Movie News

"Captivity" Held Captive By Marketing Stunt

Following up on a news item from last week, the MPAA has suspended the ratings process for After Dark films, following their gonzo stunt promotion of the upcoming horror film, "Captivity." In a precedent setting move, the MPAA is also requiring the indie studio to clear with them any future promotional placement.

The ads in question featured depictions of star Elisha Cuthbert in advancing stages of a hostage predicament, beginning with "Abduction" and ending with "Termination." The ads were pulled from spots in NY and LA after numerous complaints.

As an independent film, After Dark is free to release the film without a rating, but this decreases greatly their chances for wide booking and distribution. The original release date was May 18--if After Dark still wants an MPAA sanctioned rating for this film, they will likely have to push back this date.

Following the initial controversy, After Dark CEO Courtney Solomon stated the release of the offending ads was an "accident," and that "[he] wasn't going to go with this campaign." The MPAA has since stated the ads were "summarily rejected" by them--meaning that somebody had intended to go with that campaign, at some point early on.

Source: Variety.

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Posted by on March 31, 2007 5:43 PM
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