Ever since Derek Cianfrance’s Blue Valentine got slapped with a surprise NC-17 rating for a sad sex scene between leads Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling, it’s been expected that the Weinstein Company would appeal. Harvey Weinstein, never one to disappoint when it comes to ratings smackdowns, issued a statement today saying the company will contest the decision at an appeal hearing this November. It reads:
We want to express our deepest gratitude to our colleagues in the industry and in the media for their recent outpouring of support for Derek Cianfrance’s Blue Valentine after the film surprisingly received an NC-17 rating from the MPAA. We are taking every possible step to contest the MPAA’s decision. We respect the work of the MPAA and we hope, after having a chance to sit down with them, they will see that our appeal is reasonable, and the film, which is an honest and personal portrait of a relationship, would be significantly harmed by such a rating.”
The statement is de rigueur Weinstein, that is to say it lays some groundwork for a future, newly possible Oscar run by pointing out/overstating how beloved and popular the film is, while indicating he’s up for a fight, if not yet interested in pissing the MPAA off. He’s going to get this thing an R and into the Oscar race if he has to write 100 more polite memos.
Harvey Weinstein on the ‘Blue Valentine’ controversy: Can’t we all just get along? [24 Frames/LAT]
