MPAA hits AfterDark with huge sanctions in response to Captivity SNAFU

Posted by Chris

March 31, 2007

Following the controversy surrounding the outdoor ads for Captivity that included what some felt were inappropriate scenes of torture and such, the MPAA has hit AfterDark, the studio producing the film, with a number of sanctions and penalties.

…the MPAA has suspended the ratings process for “Captivity” and is requiring the horror specialist to clear with the org all further promo materials as well as locations and venues of ad buys.

MPAA has never before required a film company to clear locations and venues of ad buys, and the 30-day suspension of the ratings process casts doubt over whether “Captivity” will receive a rating before its planned May 18 release.

Of course going through the “can we put this ad there?” process will add a significant amount of time to the marketing process. And there’s always the notion that the MPAA will be a tad harsher on this movie when it comes to assigning it a rating than it otherwise would have been. Releasing the movie sans ratings is not really an option for Lionsgate, which will be distributing the movie, since most media outlets won’t run ads for unrated films and most exhibitors won’t book them.

As itchy as I usually am whenever the notion of restricting free speech comes into play, I have to say I mostly side with the MPAA on this one. The ads were inappropriate at best and certainly had no place in full public view. If this was an effort by AfterDark to get the buzz going with an outrageous stunt followed by stunned apologies, the tactic certainly backfired. This is especially the case since the MPAA is about to hear how well it’s doing in policing itself from the Federal government. They can’t be seen as being slack on an issue like this right now.