You would think once a movie is released into theaters across the planet, it's safe from censorship and reediting. You would also think the lucrativeness of a Best Picture-winning film would hit a peak in the week or two after the Oscar is distributed.
Apparently, however, neither is the case for The King's Speech, which received a hefty rerelease Friday that came with a head-scratching twist: The film was edited — censored, to be more specific — to fit the parameters of a PG-13 release.
Why would such an atrocity occur? The Weinstein Company hopes the younger rating will make the movie more appealing to audiences that otherwise may have skipped it because of its mature content.
In other words, Harvey Weinstein wants more money.
Speech, however, was never offensive to begin with. Originally rated R for "some language," according to the MPAA, the film contains no violence, no sex, no drugs, nothing. It's a British-royalty period piece. How much censorship can it possibly merit?
But the studio system couldn't help but milk its royal highness's profitability, despite director Tom Hooper's and stars Colin Firth's and Helena Bonham Carter's admonishments.
And with the seemingly never-ending ratings talk that occurred during this year's awards season — most notably via the gritty relationship drama Blue Valentine, which tinkered back and forth between R and NC-17 ratings — can't the studios learn just to let films be themselves? Despite its true R rating, Speech could be applauded for the positive message it sends forth. Whether it takes a few swear words to get there should not be of concern to studio heads looking to make a few extra bucks.
It seems like hypocrisy. The studio that applauded the filmmakers not too long ago for sweeping the industry's top awards is now taking the congratulations-worthy film and altering its dialogue to make some extra money. The ploy is transparent.
I'll be interested to see how much cash it accumulates this weekend. I have a feeing it won't be much. Even with a PG-13 rating, most teens simply won't be interested, and most adults who intend to see the film will have already done so.
For the sake of artistic censorship, I hope this deceptive plan blows up in Weinstein's face.
