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THINKFilm Fights the NC-17 Rating on "Where the Truth Lies"

Starring Kevin Bacon, Colin Firth and Alison Lohman

By Rebecca Murray, About.com

August 22, 2005 - THINKFilm announced today they're set to appeal the Motion Picture Association of America's (MPAA) NC-17 rating on the dramatic thriller, "Where the Truth Lies," starring Colin Firth and Kevin Bacon. Academy-Award-nominated writer-director Atom Egoyan's scheduled to speak on behalf of the film at the upcoming appeal. If the ruling stands, the NC-17 rating would prohibit audiences younger than 17 from attending.

In a press release issued by the studio, THINKFilm chairman Robert Lantos, who is also the film's producer, said, "'Where the Truth Lies' is a sophisticated and intelligently provocative film. The NC-17 rating will unfairly limit people's access to it because of the number of theaters in America which will not play an NC-17 rated film. This film stars some of the most talented actors in the movies today, is based on a popular mainstream novel and is written and directed by a filmmaker known for his artistic integrity and achievement. The film has not encountered this kind of restrictive rating anywhere else in the free world. Only in America will many be deprived of access to it."

The MPAA slapped the NC-17 rating on "Where the Truth Lies" due to a crucial scene in the film - a ménage a trios which leads to a girl's death. Lantos added, "This scene is done using a single sustained mastershot in order to allow the actors the most conducive environment for intimacy and intensity, and in order to best communicate what happens in the film's pivotal scene. It cannot be cut without compromising the central scene of the narrative and thus rendering the mystery of the film incomprehensible. It remains more than a bit absurd to me that this scene would garner an R if shot exactly the same but from just torso up, but becomes an NC-17 because the mastershot reveals full bodies."

The Official Synopsis

In 'Where the Truth Lies,' based on Rupert Holmes' acclaimed novel of the same name, Kevin Bacon and Colin Firth star as Lanny Morris and Vince Collins, the country's hottest entertainment duo. Lanny and Vince are knee deep in all the wealth and power that comes with such fame. That is, until a beautiful girl (Rachel Blanchard) turns up naked and dead in the pair's hotel suite after a night of wild partying. Years later, an intrepid reporter (Alison Lohman) sets out to discover what happened that night, only to be lured into the seductive games of these men.

Source: THINKFilm

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