Some city officials, newspapers and TV stations say they know an offensive movie title when they see one -- and that is causing headaches for a raunchy new comedy called "Zack and Miri Make a Porno."The film tells the story of two impoverished friends who try to profit off an amateur attempt at producing a porn movie. "It's a sweet movie, a romantic comedy with an edge to it," says director Kevin Smith, who shot the $25 million movie in less than three months earlier this year.
But marketing the R-rated film, to be released by the Weinstein Co. this weekend, is proving a challenge. First, the Motion Picture Association of America slapped a NC-17 rating on the film, which was only reduced to "R" after Mr. Smith appealed the decision.
Then, a film poster, featuring Elizabeth Banks and Seth Rogen standing side-by-side with each actor's head superimposed over the other's crotch, was rejected by the MPAA for being too crude. (The posters can be found in Canada).
Now, an array of outlets are bristling at the presence of the word "porno" in the film's title and forcing Weinstein to change its marketing plans on the fly.
Mr. Smith concedes the furor over the title may help at the box office. "If anything, the controversy might help us pick up a wider audience, simply by virtue of the fact that people have been talking about it so much," he says. But he insists it is an unintended effect of the debate.
After receiving viewer complaints about a $9,000 commercial that aired during a Dodgers' baseball game in late September, News Corp.'s FSN Prime Ticket cable channel refused to run other ads. News Corp.'s Fox television network also refused to run 30-second spots including the word 'porno' during NFL coverage for which it would collect about $350,000 per airing. One ad eventually ran without "porno" in the commercial. News Corp. owns Dow Jones & Co., publisher of the Wall Street Journal.
In all, more than 15 newspapers and several televisions stations and cable channels refused to run commercials using the word "porno," and some opted to abbreviate the title to "Zack and Miri" in advertisements, says Gary Faber, Weinstein's executive vice president of marketing.
"In this kind of market, with such economic downturn, it's pretty amazing that people are refusing advertising," says Mr. Faber. The company re-allocated about $1 million out of the $25 million marketing budget to alternative advertising because of the disputes, he said.
Meanwhile, the film's posters have faced protests in Boston, where child-development expert and Wheelock College professor of education Diane Levin called their placement on bus shelters and city buses "totally inappropriate."
The movie's poster, which was revised several times to meet MPAA approval, now features two stick figures and a cartoonish camera underneath the phrase: "Seth Rogen & Elizabeth Banks made a movie so titillating that we can only show you this drawing." Ms. Levin, however, said the cartoons are confusing to children because they appeal to their sensibility and arouse their curiosity, "Why should seven-year-olds be seeing the word 'porno' every time a bus drives by? Why should it be viewed as a mainstream part of the culture?"
That was also the view of Philadelphia deputy mayor Rina Cutler, who rejected the posters before they could even appear on bus shelters in the city. "Zack and Miri can make a porno, but not on my bus shelter," she said in a telephone interview.
The public outcry has left the film's director and distributor flabbergasted. "I can't believe this is happening in the 21st century," says Mr. Smith. "When was the last time you saw a porno with the word porno in the title?"
"Anyone who takes the title seriously is missing the comedic aspect of the movie," says Harvey Weinstein, co-chairman of Weinstein Co.
"This is the one time I don't want controversy. This is a big, broad, fun Seth Rogen comedy," he says. "Hopefully people will see the movie for what it really is."
