Nowadays Graves' office even accepts scripts to review for a ratings opinion. "We don't guarantee the film made from a script will get a certain rating, but we can give them an idea. We can say, well, you've got two 'fucks' in the script, or the violence on Page X sounds brutal. One of our senior raters is very good at assessing scripts. Another is the filmmaker liaison, to answer production questions like: 'How much nudity can we show in this scene?' " Graves says the liaison issues are "the most interesting part of the job for me, and growing larger." ...

Another problem, though, is that studios may embroider on the feedback they receive from the ratings board and request editing changes as if they were demands by the ratings board. Graves says, "We don't make editing suggestions. So if a director complains, 'The ratings board said we have to change the whole first half of the film,' they're clearly being lied to." She predicts, however, that such scapegoating has peaked: directors, who are "wising up" to the studio trick, insist on speaking directly with the ratings person.

Of course, as author Sonja Bolle notes, only 28 percent of the more than 800 movies submitted annually to the ratings board come from MPAA members, meaning that the lion's share of the remaining 72 percent — mostly American independents already facing limited distribution options — are accountable only to Graves and company for the rating that can single-handedly make or break its profit potential.

The results of that arrangement are evident to anyone who's seen Kirby Dick's ratings board documentary This Film is Not Yet Rated, which itself exposed the board's anonymous raters (just average parents — except their kids are mostly over 30), studio-vs.-indie hypocrisy and received an NC-17 when producers at IFC submitted it in 2005. But there she is, Stanford's pride of 1963, still seething about the time Bertolucci's PG-13 epic The Last Emperor apparently forced her to explain shrimping to her young daughters. Everyone knew she'd go far.

• Discretion Adviser [Stanford Magazine via TBP]

“Shame on ‘The Incredible Hulk’ for unnecessarily adding smoking to a sequel that would have been just as exciting and believable without it,” said Dianne Fenyk, President of the [American Medical Association (AMA) Alliance]. “Universal Studios and the other Hollywood studios should be especially embarrassed for using comic book movies, which they market to children and know youth will want to see, to promote tobacco.” [...]

The AMA Alliance is encouraging its 27,000 members to alert their local media and communities about the smoking in ”The Incredible Hulk,” as well as to continue pressuring the MPAA, Universal Studios and its other studio members to remove smoking once-and-for-all from youth-rated films.

Universal counters that they've made all the necessary MPAA-requested adjustments to their marketing materials; further, once the context for the film's tobacco-use is fully grasped, impressionable youths all over America will be turning "green with rage" at having to inhale second-hand smoke, and wind up "smaaaashing out" butts, just like their gargantuan hero. We're not entirely convinced, however, as the above tie-in with smooth, refreshing Kool-brand menthol cigarettes suggests to us that this is one superhero franchise that may be on the Big Tobacco take.

• americanlegacy.org
• incrediblehulk.marvel.com

If your kids simply must watch the Cartoon Network, they will be overwhelmed with ads for all kinds of tooth-rotting junk, including Pop Tarts, Lucky Charms, Reese's Puffs and some concoction called Froot Loops Cereal Straws. But critics say there's a different pediatric health risk on the cable channel — promotions tied to violent, PG-13-rated movies. ...

While studios can't sell R-rated movies directly to young kids, they have more flexibility — but not total freedom — in how they market PG-13 releases to children, with some limitations on when certain ads can and can't run. So instead of directly pitching the violent movies straight to little children, the studios are using a more subtle tactic: They let their promotional partners do their bidding through licensed toys and snacks.

So if your 4-year-old suddenly says he has to see The Incredible Hulk — rated PG-13 in part for "sequences of intense action violence" and "some frightening sci-fi images" — it could be that he's seen a Hulk Airheads candy spot running in the middle of the morning on Cartoon Network's Robotboy."

Angry families, meanwhile, have had enough of Hulk Smash Hands: The "Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood" has reached out to the Federal Trade Commission, which in turn scolded the MPAA. As befits their role as the story's imperious bête noire, the MPAA merely yawned in response ("The PG-13 rating is not a restrictive rating and admission is permitted by — and often may be appropriate for — children younger than 13"), thus inspiring a toy-store raid on Lil' Villagers™ Pitchfork-and-Torch Lynch Mob Sets in the first defiant, symbolic step against Hollywood's youth stranglehold.

