MPAA Rates “Zack and Miri” Near-Pornographic

by E. Christopher Clark | Thursday, July 24, 2008

still frame from the film Knocked Up, with an NC-17 box covering Seth Rogen's naked butt

Zack, Miri, and Kevin Smith really are making a porno, at least according to the Motion Picture Association of America.

According to The Hollywood Reporter and various other sources, the fight against an NC-17 rating for Zack and Miri Make a Porno is over, at least for now.

In the latest episode of the SModcast, Kevin Smith elaborates a bit on what this means for the future of his next flick. News Askew, as always, has a good summary:

After several attempts to make cuts, the guys accepted the rating of NC-17 and are now under the formal appeals process, as Kevin no longer has any cuts he wants to make. At the first screening, the film ran 1:45 and got the NC-17. Still having cuts to make anyway, Kevin knocked 12 minutes out, resubmitted, yet the MPAA deemed two scenes still too dirty for the “R”. One shot is a half a second (14 frames of film) and Kevin hates to take it out. It’s that good (but may also be the sticking point for the board).

According to News Askew, the appeal screening happens this weekend. So, if you’re a Kevin Smith fan at all, please do keep the guy in your thoughts. An NC-17 rating means certain death at the box office—newspapers won’t take your ads and many theaters won’t show your film—so let’s hope we get the film Kevin wants us to get, without any of the cuts he doesn’t want to have to make. He’s won appeals before (with Clerks and, surprisingly enough, with Jersey Girl), so let’s hope that, this third time around, he’s still charmed.