'Fifty Shades of Grey' gets an "Unusual" R Rating by the MPAA

There are a couple of funny things about the news that Fifty Shades of Grey, based on the hit mom-sanctioned sex novel by E.L. James, would be given an R-rating. First is that anybody thought the MPAA would rate it anything different given the extreme bondage fetishizing and graphic sexual content of the books. Despite some rumors about lightening up the sex to make it more audience friendly that was never going to happen if they hoped to keep the fanbase happy. The other funny thing is how the MPAA actually described the rating, which fits into their history of being vague, awkward and occasionally bizarre when handling controversial material.

Fifty Shades of Grey has officially been rated R by the super-conservative MPAA  for “strong sexual content including dialogue, some unusual behavior and graphic nudity, and for language.” Unusual behavior. So that's what all you Fifty Shades fans out there have to look forward to, some "unusual behavior". That's one way of putting how Christian Grey puts it to Anastasia Steele, I guess. 

Personally, I was hoping to see the film earn the dreaded NC-17 to see just how loyal its fans truly are and if casual moviegoers would be curious enough to buy a ticket.  So there you have it. Get the kids a sitter and check out Fifty Shades of Grey when it opens on February 13th.

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Eva Green's 'Sin City: A Dame to Kill For' Poster is Too Hot for the MPAA

The MPAA is notorious for being run by a bunch of old fuddy-duddies scared crapless by the very idea of anything sexy, so Robert Rodriguez and the marketing brains at Dimension Films knew exactly what they were doing with this latest salacious poster for Sin City: A Dame to Kill For. The image, which features Eva Green at her absolute sexiest, was rejected by the MPAA for  "for nudity - curve of under breast and dark nipple/areola circle visible through sheer gown." And my response to this? Thank you, Dimension Films! Seriously, the poster is pretty hot but that's kind of the point, isn't it? Now Rodriguez can go out there and pimp that his film is "too hot for the MPAA" or something.

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For opens August 22nd.

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'X-men: Days of Future Past' Rated PG-13 for Nudity

The questionable folks at the MPAA have revealed their rating for Bryan Singer's X-men: Days of Future Past, and while the director himself would probably be rated NC-17 right about now, the film has earned a PG-13. Why?

"For sequences of intense sci-fi violence and action, some suggestive material, nudity and language."

Excuse me? Nudity? There are gonna be naked mutants running around in this? Chances are it won't be Michael Fassbender (sorry ladies), and probably they just meant the blue form of Jennifer Lawrence's Mystique who doesn't really need clothing. Nudity plus suggestive maerial and language has me anticipating the film even more.

Try and spot the naked muties when X-men: Days of Future Past opens May 23rd. 

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Palm d'Or Winner 'Blue Is The Warmest Color' Slapped with NC-17 Rating

"This is a landmark film with two of the best female performances we have ever see on screen.  The film is first and foremost a film about love, coming of age and passion. We refuse to compromise Kechiche's vision by trimming the film for an R rating, and we have every confidence that BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR will play in theaters around the country regardless. An NC-17 rating no longer holds the stigma it once did, and we look forward to bringing this unforgettable film to audiences nationwide. We believe this film will leave a lasting imprint as the LAST TANGO IN PARIS for a whole new generation."

So says Jonathan Sehring, President of Sundance Selects/IFC Films about his Palm d'Or-winning romance Blue is the Warmest Color, which just got slapped with a restrictive NC-17 rating by the MPAA for “explicit sexual content.” They might as well have said "because girls having sex is kind of icky and junk". Ironically, in France the film has a rating of '12' which basically means it's only restricted from kids below that age. It'll be nice when we stop letting the sexual prudes run the show around here.To the studio's credit they aren't going to try and appeal the ruling, deciding to release it on October 25th in its full 3-hour capacity.

The film stars Adele Exarchopoulos as a young woman who experiences a sexual awakening when she meets and falls for a blue-haired student played by Lea Seydoux. There's no doubt it's not exactly a story for the kiddies anyway as it's said to have a large amount of sex that wasn't simulated. The NC-17 rating does seem a little harsh, though, and is just another hurdle for the film which has faced other troublesome rulings against it. While it would seem to be an obvious favorite for the Best Foreign Language Academy Award, it won't qualify due to arbitrary rules concerning overseas dates. An Oscar run would have bumped up its marketability considerably, and now with this latest judgement by the MPAA the deck does seem stacked against Blue Is the Warmest Color having any box office success in America.

Personally I find this whole thing silly as shit, but "sex vs. violence" argument against the MPAA has been made ad nauseum. No need to go through it again. I'll be happy when movie studios do what the comic book publishers did when they wanted to escape the clutches of the Comics Code Authority, which is create their own rating system. Maybe as comics and film become more intertwined than ever, the likelihood of that happening will increase.

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'Man of Steel' MPAA rating revealed

Superman's going to be pretty intense, get a little violent, wreck a whole lot of stuff, and his language salty enough that the MPAA thinks your parents may need to tag along for Man of Steel. Warner Bros. highly anticipated film has received a PG-13 rating "for intense sequences of sci-fi violence, action and destruction, and for some language."

Not exactly a shocker here, right? Man of Steel opens in 2D, 3D, and IMAX on June 14th.

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Sure Shots: Romany Malco; Gerard Butler; 'Riddick'

* While he's expected to return for the upcoming Think Like A Man sequel, Romany Malco is keeping plenty busy in the mean time and capitalizing on that film's unexpected success. He'll next join screen legends Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Kline, and Robert De Niron in Last Vegas, a comedy from director Jon Turteltaub. The story follows a group of four old friends who hit the city of sin to celebrate the impending marriage of the last of them to remain single. Mary Steenburgen plays a lounge singer that causes friction between Douglas and De Niro, while Malco is a concierge name Lonnie. [Deadline]

* Gerard Butler has an obvious fondness for sports movies, in particular of historically significant soccer matches like in The Game of Their Lives, one of his early breakout performances. Next up he'll star in Dynamo, which is based on the true story of a soccer match game between an occupied Ukrainian team against their Nazi captors during WWII. Based on the novel by Andy Dougan, and adapted by Eli Richbourg, the film will chronicle how the starving Ukrainian team stood up against the Nazi plan to establish physical superiority in the match, ultimately inspiring the battered people of Kiev. Butler will play Nikolai Trusevich, an all-star goalie and cornerstone of his team. A director is still being sought, with plans to shoot next year in Europe. Butler will be seen next as an ex-soccer star in the romantic comedy, Playing For Keeps. [Deadline]

* Vin Diesel and series director David Twohy have been aiming for an R rating for Riddick, the third chapter in their multi-platform Chronicles of Riddick franchise. After the poor response to 2004's PG-13 rated The Chronicles of Riddick, the thinking has been that fans expected the same level of action and violence seen in the original Pitch Black.  In the end, Diesel got his wish as the MPAA has rated the film R for "strong violence, language and some sexual content/nudity." The film stars Katee Sackhoff, Dave Bautista, Karl Urban, Bokeem Woodbine, and more in a story that has Riddick stranded on a savage alien planet with no hope for escape, until he activates an emergency beacon that alerts his enemies of his whereabouts.  Universal Pictures plans to release Riddick some time in 2013.

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