Rated H for Hype…Ridley Scott’s Prometheus is rated R by the MPAA

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Thanks to goatboy See article from theflickcast.com

theflickcast.comwrites: 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

Killer Rating…William Friedkin’s Killer Joe sticks with the dreaded NC-17 rating

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See article from thewrap.com

LD Entertainment will release William Friedkin’s Killer Joe with an NC-17 rating, opting not to edit it for a more commercial R Rating.. David Dinerstein president of LD Entertainment said: As we support the artistic integrity of our filmmakers [...] ‘Killer Joe’ will be released in theaters on July 27th in its original version as an NC-17 film. The film has played to enthusiastic crowds at the Venice, Toronto and South-by-Southwest Film Festivals where many critics have noted this is Matthew McConaughey’s best performance to date. As our initial LD Entertainment release, we are excited to bring this very entertaining, funny and provocative film to audiences this summer. The last major film to bow with an NC-17 ratings was Shame, which earned the vast majority of its grosses overseas.

A Bumper Year for Appeals against MPAA Ratings…8 appeals so far for 2012 US movie releases

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See article from latimes.com

The MPAA, which administers the US ratings system via its Classification and Rating Administration, has already heard eight appeals for films scheduled for release this year. That’s double the number the group heard for movies released in 2011 and surpasses the seven appeals it heard for 2010 films. Failed appeals were: Bully, a documentary about bullying.  Producers failed to get the rating reduced from an R for strong language to PG-13. Sea Level, an action adventure. Producers failed to get the rating reduced to G. Killer Joe, a crime drama. Producers failed to get the rating reduced from NC-17 for graphic aberrant content involving violence and sexuality, and a scene of brutality to R. Haywire, starring Gina Carano in an action picture.  Producers failed to get the rating reduced from an R for some violence to PG-13. This Means War.  Producers failed to get the rating reduced from an R. Apart. Producers failed to get the rating reduced from an R. The Possession, a thriller. Producers failed to get the rating reduced from an R and so made cuts for a PG-13 The only successful appeal was: The Perks of Being a Wallflower, a high-school romance. It was reduced from R to PG-13 I think studios are starting to push a little harder, said Ethan Noble, who runs Motion Picture Consulting, a company that assists filmmakers and studios with ratings and who has worked on numerous appeals, including the one for Bully. And while I think that this is the best system we can have, there does seem to be a disconnect between what the ratings board wants and what filmmakers think should be allowed. That disconnect, say Noble and others, comes from changing social mores about language and other areas of explicit content while the MPAA, Noble said, is basically using the same system it’s had in place for years.

No Joke…McG’s This Means War cut for a US PG-13 rating

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See article from chicagotribune.com

Fox has made cuts to its new movie offering This Means War. The Studio has now cut out a few sex jokes from actress Chelsea Handler, according to a source close to the project. The cuts were to avoid the R Rating handed down by the US film censors and obtain a PG-13 instead. Before making cuts Fox did in fact try to appeal against the R Rating but the appeal was turned down. This Means War is directed by McG and stars Chris Pine, Tom Hardy and Reese Witherspoon. Pine and Hardy play best friend CIA operatives who fall for the same woman.

Possessed by Censors…The Possession cut down to a children’s horror film

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See article from dreadcentral.com

Distributors Lionsgate have got their heart set of a PG-13 rating for the children’s horror The Possession. The film was originally given an R Rating but Lionsgate appealed. The appeal was turned down by the MPAA in November 2011 and so the R Rating stood. Now Lionsgate have cut down the movie to obtain the required PG-13 rating. Jeffrey Dean Morgan stars in The Possession, formerly titled Dibbuk Box, with Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert producing, and Ole Bornedal directing. The movie follows a divorced father whose youngest daughter becomes strangely connected to an antique wooden box she purchased at a yard sale. The film will open at the end of August 2012.

