Tokyo Literary Godfather

Business here in Japan is going well, but there is some trouble on the other side of the ocean.

"Saw" has been produced and sent to the MPAA headquarters in California for review.

MPAA, also known as the Motion Picture Association of America, was founded in 1922 and is responsible for reviewing and classifying various film and television cultural works.

Most of the members of the review panel are parents, and the films submitted for review are mainly divided into several levels: G, PG, PG-13, R and NC-17. Corresponding to different target groups and delivery scales.

G rating means mass rating and can be watched by everyone;

PG is a tutorial level and needs to be watched with the supervision of a parent;

PG-13 is a film that strongly urges parents to advise children under the age of 13 to watch, and Avengers falls into this category;

The R rating is a restricted rating. The movie contains a lot of violence, sex, and drugs. Children under the age of 17 without parental supervision are prohibited from watching;

NC-17 is an adult rating, children under 17 are prohibited from viewing, regardless of whether they are accompanied by a parent or not.

This censorship and rating system for American movies covers about 99% of movies. Of course, there are actually X-rated movies that are prohibited from being screened. This refers to movies with too sensitive topics and too avant-garde and explicit content, which are often not allowed in some areas of the United States. Or it could be released nationwide in the United States, but there are few daring works that can reach this level, so I won't include it in the discussion.

Judging from the insignificant scale of "Saw" in American society, there is no need to worry about being classified into this level...

But after all, as a thriller and suspense film, it is difficult to be classified as G-rated.

Therefore, Ruan Minxiong and Daniel's initial assumption was that the film would best be classified as PG-13, with a guaranteed R rating. It may not seem like a big difference, but different screening levels greatly affect the final box office.

In order to improve the screening level of their own films, it is common for some production companies to directly send them back and re-edit them.

However, the final review result was beyond the expectations of Ruan Minxiong and Daniel. The film was actually classified as NC-17 by the MPAA review team.

This gives Ruan Minxiong a headache. You know, the R rating has already greatly affected the box office. Because of this level of movies, not only the audience will be greatly reduced, but the size of the theaters will also be limited.

The situation with NC-17 is even worse. It can be said that nearly half of the theaters will not show this film. Minors are one of the main ticket sellers, and it is a low-cost film. As a result, no theater will be willing to schedule this film.

"There's no other way, just delete it." Daniel shrugged and said helplessly: "Just modify the part about sawing the hand or delete it entirely, and don't show it directly."

"Oh...how could this happen?" Ruan Minxiong also felt very sorry. Although there was a scene in the movie where the entire arm was sawed off, Ruan Minxiong covered it up during the filming and was very restrained in the filming. There was no picture of flesh flying everywhere and blood foam spilling out that challenged physiological reactions. I thought there would be no problem if it was rated R or above.

"It should be for this reason." Daniel suddenly took out a copy of the New York Times. It was from a few days ago and published a news article:

A pregnant woman in Florida was about to go into labor and drove to the nearest maternity hospital. But the car ran out of gas on the road, so he turned to a passerby for help, hoping to take her to a nearby hospital.

An enthusiastic woodcutter passed by at this time, and after learning about the pregnant woman's request, he readily agreed to help.

The man claimed that he had helped his wife give birth and had extensive experience in midwifery, so he took out a chainsaw tool from the trunk of the car, tied the pregnant woman to a tree, and performed an operation on her... Of course, the results of the operation were not good. Too optimistic.

Half an hour later, passers-by discovered the bloody scene and called the police directly. The ambulance didn't come because there was no need to come.

It was later confirmed that the man had taken an overdose of drugs that day, causing his mental state to be very unstable. He was eventually sent to court for trial.

The whole news was filled with the feeling of absurd novels, but Ruan Minxiong took a look at the place where the news incident occurred and felt it was normal.

"Is it because of this that "Saw" was classified as NC-17?" Ruan Minxiong said with a headache.

"Maybe. It just so happens that recently there have been many incidents of chainsaw injuries. Our theme just corresponds to reality..."

"Isn't that great? You can just use these news to make publicity." Ruan Minxiong said without thinking after hearing this. After finishing speaking, he felt a little embarrassed and felt like an unscrupulous businessman.

"But the problem is, if this film cannot get an R rating or above, the scale of screening and the audience will be further restricted. Even if you spend 5 million on advertising, you won't be able to make up for it." Daniel shrugged, " Revise it. I’m sure you’ll do it quickly.”

Ruan Minxiong had no choice but to agree and re-edit, deleting some footage that he thought was very good. Every time a frame was deleted, he felt heartbroken.

It only took one day to edit the new version of "Saw", which is indeed very efficient.

…

In February, the crew of "Saw" appealed to the Motion Picture Association of America and requested a re-examination. However, the result was still NC-17. In desperation, the crew submitted a new version and the film was successfully rated R.

This result made Ruan Minxiong lament that the MPAA's classification seems to have become more stringent than before.

February is also a big event for Hollywood. This month is the time when the American Academy Awards are held.

Daniel naturally participated, and one of his works was also nominated. At the reception, Daniel met another well-known producer in the industry, Bruce Fantersen, who had previously rejected Yui Mizuhara's invitation. That producer.

The two chatted for a while. The topic was not about the movie at all, but about the differences between different wineries and the recent exciting Super Bowl game.

Suddenly, Bruce Van Tesen remembered something, changed the topic, and asked: "By the way, I heard that you are currently making a movie, which is about the Japanese woman who approached me before?"

"Yes." Daniel nodded, then waved his hand: "It was just for fun. It has been filmed. It took more than ten days."

"Is it still the script called "Rocky"?"

"No, another one. It's a horror and suspense film."

"Horror movie..." Bruce didn't say anything, but he had a bad impression of this movie in advance.

Horror movies have always been the worst hit area for bad movies. There are many low-cost movies in them, and they have no artistic value. In order to attract audiences, some directors and screenwriters will always shoot some strange scenes. In the end, the profit channel is not through the box office of the theater, but through the sale of discs.

Bruce had a good relationship with Daniel and persuaded him: "Daniel, you should be more cautious when choosing scripts and producers. After all, bad results will also affect our reputation in the industry and affect some capable directors and actors in the future. Don’t always accept movies without caring about favors.”

Bruce's suggestion is very pertinent. In fact, this is also Daniel's idea. After "Saw", he does not plan to make any low-cost movies. High-cost movies may not necessarily mean good movies, but they can also be used to a certain extent. It ensures the level threshold for participating as the main creator and the attention of the issuer.

So he nodded: "I understand...but...who can say for sure about the film market? What if it can be a big hit?"

Daniel said half-jokingly.