As if this movie hasnt faced enough problems now people are refusing to run ad’s for it because of the word “Porno” in the title. This is completely ridiculous! I think the general public just has some type of agenda with Kevin Smith and it really makes no sense. If you dont like his movies, dont go see them but dont try and make it so other people dont know about the damn movie!

The city of Philadelphia refused “Zack and Miri” posters at bus stops. Similar posters at Boston bus stops have drawn complaints from a child-development expert who said they are inappropriate for children.

Smith found it ironic that the posters have been a problem. Some playfully risque ads with images of “Zack and Miri” stars Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks were forbidden by the Motion Picture Association of America, which called the ads “highly sexually suggestive and not suitable for general audiences.”

So Weinstein came up with posters using stick figures to represent the actors.

“The whole idea was, our hands were so tied on all previous entries we’d given them that this ad was meant to be the innocuous one that would get approved everywhere,” Smith said.

Rina Cutler, Philadelphia deputy mayor for transportation, said the stick-figure posters were cute and clever but unacceptable for bus shelters where schoolchildren would see the word “porno.”

“If they want to call the movie `Zack and Miri,’ that’s fine, but Zack and Miri cannot make a porno on my bus shelters,” Cutler said.

I honestly just dont understand how people can be so freakin closed minded about this stuff. I doubt that children will start walking up to it asking what the movie is just because it has stick figures. If this is all a problem maybe they should just shorten it to ‘Zack and Miri’?

That’s right boys and girls, despite rumored to get a PG-13 rating, ‘Punisher: Warzone’ officially snagged an ‘R’ rating by the MPAA for pervasive strong brutal violence, language and some drug use.

Here is a screenshot for you people that like to see it for yourself, and the link.

Despite Kevin Smith’s recent win in the battle against the MPAA for an R-rating instead of an NC-17, the “unfriendly, over-protective” ratings board is now giving Smith grief over his marketing of the movie. The above poster, set to hit the streets on October 31, will now only be visible in Canada because the MPAA doesn’t like what they see and feel it’s too much. Blow me, MPAA!

“I’ve always loved Canada and Canadians for giving us hockey,” says Smith. “Now, I love ‘em just a little bit more. For allowing tufts of hair.” — Kevin Smith during an interview with EW.com

Samuel L. Jackson has played some outstanding characters in the past: Shaft, Mace Windu and Nick Fury. Now he is trying on the voice of the people. In a recent interview with shobizspy, Jackson voiced his opinion on PG films containing strippers. Jackson said” Strippers who don’t strip..suck!”He was referencing a scene in his new film ‘Lakeview Terrace’ that has a bachelor party with three ladies who dance but remain fully clothed. Jackson added, “But this is a PG movie (actually PG-13 Sam), so there aren’t any titties. We have three strippers at this party but none of them takes their top off.” Jackson went on to add “How does that work? I’m like, come on! You could show the girl from the back, with her back bare. At least it gives a sense that she was naked. You can’t just show them in their bras and panties. You have forty drunken cops in a house with three strippers? And nobody is naked? I don’t f***ing think so!” . My thoughts exactly!!!!  Samuel L. Jackson …Voice of the People, well at least this geek. If you have a stripper, sex scene or streaker and you have full frontal..it’s an R, but if you need the PG rating for the studio have the back-door camera shoot from behind and squeak out the PG-13 rating. No more bikini beach parties.  And before you women out there start waving signs, let me remind you about Eastern Promises and ‘Forgeting Sarah Marshall’… Viggo and Jason had their prize possessions hanging out for the world to see..so the same rules apply to the guys. ‘Lakeview Terrace’ actually shows a few butts in it, Sam just failed to comment on that.

The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) announced Monday the arrest of 461 alleged movie pirates – 56 caught using a camcorder in a theater – during a three-month period ending in July. [via Wired]

The announcement, which also said 1,000 optical disc burners were seized, could not be independently verified in what the MPAA is calling “Operation Takedown” – a law enforcement effort conducted jointly with local authorities and MPAA investigators.

The operation included the countries of China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and Korea.

The MPAA said cinema workers in Thailand were now using night-vision goggles to crack down on piracy. It said Hollywood’s lobbying arm also “conducted training for cinema staff to identify camcorders and prepped enforcement officers with basic knowledge of copyright law and to identify pirated products all around Asia.”

Among the highlights, according to the MPAA: more than 4 million pirated discs seized in China, 182 burners seized in Malaysia, 39 camcorder “interdictions” in the Philippines, 548 burners seized in Taiwan, 110 people arrested in Thailand and more than 530,000 infringing files removed from the internet in Korea.

I believe ‘Dark Knight’ is one of many movies floating around on the net for the viewing pleasure.

