Weinstein Co. to appeal "Blue Valentine" rating

By Gregg Kilday

Thu Oct 14, 2010 10:19pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The Weinstein Co. will appeal the restrictive NC-17 rating given to its marital drama "Blue Valentine" by the Motion Picture Association of America's Classification and Rating Administration.

Directed by Derek Cianfrance, the film stars Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams as a couple whose marriage is going sour, and the scene that has attracted the rating board's scrutiny involves a bout of drunken, hotel-room sex.

The movie, which the Weinstein Co. is positioning for awards consideration after acquiring it at the Sundance Film Festival and screening it at both Cannes and Toronto, is slated to begin a platform release December 31. The formal appeal hearing will take place sometime in November.

Weinstein Co. co-head Harvey Weinstein, who has used ratings controversies in the past to maximum publicity value, issued a statement Thursday, thanking those who have criticized branding the serious-minded film with an NC-17 while also diplomatically extending an olive branch to the MPAA.

"We want to express our deepest gratitude to our colleagues in the industry and in the media for their recent outpouring of support for Derek Cianfrance's 'Blue Valentine' after the film surprisingly received an NC-17 rating from the MPAA," Weinstein said. "We are taking every possible step to contest the MPAA's decision. We respect the work of the MPAA and we hope, after having a chance to sit down with them, they will see that our appeal is reasonable, and the film, which is an honest and personal portrait of a relationship, would be significantly harmed by such a rating."

Films carrying an NC-17 rating are off limits to anyone 17 and under.

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"Jackass 3D" expected to lead weekend box office

By Carl DiOrio and Gregg Kilday

Thu Oct 14, 2010 9:41pm EDT

ORLANDO/LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The weekend box office is likely to be topped by a release that sounds ideal for anyone who feels foolish wearing those oversize 3D goggles: "Jackass 3D."

The session's other new wide release, "RED," starring Bruce Willis and a cast of equally seasoned performers, also is poised to show some muscle as it enters the marketplace.

The latest "Jackass," from Paramount, is expected to top the weekend with $30 million or more in opening coin, which would be more than either of the first two installments in the danger-focused franchise rang up in their debut frames.

Spawned by the MTV series, "Jackass: The Movie" bowed with $22.8 million in October 2002 and fetched $64.3 million overall domestically. "Jackass: Number Two" debuted with $29 million in September 2006 en route $72.8 million in U.S. and Canadian coin.

Jeff Tremaine again directed, and Johnny Knoxville reprises his lead-jackass role in the R-rated movie full of don't-try-this-at-home stunts.

Paramount is distributing "Jackass" exclusively in 3D venues, with the picture set for more than 2,400 playdates. Production costs are estimated at just $19 million, the highest for the franchise.

The "Jackass" threequel will skew dramatically younger than Summit Entertainment's "RED," an action comedy about a group of retired Special Ops professionals called back into action. It's based on a DC Comics title.

Robert Schwentke ("The Time Traveler's Wife") directed an ensemble cast that also includes Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich and Mary-Louise Parker.

Rated PG-13, "RED" looks likely to ring up about $20 million through Sunday as it takes over 3,255 theaters in North America.

"RED" cost an estimated $58 million (figuring in tax incentives) to produce.

The two-time defending box-office champ, Sony's "The Social Network," looks to sustain its market traction as it enters its third weekend. With a good hold, it could take in more than $10 million.

Films opening in limited release Friday include the Warner Bros. drama "Hereafter," starring Matt Damon and directed by Clint Eastwood, and set for screens in New York, Los Angeles and Toronto.

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Amy Adams, Chris Cooper eyeing Muppet movie

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Rapper T.I. denies suicide save was publicity stunt

NEW YORK | Thu Oct 14, 2010 6:55pm EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Rapper T.I. on Thursday denied suggestions that he had helped talk a man out of suicide as a publicity stunt ahead of a key court appearance this week.

T.I., who was released in March from a nine-month prison term for weapons possession, made headlines when he helped Atlanta police coax a suicidal man off the ledge of a 22-story building by taping a video message for him.

The 30 year-old Grammy-award winning rapper and record producer has a probation hearing in the city on Friday, and could face more prison time following a drug arrest in September in Los Angeles.

The court date has led several U.S. media outlets to question the timing of his good deed.

"I didn't know this guy, I didn't wake up in the morning to say 'Hey let me find a way to go and save someone's life so I can be looked at favorably come Friday.' This is not something I could have planned," T.I., whose real name is Clifford Harris, told CNN in an interview on Thursday.

The "Got Your Back" singer said he felt he had to help when he heard about the man on Atlanta radio on Wednesday while on his way to shoot a music video.

"My situation never even became a thought in my mind in the process of dealing with this. It was just something that touched my heart." T.I. told CNN.

Asked by CNN about the possibility of being sent back to prison on Friday, T.I. said; "I am not at liberty to really speak upon the facts of anything associated with tomorrow or the outcome of tomorrow."

(Reporting by Christine Kearney and Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

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Jolie hopes fans will "hold judgment" on Bosnia film

LOS ANGELES | Thu Oct 14, 2010 6:56pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Angelina Jolie on Thursday told critics of a film she is directing in eastern Europe that she hopes they will withhold any complaints, for now, because it has different storylines that might quell their concerns.

"There are many twists in the plot that address the sensitive nature of the relationship between the main characters and that will be revealed once the film is released," the Oscar-winning actress said in a statement.

"My hope is that people will hold judgment until they have seen the film," she said.

The movie, which has yet to have a title, portrays a love story between a Serbian man and a Bosnian woman on the eve of the 1992 Bosnian war that killed 100,000 people.

Bakira Hasecic, president of the Women Victims of War association in Bosnia, told the Oslobodjenje newspaper that the female character "is really falling in love with her torturer," and she urged officials to ban the film's production.

On Wednesday, a government minister canceled a permit for the film shoot, and some headlines trumpeted that the movie's production had been halted. A representative for Jolie told Reuters those headlines were incorrect and, in fact, the crew is currently shooting in Budapest before moving on to Bosnia.

Edin Sarkic, an executive with the movie's Sarajevo-based producer Scout Film, told Reuters the company had submitted a final script to the proper authorities and the production company said it would reapply for the filming permit.

By Thursday, the producers characterized the permit cancellation as "a purely technical matter."

Jolie further sought to allay concerns of the Bosnian women's group by saying in her statement that, "obviously, any dramatic interpretation will always fail those who have had a real experience."

(Editing by Jill Serjeant)

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