The King’s Speech is currently the toast of Hollywood. Director Tom Hooper has just won the Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film at the 63rd annual Director Guild of America Awards, and the film, so far, has grossed .2m domestically.
If it sweeps the boards at this year’s Oscars, it’s already impressive box office will undoubtedly lift the film past the magic 0m mark, although it looks like the The Weinstein Co have a plan to reach that amount sooner than that.
Harvey Weinstein wants to create a PG-13 version for a younger audience who are currently limited from seeing the film due to the numerous uses of the f-word. The R (Restricted) rating it has currently been awarded requires that under 17’s need to be accompanied by a parent or adult guardian. Weinstein gained a level of notoriety in the past with his insistence in cutting some of the films he acquired (earning him the famous nickname Harvey Scissorhands) but this is the first time he’s expressed interest in doing it, post release.
It does appear that Weinstein will only go ahead if he gets the director’s blessing, but Hooper’s own thoughts on this odd, rather contradictory rating system, would suggest he may not concede:
“The word ‘fuck’ being used in a very humorous therapeutic context — to help a man with a stammer unblock a problem — is considered a threat. Casino Royale, with Daniel Craig having his balls smashed in, tied to that chair with no bottom, doesn’t get an ‘R’. Our (America’s) film censorship is quite bizarre. Violence is acceptable while language is not, no matter the context.”
News via Deadline