• Teen flicks targeted at children [LAT]

"When times are bad, our business seems to buck the trend," says Dan Glickman. ... "The movies are great therapy. It's a lot cheaper than a psychiatrist." ...

At an average of less than $7 a ticket, compared to $23 for a Major League Baseball game and more than $50 for a concert, "movies are still a good value," says Glickman. "There's still this great desire to go on dates and have a social experience and a communal experience."

Indeed, there is something almost spiritual about sharing unintentional laughs with your fellow Indiana Jones 4 viewers, or the firefly-esque light show of watch- and phone-checking accompanying Get Smart. Author Rebecca Winters Keegan likewise notes the historical trend in grosses to rise during economic slowdowns like the energy crisis of the '70s and the dot-com crash. Of course, those were the days before Netflix, YouTube, iTunes, affordable home theaters and other, more personalized entertainment options, but who cares, says Encino's resident number-cruncher quote-whore Paul Dergarabedian: "That makes it a little harder to predict. But I still think the recession will have a negligible effect. If anything, you might see people cutting back on concessions." Just add a little recession-friendly alcohol behind the counters, though, and hear those cash registers sing.

• Hollywood to Recession: Bring It! [Time]

· Though the number was down 10 percent from the same time last year, American Idol's 29.1 million viewers were more than enough to steamroll any doomed schedule-filler its network competition bothered to run against the Nielsen juggernaut™ [Variety]
· The Oscar season success of specialty units like Paramount Vantage, Miramax and Fox Searchlight seems to indicate that their major-studio parents have given up the burden of making "good" movies, conceding quality, awards-attracting filmmaking to their quirkier, lower-budgeted divisions. [Variety]
· The Sci Fi Channel has picked up the rights to Jericho reruns, demonstrating a willingness to weather the peanut-shipping wrath of the show's hard-core fanbase should the network ever decide to pull the series from its schedule. [THR]

• IT Crowd antipiracy ad [YouTube]

(The duo have been dispatched to New York City by MPAA head Dan Glickman and Mayor Bloomberg, both thirsty for local pirate blood.) Once we managed to successfully tune out the droning voice of muffin-brained inquisitor Ann Curry, the moment Lucky successfully located the luggage containing the counterfeit quarry instantly thawed our icy, shriveled hearts.

• Fresh Off Malaysian Triumph, DVD-Sniffing Dogs Tackle New York [NY Times]
• [Today]

Two American sniffer dogs who found millions of pirated DVDs while on loan to Malaysian authorities will receive medals of honor when their six-month assignment ends next week, an official said Thursday.

Black Labradors Lucky and Flo will be celebrated at an awards ceremony Monday before they return home to New York, said Nor Hayati Yahaya, the Motion Picture Association's manager for Malaysia.

Lucky and Flo — on loan from the U.S.-based association — have helped uncover pirated DVDs and equipment worth $6 million since they came to Malaysia in March, Nor Hayati said. The cases led to 26 arrests.

While the story provides a fittingly happy ending for the duo, we're reluctant to think about whatever became of those 26 arrested pirates—though we feel compelled to point out that Lucky and Flo's coats have never been shinier since their handlers switched them to their mysterious new gluten-free dog food.

• Malaysian Award for DVD - Sniffing Dogs [NY Times]

[Special thanks to the Defamer reader who somehow caught this as it flashed by during a commercial that ran on Li'l Bush last night.]

• Previously: Offensive BillboardWatch: Captivity's Secret Victims 7 [Defamer]

Popular Internet sites may be the flashy new kids on the entertainment block, but moviehouses rank among the original social networks. As a kid in Kansas, the local cinema was a center of the community. Still today, when we ask teens how they prefer to see movies, over and over they tell us in the theater with friends (apparently, we parents are too embarrassing to be seen with in public). It makes sense to a generation that perpetually seeks out community — whether it be online gaming, video-sharing or social networking.

It's easy to get nostalgic about the movies. But it's important to appreciate and celebrate the renaissance they are enjoying in the here and now. In a world where a recent study claims that 62% of the country prefers spending time with their computer than with their spouse, it's worth noting that we still seek out the communal experience of going to the movies.In the dark of the moviehouse, there's a rare camaraderie in modern society. We laugh together. In more poignant moments, we collectively pretend there's something stuck in our eyes. It's comforting to know that in our famously wired world, we still like to occasionally unplug and connect instead with one another.

