Rated "R" for Retarded
Ok, I know a lot people don't like that word, including myself, but it's true and I rarely get to quote a video game in my blog titles so leave me alone...retard.
All incorrectness aside, I'd love to get to my point. Movies now a days are all getting PG-13 ratings when they should clearly be rated R. Bruce Campbell brought this up when he spoke at the Fargo Theater after being asked what he thought about today's horror films. He thinks it's rediculous that they're getting PG-13 ratings to bring in a few million more dollars by reaching a greater target audience. No horror movie should receive less than an R rating. I agreed with everything he said that night, and agreed further last Tuesday.
For those of you who don't know, last Tuesday was the season premier of Nip/Tuck. I'm not one to get hooked on TV and start taping shows or anything, but Nip/Tuck is definately a must see show. Plus, it's on DVD so I won't have to tape it. Anyway, Nip/Tuck's season premier was almost exclusively advertised by this winter's coming attractions from Revolution Studios, or something like that. And the first one I saw was RENT. The best play I've ever seen. At the end of a rather disappointing preview I see that it's rated PG-13. What? Why? Who would do such a thing? This is a musical about sex, AIDS, homosexuality, poverty, and...New York.
So, yeah, let's bring in all you high school and junior high kids to make a few extra million dollars. Screw the deeper meaning of adult relationships in complex times of people's lives. Let's make this movie about...love. Let's preview the film with it's cheesiest, least popular song: "Season's of Love" to give that "soft" feel. You know, cause RENT was such a "soft" play with no emotion and a complete lack of real world problems. The whole preview just pissed me off.
Unfortunately, I love this show too much not to go see it (maybe I'll go to the cheap theater). With so many of the old cast revisiting their roles I can't help but feel hopeful for the film. I loved this play so much when I saw it, I wanted to make it a film myself to try and reach a greater audience. I realize there is no nudity in the play. It wasn't really violent at all. It just had a lot of adult content and swearing. Maybe I am over reacting to the PG-13 rating, and crappy preview. I haven't even seen the film yet. It's just hard for me to understand how so many people can get into this kind of business just for the money instead of using this extremely convient medium to present some kind of message to a mass audience...while entertaining them. Maybe it's the Forensicator in me who use to get ballots back saying, "Very funny, but I've heard it before," or, "Nice job, but what message are you trying to send?" I now find myself asking those questions when I judge.
What it all boils down to is the fact that I hope to make movies...someday, and when I told Bruce Campbell I wanted to go to film school he said, "Don't be the next somebody. Be the next you." Philisophical? No. Brilliant/Wise? No. It wasn't even really good advice, because I already felt that way. But it was cool that he said it. It wasn't just some line, or even something that he might of thought was the greatest advice in the world. It was just how he felt...honestly. I love how real he was, and how freakin' hilarious he was just talking to us and answering random questions. It was just nice to know there might be people in Hollywood who feel the same way I do about today's films, and I'd love to work with Mr. Campbell someday. Maybe he'll play Harry Mason in my film version of Silent Hill, which will be rated "R" for "Really fucking scary!"
All incorrectness aside, I'd love to get to my point. Movies now a days are all getting PG-13 ratings when they should clearly be rated R. Bruce Campbell brought this up when he spoke at the Fargo Theater after being asked what he thought about today's horror films. He thinks it's rediculous that they're getting PG-13 ratings to bring in a few million more dollars by reaching a greater target audience. No horror movie should receive less than an R rating. I agreed with everything he said that night, and agreed further last Tuesday.
For those of you who don't know, last Tuesday was the season premier of Nip/Tuck. I'm not one to get hooked on TV and start taping shows or anything, but Nip/Tuck is definately a must see show. Plus, it's on DVD so I won't have to tape it. Anyway, Nip/Tuck's season premier was almost exclusively advertised by this winter's coming attractions from Revolution Studios, or something like that. And the first one I saw was RENT. The best play I've ever seen. At the end of a rather disappointing preview I see that it's rated PG-13. What? Why? Who would do such a thing? This is a musical about sex, AIDS, homosexuality, poverty, and...New York.
So, yeah, let's bring in all you high school and junior high kids to make a few extra million dollars. Screw the deeper meaning of adult relationships in complex times of people's lives. Let's make this movie about...love. Let's preview the film with it's cheesiest, least popular song: "Season's of Love" to give that "soft" feel. You know, cause RENT was such a "soft" play with no emotion and a complete lack of real world problems. The whole preview just pissed me off.
Unfortunately, I love this show too much not to go see it (maybe I'll go to the cheap theater). With so many of the old cast revisiting their roles I can't help but feel hopeful for the film. I loved this play so much when I saw it, I wanted to make it a film myself to try and reach a greater audience. I realize there is no nudity in the play. It wasn't really violent at all. It just had a lot of adult content and swearing. Maybe I am over reacting to the PG-13 rating, and crappy preview. I haven't even seen the film yet. It's just hard for me to understand how so many people can get into this kind of business just for the money instead of using this extremely convient medium to present some kind of message to a mass audience...while entertaining them. Maybe it's the Forensicator in me who use to get ballots back saying, "Very funny, but I've heard it before," or, "Nice job, but what message are you trying to send?" I now find myself asking those questions when I judge.
What it all boils down to is the fact that I hope to make movies...someday, and when I told Bruce Campbell I wanted to go to film school he said, "Don't be the next somebody. Be the next you." Philisophical? No. Brilliant/Wise? No. It wasn't even really good advice, because I already felt that way. But it was cool that he said it. It wasn't just some line, or even something that he might of thought was the greatest advice in the world. It was just how he felt...honestly. I love how real he was, and how freakin' hilarious he was just talking to us and answering random questions. It was just nice to know there might be people in Hollywood who feel the same way I do about today's films, and I'd love to work with Mr. Campbell someday. Maybe he'll play Harry Mason in my film version of Silent Hill, which will be rated "R" for "Really fucking scary!"
posted by L-Kapitan | 5:47 PM
2 Comments:
If he is Harry Mason then who am I going to be?
RENT rocks and I can't wait to see the movie!!! I'm going to go like a million times and get kicked out for singing along.
I agree with whole RENT thing...it's being advertised as the feel good movie and its really not. But another thought is that there isn't an age limit on the play ya know? Any age can go. It deal with adult issues but unlike other movies that have a lessened rating, it doesn't glorify the drugs, sex, prostitution. I don't know...
Hey- can I be in the scary movie? I'm scary right?
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