Update: Sources close to the film have let us know that an effect was changed in 14 frames of the film during a war/battle sequence, amounting to less than one second of running time. James Gray feels this edit doesn’t compromise his artistic vision for “The Lost City Of Z.”
Despite the Oscars showing love yesterday for movies like “Moonlight” and “Manchester By The Sea,” the fact remains that the industry remains wary of mid-budget dramas as they represent a financial risk in a landscape dominated by blockbusters and IP filmmaking. Thus, even the smallest studios are trying to ensure that if they have something cut from a more adult cloth, they’re doing all they can to reach a bigger audience. For the folks at Bleecker Street and Amazon Studios, this has led to snips being made to an upcoming movie.
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Earlier this month, it was revealed that James Gray‘s “The Lost City Of Z” starring Charlie Hunnam and Robert Pattinson had lost its appeal with the MPAA as they attempted to overturn the film’s R rating. So instead, the film has been edited to earn a PG-13 rating.
A recent bulletin from the Motion Picture Association of America (and a notice from Film Ratings; see below) confirms that picture has been re-rated, and adds “only this edited version is rated.” As for what exactly got cut, your guess is as good as ours, though hopefully changes weren’t too drastic, and just tamped down any violence and nudity to get it under the wire for a PG-13 rating.
“The Lost City Of Z” opens on April 14th.
Can we have the MPAA rate the President?
To spend that much money on a film and stifle the creativity by slamming a PG rating on it is petty and erroneous.