Violence is okay, but sexuality still taboo

[BJ_M]

Producer Robert Lantos condemned U.S. censors yesterday for considering a harsh NC-17 rating for Atom Egoyan's new film, saying it doesn't make sense that violence is acceptable to American audiences but sexuality is not.

Think Film, the Toronto-based distributor of Where the Truth Lies, has said it will appeal such a rating, which has yet to be officially announced by the Motion Picture Association of America.

"It is a sad testament of the absurdity of the ratings code and the completely illogical moral criteria that provide the underpinning for it, where any form of violence is perfectly acceptable for kids but sexuality continues to be the ultimate taboo," Lantos said of an NC-17 rating.

"The rest of the world has certainly got past this. This kind of censorship no longer exists anywhere else in the free world."

Where the Truth Lies stars Colin Firth and Kevin Bacon as a comedy duo whose lives change when a woman turns up dead in their hotel suite. The explicit sex scenes in the film — including a ménage à trois — raised eyebrows at the Cannes Film Festival in May.

Egoyan has said he suspects it will be rated NC-17, which means no one 17 years of age or under in the United States could see the film, even with a parent or guardian.

Lantos said such a rating would severely restrict the film's U.S. audience.

"Some of the largest theatre circuits won't play an NC-17," he said.

An official with the Motion Picture Association said Think Film has been alerted it could receive the rating but a final decision on the film won't be made until today.

Lantos said the film would not be re-cut to appease the U.S. ratings board and that Egoyan would argue its merits on appeal. "It would be better not to make this film at all than to try and make a Disney version of it. ... Join the rest of the free world and start focusing on violence as opposed to sexuality."

The film is scheduled to receive its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, the worlds second largest film festival after Cannes.

[AlecWest]

I'm certainly not a big fan of censorship ... any kind of censorship. But, there's something I have to say as a movie fan. There are other things in life besides violence and sex ... and it's refreshing to see a film that has neither.

[Grimey]

Censoring sucks, however I'm all for censoring Kevin Bacon :P

[ViRaL1]

I think this about sums it up.

http://metatechnik.com/WebMovies/MTVActionMovie.mov

[BJ_M]

that is funny -- sad that it is true ....

[rallynavvie]

Kinda brings back memories of Caligula, a movie I'm sure Malcolm McDowell wishes he hadn't starred in. Heck most any Tinto Brass movie for that matter has an abundance of explicit scenes. I don't like how we're so sheltered here when we're younger, it could perhaps be at least partly responsible for some of the problems we have that other countries do not.

Regardless of its rating those who want to see the movie will see the movie in its entirety. What's unfortunate is that it won't see nearly as much return on its creation than if it were to bring those people into the theaters.