Hancock Has Received An R-Rating Twice From The MPAA
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Back in April, wediscussedwhetherEntertainment Weekly’spredictionthatWill Smith’sHancockwould be the third highest grossing film of Summer ‘08 and the top superhero movie (discounting Indiana Jones), was accurate. On Slashfilm, interest in the big budget satire seems to be running far behindThe Dark Knight,Iron Manand, arguably,The Incredible Hulk, so it’ll be interesting to see whether it reaches the teetering-on-$300 million grosses ofI Am Legend. In a new article in theNYT, director and Michael Mann-protegePeter Berg(The Kingdom,Friday Night Lights) discusses the subversive nature of the film and it’s added therein thatHancockhas received an R-rating twice from the MPAA.
“We had statutory rape up until three weeks ago,” Mr. Berg said, describing just one of the elements that has turned “Hancock” into an exercise in brinkmanship.
While jockish humor, action and grade-A special effects have been key to the film’s marketing, Berg adds that the final product will still contain a borderline amount of violence and sexuality sourced from the long praised original script byVincent Ngo. This is noteworthy, if only because no other PG-13 blockbuster this summer has faced ratings challenges in the press, if memory serves. MightHancockbe darker thanThe Dark Knight? Sony co-chairAmy Pascalpolitely says of the film…
“It’s scary in that it goes farther than we’ve gone before.”
Meanwhile, Berg and writer-producerAkiva Goldsmanare definitely playing up the “one for us” mentality to an intriguing degree.
