Kevin Smith has been forced to take down his Internet only teaser for his upcoming comedy Zack and Miri Make a Porno.
The teaser, which features no footage from the film, was not rated by the MPAA.
Kevin Smith says, "The MPAA called and said we had to take it down. Weinstein Co., like most studios, is a signatory of the MPAA," explains Smith. "As such, there are protocols involving trailers that we failed to follow. As with features, all trailers get rated get rated by the MPAA. The majority of them are for general audiences (Green Band trailers), but trailers packed with adult content (like our teaser) earns you what's called a Red Band trailer.
Well, we didn't go through this process - simply because, we felt, that since the teaser didn't contain any footage from the actual flick, it wasn't technically a trailer. Boy, was I wrong. Turns out all promotional material for any film financed/distributed by a signatory of the MPAA has to be signed-off on by the MPAA - including internet-only materials. I never realized this, as it'd never been a problem in the past... nobody ever raised a red flag before (not even on the last flick, for which we also put up two 'net-only teasers in advance of the rated trailer). But I guess since the teaser was so, shall we say, racy... a rating was in order."
The teaser has since been submitted to the MPAA for review so it should be back online soon.
The MPAA is an archaic organization that really needs to be shut down. They're useless proponents of censorship staffed by unqualified housewives who I believe are a major reason why the film industry is spiraling into oblivion. So many people are concerned with ratings that they are restricting the voices of filmmakers. It's sad.
Get rid of em. That's my stand. Or at least hope that some studios grow some balls and stand up to them for a change.
RAWR(for more)
makes his horror debut with Red State next year!
