Script Censors…BBFC suggested cuts so that the film Now is Good could be rated 12A

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Thanks to Gav See article from bbfc.co.uk

Now is Good is a 2012 UK drama by Ol Parker. With Dakota Fanning, Kaya Scodelario and Jeremy Irvine. See IMDb. Passed 12A for strong language, drug use, sex references & terminal illness theme after BBFC suggested cuts were implemented for: UK 2012 cinema release The BBFC commented: The BBFC was given a draft script before the film was produced and advised the company that a film of the script would be likely to receive a 15 classification. In order to achieve the company’s preferred 12A classification, the BBFC advised that: some visual and verbal sex references should be removed, that sight of potentially harmful behaviour should be removed, that use of strong language should be reduced, and that a scene in which drugs are prepared and taken should be substantially reduced. When the film was submitted for classification, the changes recommended at the script stage had been made and the film was classified 12A.

Scary Censorship…Massively edited made for TV ghost movie not edited enough for daytime TV

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See article [pdf] from stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk

Secrets in the Walls Channel 5, 20 January 2012, 15:15 A complainant alerted Ofcom to the pre-watershed broadcast of the film The Secrets in the Walls because of concerns that it contained supernatural and horror themes and images unsuitable for a child audience. Ofcom noted that this was a made-for-television film about a mother who moves into a new home with her two daughters where, it is later revealed, a young teenage bride had been murdered. Her malevolent spirit now seeks to free itself by possessing the older daughter. The film featured the following scenes: the unexpected appearance of the spirit in front of the daughters and at the window of the house, and their reactions of fear and distress; supernatural activities such as unexplained music from a jewellery box, slamming doors and flickering lights; the older daughter was trapped in the wardrobe screaming and scratching as the light in the wardrobe flickered on and off (it was later revealed that she lost two fingernails from her frantic scratching to get out); an attempted exorcism to banish the spirit from the house; and the possession of the older daughter by the spirit. Ofcom considered Rule 1.3 of the Code: Children must … be protected by appropriate scheduling from material that is unsuitable for them. Channel 5 said that in total 18 edits were made to the film with the aim of reducing the overall horror/thriller tone of the film and this was the version that was broadcast. However, having reviewed this broadcast version, Channel 5 stated: we are of the view that further significant edits would have been required to make the programme suitable for a 3.15pm timeslot, or, the programme should have been scheduled at a time when children were not likely to be watching. Re-scheduling this version of the programme would have been the preferable solution as further edits…seem likely to compromise the editorial narrative of the programme, distort its meaning and/or confuse viewers. Ofcom Decision: Breach of Rule 1.3 This film contained themes, sequences and images of menace, threat and suspense as well as specific examples of supernatural activity, exorcism and possession which are typically found in horror films aimed at adult viewers. In one particular example, the mother was asleep in darkness when a shrill scream came from her older daughter’s bedroom, piercing the silence. The mother and younger daughter ran to the bedroom and loud scratching and screams for help and I can’t breathe could be heard. The light in the cupboard flickered on and off as the mother pulled open the doors to release her daughter, whose hands were injured from scratching at the closed doors to escape. These scenes were accompanied throughout by menacing sound effects and music. Further scenes featured the spirit appearing to the daughters unexpectedly in the mirror and at windows; and an attempt to exorcise the spirit that resulted in the woman conducting the exorcism being knocked down violently. In Ofcom’s view these themes, sequences and images were unsuitable for child viewers and hence in breach of Rule 1.3

Strictly Come Dancing…BBC Trust savages appellants whingeing about Robbie Savage taking off Michael Jackson

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Thanks to Nick See article [pdf] from bbc.co.uk

Strictly Come Dancing, BBC One, 29 October 2011 Two people appealed to the BBC Trust against the BBC’s response to complaints regarding a dance routine on the Strictly Come Dancing Halloween special. The appeals were consolidated and considered together across the range of issues raised. The complainants said that a dance routine performed by Robbie Savage to the Michael Jackson song Bad was sexually explicit (particularly in relation to its ending, when the contestant jumped onto the judges’ desk in front of one of the male judges) and was inappropriate for the programme’s audience. The Committee concluded: that the routine in question was not sexually aggressive and would have been viewed more as pantomime behaviour, a caricature of Michael Jackson’s dance routine, and would not have had a harmful effect on children. that, while some viewers may have found elements of the routine tasteless and vulgar, overall the routine did not exceed audience expectations. that the audience would be familiar with the nature of Robbie Savage’s on-screen relationship with the male judge and would take that into consideration as part of the narrative of the show. that the dance routine met generally accepted standards, but that the final hip thrust on the judges’ desk was at the margins of acceptability in a programme appealing to a wide family audience. The complaints were not upheld