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.

Significantly Cut NC-17 Version…More details on the US release of a Serbian Film

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See article from blogs.indiewire.com

Srdjan Spasojevic’s A Serbian Film will soon be getting a U.S. theatrical and VOD release. Twitch has done some digging and is reporting that low rent distributors Invincible Pictures will be giving the film a limited theatrical release on May 13th in cities still yet to be named. It will arrive on the big screen in an NC-17 cut running 98 minutes, with a longer but still slightly edited unrated version hitting FlixFling at the same time and running 103 minutes. Home video details are still being worked out, but apparently the theatrical version will land on DVD with the stronger cut getting the high-def treatment. By comparison the UK version runs 99:25s after 4:11s of BBFC cuts albeit with some cuts substituted. The BBFC noted the uncut submitted running time as 103:36s.

Threat Saw…MPAA suggests that it is rethinking the wide envelope for R rated horror

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Based on article from variety.com

When the Weinstein Co. won an R rating for Blue Valentine last week after objecting to its original NC-17, it was a signal that perhaps the industry’s ratings board is easing up. As one insider notes of the initial rating: The feeling was that they got it wrong with this one. What the board’s decision didn’t do is instill any additional confidence in the NC-17 rating. Ratings board chair Joan Graves admits moviegoers have a skewed perception of the NC-17 rating. I do regret that it’s treated as the pariah of the ratings system, she says. All we need is one popular NC-17 rating to take that scent away. The board also contends with charges that it has a double standard when it comes to violence. Graves says the org is taking steps to correct some of those issues. For instance, the MPAA plans to revisit its stance on horror pics, which have evolved considerably from spooky frights to torture porn. I do think the R has a very big envelope for that genre, Graves admits. …Read the full article