Kevin Smith’s Zack and Miri Make a Porno Gets an NC-17 Rating (As Expected)
I don’t think there’s anyone out there that will be shocked at this news, but it looks like Kevin Smith’s next movie, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, has indeed been dealt the dreaded NC-17 rating by the MPAA. According to an entry on the MPAA’s Film Ratings site, it is currently “Rated NC-17 for some graphic sexuality”, but it is also “Pending Appeal”.
I’m not exactly sure what will happen next, but you can bet they’re not going to keep that rating and release it in only a handful of independent theatres. Most likely they will have to make some cuts, release it with an “R” rating, and then later release the Unrated version on DVD. The question is, is the NC-17 a fair rating, or are the MPAA being hard-asses here? I’m guessing the former, but unfortunately this isn’t a large productions with a lot of money behind it, so they probably aren’t going to have much luck appealing the decision. Personally I think Smith should have taken a page out of the Matt Stone/Trey Parker playbook and filled the movie with so much extra filth that the only footage to survive the cut would be what he originally wanted in the first place.
Comments (9)
He mentioned it on this weeks podcast. Apparently this will be his 3rd appeal, having succesfully getting an NC-17 rating overturned for Clerks, and an R rating for Jersey Girl. So apparently appeals do work. He said it was one 14-frame shot in the film that they had problems with, and he was under the impression that he had made enough cuts in the film already.
Posted by Henrik on July 21st, 2008You would think with hostel 2 being an R then this could easily get an R…they really hate sex…but violence is just dandy.
Posted by Bob the Slob on July 21st, 2008From a pure monetary view point I can’t see the viability of releasing a NC-17 product into a handful of theaters. Without a theatrical release of at least 1500 screens it will be as if the film never existed.
Posted by entertainmenttodayandbeyond on July 21st, 2008Hey. I’m hosting a film blog-a-thon on my site:
http://cinexcellence.com/2008/07/21/unseen-dvd-blog-a-thon/
If you could post a link to it on your site that would be awesome. And feel free to participate!
Posted by Cinexcellence on July 21st, 2008Exactly Bob, that’s what I hate about our society. As soon as there’s sex involved it’s evil, but a movie like Dark Knight which is full of violence gets a PG-13. WTF.
Posted by Paul on July 21st, 2008I suggest everyone here check out the documentary “This Film Is Not Yet Rated.” It was a very informative (but heavily slanted) look at the MPAA’s proceedings and who really calls the shots behind the scenes.
Yes, the MPAA is much more weary of sexual content and most of all anything gay related. If you have lots of sex in your film or gay themes then you get an NC-17 with no objections. That is because there is apparently a very powerful religious agenda within the MPAA.
The real issue isn’t the fact that the film got an NC-17, the real issue is that mainstream theaters refuse to play these movies. As an adult I should be able to see whatever I damn well please in a theater as long as I pay my money and sit quietly. By refusing to play these movies they give the MPAA the power not only to rate but to censor art that they deal isn’t worthy. First Amendment anyone?
NC-17 isn’t a viable rating, it’s a death sentence to anyone who hopes to get their film into theaters and only lets these cozy fools exact power to censor artists who makes films. “Y Tu Mama Tambien” is an absolutely wonderful film that was never released in US theaters because of the sexual content in the film. It wasn’t gratuitous, it wasn’t exploitative, it had a purpose and served the movie.
The problem is, the MPAA system is run entirely by the studios and this system stifles independent filmmakers (the only ones with the balls to makes movies with racy subject matter) most of all considering the appeals board is made up almost entirely of studio executives from Sony, Warner, Universal, etc. there’s almost no way that anyone without serious clout could get an appeal through without raising a hailstorm or making cuts to what they already deem is the best cut of their own film.
I say screw them. Release it straight to DVD as is, promote the hell out of it and create a media storm around this issue so that people can actually see what’s going on. With Rogen in it and Smith behind it, it’ll get some press and his fans might check it out. He’ll make more profits that way than from theater exhibition anyway.
Posted by Jason on July 22nd, 2008***Correction to previous post***
Posted by Jason on July 22nd, 2008After reviewing the film, members of the appeals board were people representing Sony, Fox, theater chains, film buyers, etc.
This decade’s torture porn that started with Saw and Hostel raises an interesting paralel. I can’t imagine movies being any more violent than that and it was still rated R. So, the highest rating that can be given to a film with a lot of violence portrayed is an R? It could be the most violent, the sickest, the most twisted movie you’ve ever seen, and it’s still going to get an R rating unless it is sexually explicit? That doesn’t make a lot of sense.
Posted by Matt on July 22nd, 2008Af far as this movie in concerned, I don’t plan on seeing it no matter what it was rated. I’ve really lost faith in Smith, since the last decent movie that he made came out in 1999. He’s gotten so boring and unoriginal.
Y Tu Mama Tambien was released in US theaters. It even had an impressive 20 week run and made over $13 million, which easily blew away the $5 million budget. Y Tu Mama Tambien is a pretty clear example of a successful NC-17 release.
I’m fairly certain AMC is the only chain that refuses to show NC-17 films, and that might only be in the US. Pretty much every other chain will show NC-17 films. The biggest thing is that you essentially can’t market an NC-17 movie on TV in the US, and that tends to cripple the box office take if the film isn’t well reviewed.
Posted by Matt Gamble on July 22nd, 2008Leave a Reply