Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks are starring in the movie “Zack and Miri Make a Porno.”
“Lifelong platonic friends Zack (Rogen) and Miri (Banks) look to solve their respective cash flow problems by making an adult film together,” according to the film distributor’s Web site, www.weinsteinco.com. “As the cameras roll, however, the duo begin to sense that they may have more feelings for each other than they previously thought.”
This film will not be playing at any of the Megaplex Theatres in Utah. There are five of them in the state, and all are owned and operated by Larry H. Miller. Miller similarly pulled “Brokeback Mountain” from his theaters just weeks before it was supposed to play because of a same-sex relationship between the two leading men.
Megaplex Theatres and Miller have been criticized for not showing these films based on their sexual nature. “Zack and Miri” is competing with “Saw V,” the newest installment in the series of horror movies. The series is about a killer who kidnaps individuals and tests them in situations to repent for their lifestyles. They usually end in a bloody, nauseating fashion. “Saw V” features dead bodies used to complete tasks and people lopping off their hands to fill jars with their own blood.
When “Brokeback Mountain” was released, it was up against another movie8212;”Hostel.” The latter was a horror film that some countries with strong censorship laws didn’t show in theaters. In one scene, a man has holes drilled into his chest, his Achilles’ tendon cut and is then murdered.
Horror movies like this have extreme scenes of violence, blood and gore, and many feature nudity as well. Regardless, they are played in Megaplex theaters statewide, but movies such as “Zack and Miri” and “Brokeback Mountain” are not.
Miller is allowed to show what he wants in his theaters, but it seems hypocritical to project the idea that he is standing for family values by not allowing films such as “Zack and Miri” and “Brokeback Mountain” to play while allowing movies such as “Saw V” and “Hostel.”
It is offensive to think that a corporation, or a single man, can make moral judgments for the masses.
Although not showing this movie might hurt Miller’s bottom line only temporarily, chances are many people will quickly return to his Megaplex theaters.
However, that kind of patronage is what allows this kind of censorship to continue. Patronizing other theaters will send a strong message.
Zach Edmunds