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Aren't serious films about drug abuse things that should be shown to teenagers?
Thursday October 05 02:24 PM EDT
"Requeim" for Censorship?
It's a ratings nightmare for the new Artisan Entertainment film Requiem for a Dream.
The independent studio claims the dark drama has become the first victim in the most recent clash between Washington culture critics and Hollywood, with exhibitors forcing Artisan to add a warning to print ads for Requiem stating that no one under the age of 17 will be allowed to see the film.
The move comes after the two theater chains in New York where the film opens in limited engagement this weekend, Loews Cineplex Entertainment and United Artists Theatre Co., learned Artisan intended to release Requiem without a rating, after losing an appeal over the NC-17 it received from the Motion Picture Association of America. Under age audiences are not typically banned from unrated films. However, both Loews and UA asked Artisan to include the note on advertisements anyway.
The studio grudgingly agreed. "With the heightened attention to movie marketing brought on by the recent FTC hearings, it is understandable that exhibitors are asking studios to take precautions," Artisan CEO Amir Malin said in a statement.
"We agree with the request being made of us, but are very concerned about the precedent this sets and the looming de facto censorship that hovers about us. We will make every effort to comply with the theater owners' wishes in order for the film to reach the audience it so richly deserves."
With the cultural wars in Washington heating up, it's easy to see why exhibitors are spooked. In this election year, politicians of both parties have made Hollywood bashing a popular sport after the much-publicized Federal Trade Commission report slamming the entertainment industry for intentionally marketing violent R-rated films to children under 17.
The brunt of the attacks so far have focused on studios and not indie fare, but independents like Artisan are rightfully concerned that the current political climate could have a dire effect on artists.
"I think this decision by our exhibitors is a dark harbinger of a cold climate of censorship that is blanketing this nation. The really disturbing aspect of this decision is that morally bankrupt studio films will continue to be released unscathed due to their financial and political muscle, while independent films dealing with powerful moral themes are going to be scapegoated. " Requiem producer Eric Watson told the Hollywood Reporter.
Adding irony to insult, Watson notes how his film has been singled out by exhibitors as cause for concern given the film's content.
"Even in light of the FTC report, which addresses the issue of violent films being marketed to children under the age of 17, Requeim for a Dream was not labeled NC-17 by the MPAA for violence, but rather for sexuality," added Watson.
The MPAA ratings board cited the film's "explicit sexual content," in particular one racy scene where a prostitute is forced by her pimp to engage in a demeaning sex act with another woman for a group of men.
Requiem for a Dream is based on the 1978 novel by Hubert Selby Jr., and follows a depressed woman ( Ellen Burstyn), who is obsessed with television and addicted to diet pills, as well as her son (Jared Leto), his girlfriend (Jennifer Connelly) and best friend (Marlon Wayans), all of whom search for happiness amid the trials of their heroin addiction.
It's the sophomore effort from Darren Aronofsky, who took home the director's prize two years ago at the Sundance Festival Film Festival for his critically acclaimed Pi. (Aronofsky has also just been tapped to helm the new Batman movie.)
Since replacing the infamous X rating in the early '90s, NC- 17 was supposed to give filmmakers a way to screen sensitive artistic works intended for adults without being shunned by the general moviegoing public for showing graphic acts of sex and violence.
But the NC-17 rating essentially became the new X--a box- office-killing stigma shunned by many exhibitors.
So while Artisan claims its decision to release the film unrated has much to do with defending the filmmaker's artistic integrity, there's also the economic reality. (Aronofsky was contractually obligated to bring the film in with an R rating.)
A spokesman for Artisan said the agreement with Loews and United Artists will carry over to all the exhibitors' theaters when Requiem opens nationally October 20.
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