collider.com :

Hyams : Yeah, there is an NC-17 cut. The one that's On-Demand and in theaters is R. When they fight in the sporting goods store and he nails him with a bat, what did you see?

Collider : I think we see his face cave in a little bit. But the thing I remember most is the reaction shot of the girlfriend where she's looking at the main character and thinking, Oh... this guy might be less safe than anyone else around me.

Hyams : Right. So, you might have seen the R cut.

Collider : What's in the NC-17 version there?

Hyams : In the NC-17 version, at least in that scene in particular -- and that's just one moment -- you literally like half of his face fly off.

Collider : Yeah, I mostly remember the girl. But I figured you would have gotten the NC-17 for the scene where there's the naked guy who gets shot and stabbed a bunch of times.

Hyams : Yeah, somehow the guy's naked frontal didn't bother them. We had to take out one... that scene in the brothel, there were a bunch of cuts to that. I would say that there were cuts made to every action scene in the movie. Some of them not so drastic, most of them not so drastic. Just little bits here and there, maybe not lingering on something for so long. what [the MPAA] had said to me was that, outside of a few very specific images we had to get rid of, it was mostly just about the accumulation of the violence.

Collider : Yeah. It's grueling at a point. But it's never grueling in a way that made me want to stop watching. I wanted to find out what happened next. But it was an endurance test on some level.

Hyams : Right, right. So the NC-17 version might be a slightly greater endurance test. But it plays pretty much the same. We showed the NC-17 version at Fantastic-Fest. But the Blu-Ray will be the unrated version.

Promotional Material

Action movie legends John-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren are back in full force, with world-renowned British martial arts star Scott Adkins (The Expendables 2) in the most violent and thrilling Universal Soldier sequel yet.

Forced into hiding, a rogue troop of UniSols have formed an underground militia of deadly warriors. Lead by the merciless Andrew Scott (Lundgren) and Luc Deveraux (Van Damme), their plan is to rage a war of total destruction. Only one man can stop them. Hell bent on revenge for the death of his family, John (Adkins) is on a mission to hunt down and kill all UniSols, unless they find him first.

Features:

- Trailer
- Interviews with Jean Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren and Scott Adkins 

 

 

Offsite Article: From Beyond, Stuart Gordon, and MPAA censorship...


Link Here5th February 2013
A detailed look at the history of Gordon's censorship tussle with the MPAA

See article from denofgeek.com

 

 

Less Evil...

Director reveals that the Evil Dead remake has been cut to avoid a US NC-17 rating


Link Here29th January 2013

The director Fede Alvarez has revealed that his remake of Evil Dead received an NC-17 rating from the MPAA when it was first submitted for consideration.

The director noted that they indeed made some cuts to secure an R-rating, but I imagine we'll get to see the full unrated cut when the film hits Blu-ray and DVD.

Evil Dead opens on April 12th.

[Note an NC-17 rating is the same as the UK 18 rating. An R Rating would be something like a 17A in the UK].

 

 

Update: High Noon...

MPAA president forewarns White House that Hollywood will oppose any proposals to censor films in the name of gun control


Link Here10th January 2013
Full story: US Mass Shootings...Gun lobby vs violent media

On the eve of the entertainment industry's White House meeting to discuss gun violence in films and video games, Motion Picture Association of America president Chris Dodd told The Hollywood Reporter that his industry will consider voluntary guidelines but will vehemently oppose any government restrictions on content.

Dodd and spokesmen from various sectors of the entertainment industry will meet with Vice President Joe Biden, who has been charged by President Barack Obama with recommending legislation to curb gun violence.

Dodd said:

We want to explore what we can do to provide parents and others with the information for them to make choices on what they want to see and what they want their children to see. That's a legitimate space for us to be in. It's all voluntary. What we don't want to get involved with is content regulation. We're vehemently opposed to that. We have a free and open society that celebrates the First Amendment.

 

 

Offsite Article: Possessed by MPAA Demons...


Link Here9th January 2013
Director Fede Alverez speaks of tree rapes and R ratings

See article from collider.com

 

 

Offsite Article: Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning...


Link Here1st January 2013
A good write up and report about cuts to obtain an MPAA R rating

See article from movie-censorship.com


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