Was it a dumb move from After Dark to advertise the banned posters for it's upcoming horror flick
Captivity on billboards around America, or was it the smartest move they could have possibly made for their low-budgeted movie? Looking on the positivie side for After Dark, everyone now knows about the movie, when only a couple of weeks ago you would have been hard pressed to find anyone who knew anything about it. The old adage of, the only bad publicity is no publicity, right? Well maybe not. The MPAA have hit back hard against the studio, and those advertising posters may cause more trouble than they might have been worth....
The Hollywood Reporter through
Cinema Blend are reporting that Captivity will not be considered for a rating by the MPAA till May 1st, which may mean that their scheduled release of May 18th could be in jeopardy. This is because it leaves the movie with a very short time available for it to be reviewed by the MPAA and for the editors to make any necessary changes before it can be put in theatres with a rating. Of course they are free to put it into theatres without an MPAA rating...... but good look in securing a healthy amount of film theatres willing to show your flick for you guys to make some profit! After Dark have also been told they must remove all billboard advertising for their upcoming horror flick.
""The sanctions in this case are severe because this was an unacceptable and flagrant violation of MPAA rules and procedures," MPAA senior vp advertising Marilyn Gordon said. " "After Dark Films presented their ads for approval, as all companies are required to do if they wish to receive an MPAA rating. However, their ads were summarily rejected for their graphic depiction of a woman's torture and death. Yet After Dark proceeded to post them on billboards anyway.
source -
the hollywood reporter,
cinema blend