Friday the 13th…New page to maintain the cuts status of the series of Friday the 13th films

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A new page has been added to maintain details of the MPAA and BBFC cuts to the Friday the 13th series of films: Friday The 13th (1980) Friday The 13th Part Two (1981) Friday The 13th Part III (1982) Friday The 13th: The Final Chapter (1984) Friday The 13th: A New Beginning (1985) Jason Lives: Friday The 13th Part VI (1986) Friday The 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988) Friday The 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989) Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday (1993) Jason X (2001) Freddy vs. Jason (2003) Friday The 13th (2009 remake) See BBBC Cuts Friday the 13th Films

007 Censor Cuts…Moaning Censors: Die Another Day at the MPAA

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In a turnaround for the Bond movies, 2002′s Die Another Day was passed ’12A’ uncut (and later ’12′ uncut on VHS, DVD and Blu-ray) in the UK, whilst a slightly edited version went out in the US, courtesy of the MPAA. Shortly after it’s release, producer Michael G. Wilson — perhaps aware of Bond’s tough censorship history in the UK — laughed and remarked, People have to buy the British version to see the whole thing! See article: Die Another Day at the MPAA

007 Censor Cuts…Rough Treatment. How film censors got their hooks into GoldenEye

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GoldenEye came before the BBFC in 1995, who viewed the film in a rough cut form. This is a common practice with filmmakers who are seeking a certain rating. They can submit their film (in an unfinished state) to the Board informally, who will suggest cuts to the film so that the desired rating is more likely to be achieved when the final, formal submission is made. Like Licence to Kill before it, GoldenEye went down this route. These are the cuts originally made in 1995 to the rough cut of the film. See article GoldenEye at the BBFC

Nightmare Censorship…Nightmare on Elm Street Collection on UK Blu-ray

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UK 2011 Warner 1-7 Collection R0 Blu-ray at UK Amazon just released on 17th October 2011

Nightmare on Elm Street has suffered a little bit more from the US and UK film censors than perhaps it really deserved. A new UK Region 0 Blu-ray has just been released featuring the collection of Nightmare on Elm Street movies 1-7. There have no new submissions to the BBFC so the versions included are those previously released in the UK. Here is a summary of the current censorship state of the Nightmare on Elm Street movies in the UK. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1985 by Wes Craven) The cut US R Rated Theatrical Version was passed 18 without BBFC cuts. The US Collectors Edition laserdisc (Elite Entertainment) details cuts made as the film went through the MPAA: 5s : Tina’s corpse hitting the bed, and the resultant large splash of blood all over her boyfriend Rod 8s : A geyser of blood spurting up from Glen’s bed and hitting the ceiling. This R Rated Version is the defacto standard version in the US and UK, but there is a hard-to-find uncut version available, eg in Turkey A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy’s revenge (1985 by Jack Sholder) Uncut for an 18 rating here and an R Rating in the US. The film has never troubled the US nor the  UK film censor. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987 Chuck Russell) The US R Rated Version was passed 18 without BBFC cuts. But the US R Rated version was cut by the MPAA: The MPAA required some toning down of the gorier scenes. Most famously, the death of Taryn (switchblade toting punk girl). Originally Freddy injected her with heroin to the degree the top of her head blew out. The subtle tone down is kind of obvious when watching the film, as it fades to white before we’re shown the results of Freddy’s actions However this R Rated Version is the best available. A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988 Renny Harlin) Recent UK releases are 15 uncut. The film has never troubled US censors for its R Rating. Previously the BBFC cut the 1989 cinema release and subsequent VHS to obtain an 18 rating. At the time the BBFC censors were banning martial arts weaponry, so the following scenes have been cut: The first being the character “Rick” practicing martial arts in his garage and swinging the nunchuks. Secondly the character “Alice” realizes that she is absorbing all of her dead friends powers when they are killed by Freddie so she has a swing of the nunchuks. A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child (1989 Stephen Hopkins) The cut R rated Version was passed 18 without BBFC cuts. However this Version suffered 30s of cuts to appease the MPAA: A scene showing tubes and the likes from a motorcycle painfully embedding themselves into the unfortunate rider Dan and eventually totally fusing with the victim. A scene showing Freddy force feeding Greta her own innards extracted from a gaping hole in her stomach. There is also an uncut Unrated Version that was passed 18 uncut for the 1990 cinema release and subsequent VHS. However the cut R Rated Version has become the defacto standard for DVD releases. Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991 Rachel Talalay) The latest releases are uncut and 18 rated. The film has never troubled the US censors for its R Rating. Previously the BBFC cut the 1991 cinema release and 1992 Guild VHS to obtain an 18 rating. At the time the BBFC censors were banning martial arts weaponry and crossbows, so they made the following cuts: A sight of throwing star in Freddy’s leg was cut. Another throwing star pinning Freddy’s sweater to a wall was also cut. Maggie throwing another at Freddy deleted Maggie firing a crossbow bolt into Freddy’s leg was cut ( Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (1994, Wes Craven) Latest releases are 15 uncut here with an untroubled R Rating from the US censor. Previously, when it was first released on video in 1995, the BBFC gave it an 18 Rating.