IF YOU MESS WITH THE MPAA…..

YOU ARE GOING TO PRISON SUCKA!

Today is the day that Kevin Smith will be taking ‘Zack and Miri’ to the MPAA to appeal his twice rated ‘NC-17′. Now it seems the ‘X’ on the advertising logo seems pretty accurate.

Smith is obligated by contract to make the cuts to get it to an ‘R’ rating so if the MPAA sticks to their guns about the certain scenes that are bothering them, then he will have to cut them out. Rest assured we will get to see them on DVD, so all wont be lost if this is the case. I just wish people could accept the fact that some movies are meant to be NC-17, and to cut them down to make it an R rating just changes the movie. Cutting a couple of scenes out doesn’t change the fact that kids should not be seeing this movie. I am calling a bullshit on the MPAA.

According to News Askew Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier will sit down with the MPAA, watch “Zack and Miri Make a Porno” and then argue/defend why their movies should get a R rating. Kevin has already made cuts to the movie and I hope he doesn’t have to make anymore. Scott(Mr. Movie Geek) and others have wondered how the donkey scene and all the dirty talk of going @$$ to mouth only got a R for “Clerks 2″ I loves me some Kevin Smith but even those 2 items made me quite uncomfortable. So this weekend while you are out and about keep in mind Kevin and Scott will be fighting for you and for your cinematic enjoyment!

Also check out the Zack and Miri site for some cool pics and a screen shot from “Entertainment Weekly” that has a small tid bit o’ dialogue.

Michelle:

One of our top 10 movies for this fall is already under attack. It appears that the always fickle MPAA wants to give Kevin Smith’s Zack and Miri the deadly NC-17 rating instead of an R. Smith’s already had to take down the Internet only trailer.

Seth Rogen recently spoke to MTV about the problem.

“The MPAA is gunning for us, I think, it’s a really filthy movie. I hear they are having some problems getting an R rating from an NC-17 rating, which is never good.”

“A guy f—ing a donkey, (in Clerks 2) they ain’t got no problem with,” he continued. “But a man and a woman having sex they seem to have real issues with, for some weird reason. It’s insane. It’s completely insane.”

“They [fight against] sex stuff. Isn’t that weird? It’s really crazy to me that ‘Hostel’ is fine, with people gouging their eyes out and sh– like that,” Rogen shrugged. “But you can’t show two people having sex — that’s too much.”

Not unexpected because of the title and the director, but Rogen makes a good point. While sex seems to be verboten with the MPAA, hardcore violence tends to get a free pass. We’ll see what cuts Smith has to make to satisfy the rating overlords.

Ram Man Says:

It’s Friday , it’s sunny outside and all my reviews are done..I’m a pretty happy guy. UNTIL! I read that the MPAA is debating on giving Zack & Miri Make a Porno the kiss of death in the movie industry..the NC-17.  I picture an assisted living center in (sorry Michelle) Connecticut somewhere with a group of grey hairs sitting around a bingo table deciding what rating to give what movie! This is probably retribution from Kevin putting a clip out on the Internet (they said was a trailer) without the all mighty MPAA approval and rating. I’m sure the title has some part in it also. I am equally as sure that they disregarded Kevin’s apology for the trailer mix-up and they haven’t even seen the film.

The old always attack the visionary. We tried to lock up rock artists for singing, Columbus was a screwball for saying the earth was round. And now we are going to kneecap one of the finest filmmakers to come along the last 20 years because he dresses different, he puts bad words in his movies, people are have sex on film….NOOOOOOOOOO (MPAA ..people do have sex, that’s how most of us got here!) . I don’t get it. I would invite anyone with the MPAA who is up for the challenge to sit down with me and explain to me how Zack and Miri rates a NC-17 when we have seen the following the last 2 years:

Sex and the City (2008):Numerous sex scenes and male frontal nudity..R rating
Eastern Promises (2007): naked teen prostitutes, Viggo Mortensen fighting with all his “members” R rating
Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008): Jason Segel is a nudist in three separate scenes. R rating

This doesn’t even take into account all the blood flowing. Saw1-5, Hostel 1&2, Halloween, Devils Rejects, House of a thousand corpses. I guess its OK to cut someones boobs off but lets not show them being fondled on the screen!

I don’t like to get the soap box out, but today, i feel the need..the need for movie-geeks to unite and stand up to these crotchety old bitties. If we are stuck with an NC-17, you must get everyone you know and drag them kicking (not screaming… use a rag in the mouth it will disturb the other movie goers) to the theater opening weekend and get a big number to show these so call moral-measuring society the are full of s–t!

Ram Man has spoken!

Scott:

I say they just keep the damn NC-17 warning, the only one that will care is Roger Ebert and his opinions don’t matter anyway!