We're just over a month away from Ridley Scott's highly anticipated "Prometheus" docking into theaters and the biggest question around the movie — besides what it's about and whether it will connect (or not) to "Alien" — is just what the movie will be rated. At Comic-Con last year, Ridley Scott said he would be shooting the sci-fi film both in PG-13 and R-rated versions with a decision to come later as to which one 20th Century Fox will eventually release. Then at the end of March, he said that the movie "should be" rated R. But then a couple weeks later, Scott lashed out at the MPAA and their arbitrary ratings system, leaving many to wonder just what that meant for the film. Well, it's a matter of weeks before the movie arrives and Fox honcho Tom Rothman says, it will be Ridley's vision.
“I can assure the fans—I’m very aware of their concern—absolutely they can take it that the film will not be compromised either way. So if that means that the film is R, then it’ll be an R. If it’s PG-13, then it’ll be a PG-13, but it will not be compromised," the executive told attendees at CinemaCon. And he adds, that the studio even taking on the movie in the first place, is an indication that they were willing to take a risk.
“[For] Prometheus, it would have been very easy—in fact probably in Chapter One of the Executive Handbook, if I ever read such a thing, it would say, ‘Go ahead, make a straightforward prequel to Alien.’ That would have been the easy thing to do," Rothman said. " 'Prometheus is the more challenging thing to do. It’s bolder, it’s original, it’s in the universe, but it’s not a literal story-based prequel to [Alien], it’s a wholly new science-fiction entry from Ridley Scott, who hasn’t made a science-fiction film in 30 years.”
But the big question is, will Fox really gamble on an R rating for a genre that typically is a hard sell, with a cast led by a host of names that for most moviegoers are a complete mystery? Or, has Ridley Scott been able to deliver the movie he wants within the constricts of a PG-13 rating? (His words about the MPAA suggest that maybe he hasn't.) We supposed we'll find out soon enough. Until then, get a look at more footage from the movie in this Russian behind-the-scenes promo vid. [Collider/Prometheus Forum]