PG13ification…A PG-13 version of Columbiana may be a squeeze too much for the UK

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Thanks to Gavin Salkeld

Columbiana is US/French action thriller about a female assassin who sets out to avenge her father’s murder. It has been noted amongst US film reviewers as perhaps the most violent of films that have been squeezed into a US PG-13 rating. As explained by Vaugh Fry in an article from vaughnonmovies.com: From a business perspective the PG-13 equals an increase in revenue. It allows the attractive high body count that appeals to a huge demographic: teenagers. It also allows these teens to go to the movies without their parents, be it through their own means or the tried and true dropped off method. Generally speaking, a film is planned out in the vision of the writer and then cut by the studio to meet the MPAA standards to attain this rating. R-rated franchises have fallen victim to PG13ification in their attempts to return money. Live Free or Die Hard omitted a recurring phrase made famous by series hero John McClane. Terminator Salvation rewrote the actions of characters, which in their very names are intended to kill, so that they instead harmlessly toss people around like toys. The themes found in a film should have a bigger role in the MPAA rating. Just this past weekend I reviewed Colombiana, a PG-13 movie about a female assassin. Maybe I’m on crazy pills but surely I’m not the only person in the world who can read this synopsis and clearly envision an R. By making Colombiana PG-13, the movie actually fails to deliver expectations, opting to blur or totally cut deathblows. Well maybe this is all a bit too much of a squeeze for the UK distributors. The version submitted to the BBFC seems to be a little more grown up and seems to sit happily with the uncut 15 rating awarded by the BBFC. The US film censors of the MPPA rated ColombianaPG-13 for violence, disturbing images, intense sequences of action, sexuality and brief strong language. The MPAA are very hot on strong language in PG-13 and stick to a maximum of 1 use, which is then referred to as ‘brief strong language’. However the version submitted to the BBFC contains 9 uses of strong language (eg ‘fuck’) as well as mild language (eg. ‘bullshit’, ‘bastard’, ‘shit’). The BBFC also describe the violence in Colombiana, and it seems to sit very easily with their 15 rating, and if anything, seems to be justified against not requiring an 18 rating. The BBFC wrote (spoiler alert): The film also contains scenes of strong violence. The thriller maintains a gritty and violent feel to the action and conflict and there are several scenes of strong, impressionistic violence with briefly focused upon visual detail. The early shooting of the protagonist’s father and the young daughter stabbing a knife in the hand of a criminal both have a strong impact. There are further strong moments such as an extended fight between the protagonist and a mafia henchman. This includes the some heavy blows to the face and groin, attempted strangulation with a towel, bashing of the head against a bathtub and further images of attempted strangulation with a belt. The Guidelines on violence at 15 state Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain and injury. While the violence in the film is strong, with some detail and sight of pain and injury being inflicted, it does not dwell on these elements. So perhaps the UK and presumably Europe are releasing an R Rated or Unrated version.