Posted on 10/05/2004 10:51:09 PM PDT by BurbankKarl
Puppet love lives in Paramount's "Team America: World Police," though the film's creators have had to trim back the movie's puppet sex.
According to Paramount Motion Picture Group vice chairman Rob Friedman, filmmakers Matt Stone and Trey Parker received an R rating Tuesday for their political satire that features a cast of marionettes.
The rating comes after a drawn-out battle with the MPAA's ratings board over a scene that depicts simulated sex between puppets. The board initially gave the film, which centers on an international police force fighting global terrorism, an NC-17 rating.
But because of contractual obligations that require the filmmakers to deliver an R-rated product to Paramount, the production team submitted the scene with various alterations to the board 10 times before it agreed to an R rating.
The sex scene, which shows a male puppet simulating oral sex, has been trimmed, though Friedman would not give details as to what was cut to achieve the pared-down rating. The R rating will be accompanied by an MPAA explanation citing "graphic, crude and sexual humor, violent images and strong language all involving puppets."
Paramount was under pressure to solve the ratings question because it plans to screen the film in 800 theaters this weekend as part of a national sneak preview. The studio faced a deadline today for placing ads in newspapers nationwide to advertise the sneaks.
Without the R rating, Paramount would have been forced to pull the sneaks from their scheduled dates.
The film goes into national release Oct. 15.
Nor did he comment whether they used a table saw or a jig for the cuts.
Matt & Trey were on the tonight show tonight talking about the movie and this came up.
They said the dolls are not anatomically correct, and that the MPAA made them cut the scene from 3 1/2 minutes to 30 seconds.
This is one movie I can't wait to see.
"Marionettes and simulated sex"? Gives a whole new meaning to the notion of a "woody".
ROFL! It may be worth buying the movie poster just to have that disclaimer.
Any movie that blows off Janeane Garofolo's head can't be all bad.
It appears the first few minuits offend everyone, then for the first half of the movie, it just blasts conservatives and everyone on the right.
The second half of the movie blasts the liberals and the left even more then the right.
A few folks in hollywood are not going to be happy.
thats what i love about Trey Parker and Matt Stone. In South Park, they make fun of EVERYONE. Something to offend everyone. In fact, on Comedy Central, they've been running commercials with various quotes (mostly stereotypical) and says "If we failed to offend you, we apologize." I LOVE IT!!!
Geez, they are only puppets with the anatomical correctness of a barbie/ken doll. What is the problem??? I hear that this film just roasts Alec Baldwin
South Park ping-a-ling
The uncut version released on dvd will be the real movie to watch.
[Music:] "And they call it ... Puppet love ..."
Thanks. :))...should be out in April '05.
In the movie, he's head of an actor's organization called by its acronym, which is "FAG."
Yes, this movie will probably get me in the theater for the first time in quite a while.
That is -exactly- what I thought when I saw that quote.
Sold!
The R rating will be accompanied by an MPAA explanation citing "graphic, crude and sexual humor, violent images and strong language all involving puppets."
ROFLMAO-- uh, couldn't you say the kool-aid drinking libs are puppets???
This movie is on my to-do list for next weekend.
I can't wait to see the unrated directors cut DVD. Puppet porn! WoooHooo!!!
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