chans
04-22-2004, 11:53 PM
http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/cl-et-dutka20apr20,2,451723.story
For its part, Lions Gate is going on the offensive. Rather than sending out "High Tension" unrated, as it did with "Irreversible," (a tack the company can take because it's not an MPAA signatory), or trimming to get an R, as it recently did with "The Cooler," Lions Gate is throwing down the gauntlet.
"We feel it's important to establish a legitimate adult rating," said Tom Ortenberg, president of Lions Gate Releasing. "If the MPAA won't do it, we'll do it for them. By refusing to use its tremendous lobbying power to lean on newspapers and theaters [resistant to showing or promoting NC-17 material], the organization has marginalized the designation.
" 'High Tension' has the potential to play beyond art-houses and become a commercial, mainstream movie," Ortenberg adds. "NATO [The National Association of Theatre Owners] maintains that exhibitors are willing to play it — and I'm taking them at their word."
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Steve Gilula, president of distribution at Fox Searchlight, suspects that the distributors of "Young Adam" and "High Tension" decided to give it a shot because the experience of "The Dreamers" was so favorable. He had no problem booking the film, he said, and only a Mormon-owned newspaper in Salt Lake City refused to take the ad. Playing in 116 theaters at the peak, it has made $2.5 million — a "satisfactory release," he notes, for a specialized film with a targeted audience.
For its part, Lions Gate is going on the offensive. Rather than sending out "High Tension" unrated, as it did with "Irreversible," (a tack the company can take because it's not an MPAA signatory), or trimming to get an R, as it recently did with "The Cooler," Lions Gate is throwing down the gauntlet.
"We feel it's important to establish a legitimate adult rating," said Tom Ortenberg, president of Lions Gate Releasing. "If the MPAA won't do it, we'll do it for them. By refusing to use its tremendous lobbying power to lean on newspapers and theaters [resistant to showing or promoting NC-17 material], the organization has marginalized the designation.
" 'High Tension' has the potential to play beyond art-houses and become a commercial, mainstream movie," Ortenberg adds. "NATO [The National Association of Theatre Owners] maintains that exhibitors are willing to play it — and I'm taking them at their word."
.....................
Steve Gilula, president of distribution at Fox Searchlight, suspects that the distributors of "Young Adam" and "High Tension" decided to give it a shot because the experience of "The Dreamers" was so favorable. He had no problem booking the film, he said, and only a Mormon-owned newspaper in Salt Lake City refused to take the ad. Playing in 116 theaters at the peak, it has made $2.5 million — a "satisfactory release," he notes, for a specialized film with a targeted audience.