It's at a moment like this that we really miss the late Jack Valenti's leadership of the MPAA. While we appreciate Glickman's blog-enabled "Up with movies!" positivity, it's no substitute for a hyper-articulate screed faxed to the trade papers blaming international copyright pirates for Spider-Man 3's failure to post a billion-dollar opening weekend, announcing his intention to "bathe in the blood of every last Beijing black market stallminder trying to steal three square meals from the mouths of honest Hollywood working folk," and recognizing that the seeming health of the industry is merely "an illusion conjured by the tireless, scheming enemies of the business of show."

• A Long, Hot Summer at the Movies [HuffPo]

Unsurprisingly, the MPAA's token efforts have not satisfied the 31 state Attorneys General who know that each instance of smoking on the big screen creates thousands of helpless new tobacco addicts; today, they hit back at the industry by taking out full-page ads in the trades, shaming them for their indifference to the health of impressionable moviegoers. Should this warning shot fail to register with Hollywood's influencers, they'll follow it up with a dramatic two-page spread depicting the cherubic faces of the future lung cancer victims created by a single Brad Pitt drag from a Parliament in the upcoming Ocean's 13.

[Ad via Digital Variety]

• Previously: MPAA To Now Designate Movies As Rated Light, Ultra Light, And Menthol [Defamer]

He said the ratings board will ask three questions:

Is the smoking pervasive?

Does the film glamorize smoking?

Is there an historic or other mitigating context?

Also, when a film's rating is affected by the depiction of smoking, the rating will include phrases such as "glamorized smoking" or "pervasive smoking."

The decision may not completely please anti-tobacco lobbyists, who had hoped for across-the-board R-ratings, but thanks to the new MPAA classification system, at least parents will never again have to wonder whether their children might be subjected to any of a wide variety of smoking scenarios, including, but not limited to, "post-coital smoking," "appetite-suppressive smoking," and "depressing cubicle drones huddled under an office building entryway in the rain smoking." Finally, we can all rest a little easier, knowing that by lumping the deadly habit into the same, not-at-all enticing categories as explicit sex and violence, the impressionable youth of America will instantly lose interest in this forbidden subject.

• MPAA to consider smoking in ratings criteria [THR]

Nervous stall owners scurried away or locked themselves behind steel shutters when the two Labradors, trained in Ireland to detect optical discs, led government agents and representatives of the Motion Picture Association-International through the Makati Cinema Square mall.

In the first hour alone, Edu Manzano, chairman of the Philippine government's Optical Media Board, said they seized at least 300,000 pirated discs and arrested 11 people, who face charges of copyright infringement and violation of anti-pornography laws.

"They are the Starsky and Hutch of the Motion Picture Association," said the dogs' trainer, David Mayberry, a Northern Ireland senior investigator of the Federation Against Copyright Theft.

It certainly didn't take long for the canine agents to develop international reputations as highly efficient and merciless anti-piracy machines, with the faint, distant sounds of light panting and a flash of pink tongue striking fear in the hearts of even the most hardened Philippino film pirates. But it would probably surprise many to learn that both of the dogs are bitches, making the comparison to Starsky & Hutch less apt than, say, one to Cagney & Lacey, with Lucky in the single, career-minded Sharon "Cagney" Gless role, and Flo being the Labrador equivalent of Tyne "Lacey" Daly's married, working mom.

• Sniffer Dogs Lucky & Flo Debut in Manila [ABCNews.com]

[T]hey now will be based here "for the foreseeable future," said MPAA senior operations executive Neil Gane. [...]

The black Labradors will mainly participate in more Malaysian raids, but they also could be deployed to other countries for anti-piracy operations from time to time, Gane said. He declined to identify which countries were being considered, citing security reasons.

Anyone who remembers the last, unnerving chapter in the Lucky and Flo Mysteries knows why we can't help but receive this news with a mixture of deep pride for L&F's achievements, but great dread as well, as word on the Malaysian street is that the two black Labs have a bounty on their furry heads. We can only put blind faith in the Malaysians that the appropriate doggieguard detail will be assigned to their not-so-secret weapons, and that a special, dead-of-night mission to Bangkok to intercept the Far East's leading Wild Hogs duplicator won't instead result in a poochie ambush, wiping out our heroes in a hail of automatic gunfire and pulverized dog biscuits.

