Smith Wins MPAA Clash!!

Third time is a charm for Kevin Smith! Associated Press is reporting he has won his appeals battle with the MPAA regarding his upcoming film "Zack and Miri Make a Porno," which had intially recieved an NC-17 rating. Smith first screened the film for the MPAA rating board and recieved a NC-17 and was instructed to cut "two scenes" in order to get an R rating. Smith trimmed the scenes as much as he felt he could, and re-screened the film for the MPAA rating board, only to recieve the same NC-17 rating. Kevin Smith then went with the appeals process, which is a seperate panel from the rating board. Today, Kevin Smith appeared before the appeals board with his arguments and re-screened the film for the third time. Elizabeth Kaltman an MPAA spokeswoman said, "the rating was revised after the group's appeals viewed the movie." This is Smith's third time he has successfully apealed and lowered a rating for his films by the Motion Picture Association of America. (Clerks was originally given an NC-17 and Jersey Girl was lowered from R to PG13 on appeal)

Smith stated he felt the MPAA was originally was unable to see the vision, "They felt it was rather sexually graphic. My point is, it was comically graphic. All the sex in the movie with the exception of one scene is very cartoonish, very campy....It wasn't designed to titillate." Smith also added, "We didn't set out to make an NC-17 film. That's just commercial suicide." Smith later said that the title alone would regulate the film itself, "Anybody not inclined to see a movie with `Porno' in the title is not going to see it, so it kind of regulates itself to a degree....And anybody who is going, is not going to be surprised by what they see."

Zack and Miri Make a Porno releases October 31st and is being produced by the Weinstein Co. The film stars Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks, Jason Mewes, Jeff Anderson, Katie Morgan, and Tracy Lords. The official synopsis: Lifelong platonic friends Zack (Rogen) and Miri (Banks) look to solve their respective cashflow problems by making an adult film together. As the cameras roll, however, the duo begin to sense that they may have more feelings for each other than they previously thought.



Thoughts on Zack and Miri Make a Porno? Are you a Smith fan? Did you like Clerks II? Is lunchbox in need of a big hit to measure up to Apatow? How much does Zack and Miri pull at the box office?