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American Morning
Showbiz Today Reports: 'The Center of the World' Left Unrated to Escape Censorship
Aired April 24, 2001 - 10:45 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, everyone. I'm Michael Okwu.
It was a star-studded night in New York as supermodels, superstars and a couple of super-fashion designers celebrated the style of Jacqueline Kennedy. Gwyneth Paltrow, Julianna Margulies, Sigourney Weaver and Renee Zellweger were just a few of the celebrities who came out last night to honor Kennedy's style and elegance. They joined the former first lady's daughter, Caroline, and her niece, Maria Shriver, at a fund-raising gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The fashion world was also represented. Supermodels Elle MacPherson and Naomi Campbell joined top designers Calvin Klein and Oscar de la Renta at the event, which launched the exhibit "Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years."
There's a film causing quite a stir at the center of the entertainment universe. It's called "The Center of the World." And it may not be coming soon to a theater near you. Made by Wayne Wang, the director of the box-office hit "The Joy Luck Club," "The Center of the World" isn't having luck with some advertisers and theater owners who are finding the film too provocative.
CNN's Sherri Sylvester has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHERRI SYLVESTER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): "The Center of the World" seems made for the NC-17 rating. It is the story of a rich dot-commer who takes a stripper to Las Vegas for three days, an adult story with explicit sex scenes between Peter Sarsgaard and Molly Parker. But Artisan entertainment is releasing the film unrated, having bypassed the Motion Picture Association of America.
WAYNE WANG, DIRECTOR: I didn't want to cut anything from the film, and I guess it would be easier just to release it without a rating. I think Artisan did a good job with "Requiem for a Dream," unrated.
SYLVESTER: Unrated releases are judged individually by theater owners and advertisers. Most have a blanket policy banning all NC-17 films.
But newspapers across the country have refused print ads for this feature.
MOLLY PARKER, ACTRESS: I certainly would never have taken this part. I wanted to do this movie. If I thought the point of it was to turn people on...
SYLVESTER: Indie film actress Molly Parker and director Wayne Wang say the film is the anti-"Pretty Woman," an honest look at what happens when money is exchanged for sex.
Digital consumer grade cameras were used to add to the voyeuristic feel.
PARKER: The film's about subverting back to those kinds of ideas, for me.
WANG: Yes, it wasn't like "9 1/2 Weeks," where they cut to a close-up with a beautifully lit breast, or something.
PARKER: Right.
WANG: It's all kind of in the context of what's...
PARKER: ... happening between these two people. It's sort of what's important, and if that doesn't always look pretty, then that's OK, because it's not all pretty.
SYLVESTER: The film seems an odd choice for director Wang, who is known for "The Joy Luck Club." But once he connected the dot- commers of Silicon Valley to the strip club culture there, he knew he had an erotic feature.
WANG: They asked, do you want to come down to the strip club -- we're going in as a group? I went down there with them and just saw what was almost like a bunch of prisoners released from jail with a lot of energy and a lot of cash and these young girls selling a lot of fantasy.
SYLVESTER: Selling the movie may be a pipe dream. Without TV or print ads, Artisan has turned to the Internet, as they did with "The Blair Witch Project." They hope titillating consumers online may get them in line to see the movie.
Sherri Sylvester, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
OWKU: That's all the time we have for now, but join us later, when Victoria Principal stops by our L.A. studio to talk to Laurin Sydney. That's at 2:35 Eastern.
In New York, I'm Michael Okwu. Let's go back to Kyra, in Atlanta.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Michael, thank you so much.
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