• D-Sniffing Dogs to Stay in Malaysia [ABCNews.com]

Mark Damon, who produced Captivity, says nervously that he hopes the MPAA will keep in mind that the ones who will suffer for After Dark's transgressions (which he believes to be inadvertent) are the innocents involved in making the film.

"We had nothing to do with what happened," he says. He adds that Captivity is a deeper work than Saw or Hostel. "Does it have exploitation elements? Yes, it does, but it's a different kind of movie," he says. "Saw and Hostel are all about new forms of torture. Here the torture is as much mental as anything else.

If the blameless independent producers of the aspirational exploitation film hope to escape further suffering, they might want to talk After Dark down from its planned, escalated retaliation against the MPAA oppressors trying to cripple the project by withholding a rating: replacing its toned-down "Captivity Was Here" billboards with photographs of adorable dogs underneath the threat, "For every day we don't get our R, we kill a puppy. Your move, MPAA."

[Photo; CineFile Video]

• Mental Torture [Slate]
• Previously: After Dark's 'Captivity' Invites MPAA's Billboard-Induced Wrath [Defamer]

"The sanctions in this case are severe because this was an unacceptable and flagrant violation of MPAA rules and procedures," Gordon said in a statement.

Public reaction to the billboards was strong, as MPAA switchboards lit up with complaints as well as questions about what to do, an org official said. When MPAA ordered After Dark to remove the ads, the company responded slowly, eventually complying but replacing the original ads with a sign reading "Captivity was here," as if to have the last word. Ads at bus shelters in L.A. were still displayed Thursday.

Sanction comes in response to After Dark's "prominent display in both Los Angeles and New York of advertising that the MPAA had explicitly disapproved as inappropriate for general public viewing," the org said Thursday in a statement.

"MPAA reviews tens of thousands of promotional materials each year," Gordon said. "The good news is that — as disturbing as this case has been — it marks a rare instance where a company has acted in such a clear and direct violation of our rules. The overwhelming majority of companies and filmmakers understand, support and abide by MPAA rules and procedures. It is now up to After Dark Films to restore good faith with the MPAA."

It seems that the MPAA, touchy about the uproar started by the naughty, publicity-craving little studio, won't even put up with the mildly cheeky "Captivity was here" replacement ads; their hardline stance will probably force After Dark to scrap the even more ambitious promotional campaign they've been testing out in Minnesota, where they've rigged open manholes to play back Cuthbert's anguished screams seconds before potential ticket-buying passers-by are doused by gallons of fake blood blasted upward through the pavement.

• Lights out for After Dark ads [Variety]

Lucky and Flo roamed several floors of an office complex in southern Johor state and detected the discs behind locked doors, which officials broke open with crowbars, said Fahmi Kassim, the Domestic Trade Ministry's enforcement chief in Johor.

Officials arrested five Malaysians and a Vietnamese man in the operation, in which nearly $2.8 million worth of discs were seized, Fahmi said.

"We suspected there were pirated discs in the building, and sure enough, the operation proved to be very successful," Fahmi said by phone. "The dogs were a big help."

The smooth-coated detectives usher in a new golden era in Malaysia's ongoing battle against entertainment piracy, liberating them from such outdated and unreliable techniques as knocking on random doors and asking, "Are you a DVD bootlegger? No? OK, sorry to bother you," or ordering military police to rough up Kuala Lumpur street urchins until they finally broke down and admitted who provided them with hastily subtitled copies of the popular new American action movie, The Evil Motorcycle Adventures Of Elvis Flaming Skull.

• Dogs sniff out bootleg DVDs, CDs [MSNBC]

• Dogs Used to Tackle Movie, Music Piracy [ABCNews.com]

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said that many of her colleagues didn't grasp Hollywood's economic clout, and that their views of the industry often were shaped by concerns about excessive sex and violence in movies.

"We want the industry to do well, but we want it to be a net positive addition to the values of Americans," she said. "It must understand this, I think, and respond to it in a positive sense, instead of saying, 'Well, this is our business; we're going to do what we want.' " [...]

Despite the emphasis on economics, it's hard for Hollywood to do anything — even try to dispel its flashy image — without at least some star wattage. And today's invitation-only event will stand out as a Washington policy conference with red-carpet flair.

