Netflix has released a trailer for their first NC-17 film, Blonde. The Marilyn Monroe project stars Ana de Armas as the icon. Of course, with that rating, the project gained a lot of buzz as director Andrew Dominik tried to find somewhere that would host his film. This year, audiences will be able to see what all the fuss is about for themselves. The NC-17 rating for Blonde is due to “some sexual content.” Over at the Motion Picture Association of America, very few mainstream films have been categorized in this way. However, Blonde is willing to move forward in an effort not to dilute the project’s vision. Dominik actually spoke about the decision to keep making the film despite the ratings dustup. He told The Playlist that there was some surprise, but he understands the MPAA’s decision in this case. Check out what the filmmaker had to say right here.
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“Yeah, that was a bit of a surprise, that it got that rating,” Dominik said. “It was really #MeToo that allowed Blonde to happen. It was a gold moment where you had to believe a woman’s perspective no matter what. Whereas before I think people were really uncomfortable with how Blonde portrayed certain American sacred cows. And then it became a gold moment where it didn’t matter if they were sacred cows or not, and that’s why it got made, what allowed it to happen in the end.”
“Here’s the thing, though, it’s not like I’m unsympathetic to their point of view, you know? NC-17 is not a good thing for your film to have, you can’t be on certain billboards and you can’t advertise on certain things and there are all kinds of restrictions that get put on you cause of that rating,” he mused. “So, to get an NC-17 is not good, you know, and it’s not something that I wanted the film to have. Also, I don’t think it’s something that the film deserves, it’s not really reflective of community standards, I think it’s more of a political thing.”
“Well, Blonde is going to have some kind of theatrical release,” Dominik continued. “I mean, you can’t have a billboard, and…what I don’t understand is why Netflix signed to the MPAA signatory anyway. I mean, there must be some advantage. I just can’t understand why anyone would put themselves under that censorship if they didn’t have to, but… you know, truthfully, I probably shouldn’t speculate on that stuff cause I don’t really [know enough about it.]”
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