More MPAA Troubles for Zack and Miri Make a Porno

Posted by Rob Hunter (rob@filmschoolrejects.com) on September 3, 2008

Kevin Smith may have won the war a few weeks ago when he successfully appealed his new film’s rating from an ‘NC-17′ to a commercially viable ‘R’, but he’s apparently lost the battle. The MPAA has officially rejected the new poster for Zack and Miri Make a Porno for its sexually suggestive imagery, and EW.com caught up with Smith to get his thoughts on the de facto ban. “When you’ve got the word ‘porno’ in the title, naturally, the marketing materials are gonna be scrutinized more closely by the MPAA,” says Smith. “I understand they’ve got a job to do, but c’mon… this image isn’t that dirty; they’re both fully clad.” Hide the children, cup your privates, and have a look for yourself…

As if being the most sexually repressed country in the Western world wasn’t bad enough, our frigid neighbors to the north get both the joke and the poster. They’ll be displaying it proudly without concern for the welfare of little Canadian children. “I’ve always loved Canada and Canadians for giving us hockey,” says Smith. “Now, I love ‘em just a little bit more. For allowing tufts of hair.” As an unrelated aside, I had a Canadian girlfriend once, and I fondly remember her tuft of hair (and no, you don’t know her.)

Do you feel dirtier now that you’ve seen the poster? Did you catch the “coming soon” zinger? Do either Seth Rogan’s or Elizabeth Banks’ expressions look familiar? If so, which one?

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Robert Fure

This is bullshit. The "Good Luck Chuck" poster had the EXACT SAME JOKE on it and was approved - and Dane Cook was shirtless. Someone get Smith on the line and forward him that poster and take that to the MPAA and just say "What the fuck?"

Fuck the MPAA.

Caroline

All this stupid MPAA shit just makes me want to see it more

Davebaxter1989

Damn straight Fure! MPAA double standards are such a fucking off-pisser.

Northie

Methinks the folks over at the MPAA need too take a page out of this poster's book, they're waaaaaaaaaay too uptight. On a sidenote, what kind of miserable person do you have to be to work for the MPAA?

Tochi

Good Luck Chuck poster mentioned by Robert Fure:

http://www.impawards.com/2007/good_luck_chuck.html

entertainmenttodayandbeyond

At the end of the day the problem with this film is that it will push the envelope to far on the ranch factor and alienate 90% of the main stream audience. From a financial point of view the Weinstein company is in business to make money, not produce a movie that will only appeal to a small minority of the movie going public who like something really over the top crude. Would I see this film- YES will the majority of Sat night movie goers-NO.

Adam Sweeney

@ entertainmenttodayandbeyond

I highly disagree with your thoughts on the film. You argue that raunchy humor will alienate 90 percent of the mainstream audience. Have you seen 40 Year Old Virgin, There's Something About Mary, or almost any other Kevin Smith film? They all had high levels of bad behavior and were box office successes. Whether or not people will go see Zach and Miri has nothing to do with a poster. It is all about whether or not Smith can tell a story people can relate to. Sure, most of us can't relate to making an adult film, but we can relate to romances building out of friendships. If Smith can bring that then the people will come. He also has his fans who will flood the theaters.

As far as the idea that Weinstein is in business to make money, Kevin Smith will make plenty of cash off this. The beauty of his filmmaking is that it is extremely cost effective. Combine the box office numbers and the almost always large amounts of DVD sales Smith gets, and you can clearly see why Weinstein lets Smith make film after film. It's not all about initial box office returns.

To quote Denzel in Training Day, "the shit's chess, it's not checkers!"

Steve

Does Smith need to remove "Coming Soon" too?

john smith

It is a fucking poster. Get over it.

mirko

Well, Kevin now just has to make a puritan movie about these MPAA fucks and how
displaying pictures of gloveless hands can give the saintest patriarch a hard-on.

Or he can just go on as this campaign might bring even more interest to that promising
movie. :)

More MPAA Troubles for Zack and Miri Make a Porno

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