Smith, nominated for a best actor Academy Award for "The Pursuit of Happyness," will headline the opening breakfast at the Smithsonian's stately new downtown art museum. Filmmaker Michael Apted, president of the Directors Guild of America, will keynote the luncheon at the swank Hotel Monaco.

"This is a chance for us to come to Washington and for them to actually see us as walking, talking, breathing human beings," Apted said. "You'll get a sense that making movies is a very unusual and singular industry.... It's not like making cars or growing wheat."

The star-exploiting ploy paid immediate dividends; while Feinstein initially paid lip service to holding Hollywood to some sort of vague values standard in exchange for the governmental protection of its interests, once Smith took the podium and called forth a plump man-tear from the corner of a quivering eye during the thrilling crescendo of his speech on the looming threat of piracy, the senator immediately halted the proceedings, promising to do whatever she could to help their unusual and singular industry, even if it meant diverting resources from every last wretched wheat-grower and grease-stained car-maker in America.

• A Hollywood 101 course for Capitol Hill [LAT]

Because a gender-ineligible commenter responded to our earlier post about the MPAA's Boy Scout re-eduction efforts by expressing a wish to wear an official "Respecting Copyrights" merit badge "while defiling copyrights left and right," we're posting the art for the actual patch, made available along with the Scout curriculum over at the MPAA's official site, right here for your clip n' save convenience. And no, that's not our attempt at satirizing what we think it should look like; apparently, the MPAA and the Boy Scouts allowed a kid who has yet to achieve his Design for Propaganda merit badge have a crack at the task.

• MPAA To Sponsor 'Respecting Copyrights' Merit Badge For Local Boy Scouts [Defamer]

"One of the most important tools we have to fight piracy is education and I commend the Los Angeles area Boy Scouts for working with us to help raise awareness about piracy among their troops in Los Angeles." said Dan Glickman, Chairman and CEO of the MPAA. "The film industry is a major contributor to the Los Angeles economy and as such, it is important to protect the economic vitality film brings to L.A. and the state of California. Working with the Boy Scouts of Los Angeles, we have a real opportunity to educate a new generation about how movies are made, why they are valuable, and hopefully change attitudes about intellectual property theft."

It's nice to see that Glickman realizes that these bad seeds are still young and impressionable enough to be reformed; under the Jack Valenti regime, any Scouts suspected of harboring unauthorized movie downloads on their video iPods probably would have been roused from their beds in the middle of the night and summarily executed.

The entire press release is after the jump, and is definitely worth the read:

LOS ANGELES AREA BOY SCOUTS COLLABORATE WITH MPAA TO TEACH YOUNG PEOPLE ABOUT RESPECTING COYRIGHTS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 20, 2006

LOS ANGELES AREA BOY SCOUTS COLLABORATE WITH MPAA TO TEACH YOUNG PEOPLE ABOUT RESPECTING COYRIGHTS

Los Angeles - The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA) today announced a new education program, in conjunction with the Los Angeles Area Boy Scouts of America, to help raise awareness about the value of copyrights among the over 52,000 young people involved in Boy Scout programs in the greater Los Angeles area. The curriculum is part of an ongoing effort to educate kids about copyright protection and change attitudes towards intellectual property theft.

"One of the most important tools we have to fight piracy is education and I commend the Los Angeles area Boy Scouts for working with us to help raise awareness about piracy among their troops in Los Angeles." said Dan Glickman, Chairman and CEO of the MPAA. "The film industry is a major contributor to the Los Angeles economy and as such, it is important to protect the economic vitality film brings to L.A. and the state of California. Working with the Boy Scouts of Los Angeles, we have a real opportunity to educate a new generation about how movies are
made, why they are valuable, and hopefully change attitudes about intellectual property theft."

Before the launch of this program in early fall, MPAA worked with the Los Angeles Area Boy Scouts to form a curriculum that met the approval of troop leaders in the greater Los Angeles area. The curriculum is designed to teach participants about copyright theft and various forms of piracy, how to identify counterfeit CDs/DVDs, the consequences of film and music piracy, and why protecting copyrights is important to them and to the local economy. Troops will choose from a number of activities that qualify them to earn a "Respect Copyrights" patch. Activities include creating a public service announcement that demonstrates the importance of copyright protection or visiting a movie studio to learn about the people, time and costs required to make a
movie and others.

The Boy Scouts program is part of a larger MPAA education initiative which includes other efforts to raise awareness among young children and their influencers through programs like Wired Kids and Weekly Reader.

