Monday
27Oct2008
'Zack and Miri' Won't Be Making a Porno in Utah
Monday, October 27, 2008 at 9:17AM
In a move that really shouldn't surprise anyone, the
Megaplex Theaters chain, which is owned by the highly conservative Larry Miller,
owner of the Utah Jazz and dozens of auto dealerships across the country, will
not show Kevin
Smith's
Zack and Miri Make a Porno when it is released
this Friday.
There was a documentary a few years ago called This Divided State that chronicled a speaking engagement Michael Moore had scheduled in Utah. The documentary claimed that not only was Utah the most conservative state in the country but that Utah county - where this all took place - was the most conservative county in the U.S., based on voting. So, it's not the least bit shocking to learn that Zack and Miri won't be playing there, despite its high profile and stars Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks. I didn't expect that it would, anymore than Religulous would run in a great number of theaters in Utah.
This is nothing new; it happens quite a bit with movies that feature controversial content. And theater owners can and should decide what they want to run and what they don't. It's their company. However, Steve Bunnell, the distribution chief for Weinstein was somehow aghast, apparently because the company had also screened the much tamer R-rated flicks The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up. Said Bunnell, "I hate to use the word 'censorship,' but..."
So do I, Steve. I hate to use the word 'censorship,' especially when this isn't censorship any more than the Weinstein Company's decision not to release Sundance fave Grace is Gone in more than seven theaters last year. Get off your cross already.
Reader Comments (1)
It's all about the money as the sing in the song. If a movie regardless of its content is quite profitable one, then It's a lot more interesting for the owner to want it relased in as many movie theaters as possible. Money makes the world go round as they sing in another song.