"We are excited to work with the MPAA to provide this new educational opportunity to our more than 52,000 young people who participate in our programs including: Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, Venturing and Learning for Life, and are working to expand the program to include all Boy Scout councils within the Southern California area," said Victor Zuniga, Los Angeles Area Council Public Relations Director for the Boy Scouts of America. "The Respect Copyrights patch is a fun way for young kids to learn more about the what goes into making movies while garnering a deep appreciation for creative works and the importance of copyright protection."

The motion picture industry is a thriving economic engine contributing about $38 billion in revenue to the state of California alone. $34 billion of that revenue goes directly to Los Angeles County where the movie industry is the third largest job producer having created more than 246,000 jobs in 2005 alone.

The worldwide motion picture industry, including foreign and domestic producers, distributors, theaters, video stores and pay-per-view operators lost $18.2 billion in 2005 as a result of piracy -over $7 billion of which is attributed to Internet piracy and more than $11 billion attributed to hard goods piracy including bootlegging and illegal copying.

Motion picture piracy hurts not only the motion picture industry, but triggers a harmful domino effect that results in lost jobs and wages for American workers both inside and outside the movie industry and lost tax revenue for all levels of government. According to a recent report by the Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI), losses to the U.S. economy due to movie piracy in 2005 resulted in:

* $5.5 billion in lost annual earnings among U.S workers
* 141,030 jobs lost
* $837 million in lost annual tax revenue
* $20.5 billion in lost annual output to all U.S. industries

The MPAA and its member companies have a multi-pronged approach to fighting piracy, which includes educating people about piracy and its consequences, working through governments and courts to strengthen copyright laws, taking action against Internet thieves, working with law enforcement authorities around the world to root out pirate operations and working to ensure movies are available legally using emerging technologies.

The Boy Scout curriculum and patch can be viewed by visiting our website at www.mpaa.org.

About the MPAA

The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) serves as the voice and advocate of the American motion picture, home video and television industries from its offices in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. Its members include: Buena Vista Pictures Distribution; Paramount Pictures; Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.; Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation; Universal City Studios LLLP; and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

# # #

For more information, contact:

MPAA Los Angeles

Kori Bernards or Elizabeth Kaltman

(818) 995-6600

MPAA Washington, D.C.

Gayle Osterberg or Cara Duckworth

(202) 293-1966

• Previously: MPAA Asks Pets To Fetch Stick, Halt DVD Pirate Menace [Defamer]

• Preparing For The MPAA [The Hot Blog]

The MPAA says there are currently two DVD-sniffing dogs in the world. They are Labradors named Lucky and Flo working at Stansted Airport in the United Kingdom. The canines have been taught to recognize the unique smell of a compact disc. [...]

The dogs have had some success so far, according to the MPAA. But there is still more training that needs to be done. At this point, the dogs alert police to any CD or DVD they smell in packages and bags. Customs officials in the U.K. hope one day the dogs will only signal when there are large collections of discs, which would more likely include illegally copied movies.

News of the indiscriminate DVD-rooting pooches immediately struck terror into the hearts of men everywhere—not the movie pirates, per se, but those of globe-trotting porn connoisseurs, who are now at risk of not only the embarrassment of being outed as the devoted fans of the Cumdumpers series they truly are, but also of having their mint collector's edition of the entire 8-volume series mangled by the slobbering maws of the overzealous canine detectives.

• Police Dogs Sniff for Pirated DVDs [ABCNews.com]

For weeks now, Sony execs have been going back and forth with the ratings mullahs over Stone's various postures in "Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction."

We're not sure what they thought of the early scene in which a man is pleasuring Sharon while she's speeding along a cliffside road. (The drive doesn't end well for the guy checking under her hood.) But the MPAA did get hung up on some scorching orgy scenes. [...]

We're told that Stone refused to use a body double. "Believe me, she's still hot," says one guy who's seen the action.

We can only imagine how frustrating it is for a pro like Stone to deal with the MPAA's prudish, though violence-friendly, regulations, with seemingly endless arguments over how many members of a Manchester all-girl field hockey team constitute an actual "orgy" (they allowed 4 plus a goalie, with the added stipulation that at scene's end, at least two of them needed to perish by field hockey stick impalement.)

• Sharon's hot, and MPAA's bothered [NY Daily News]