There’s still one place in the world where Kevin Smith is controversial, apparently — Utah! The state’s Larry Miller–owned Megaplex Theater chain has banned Zack and Miri Make a Porno, claiming it’s simply too salacious. Says general manager Cal Grunderson, “We feel it’s very close to an NC-17 with its graphic nudity and graphic sex.†(The movie was originally given an NC-17 rating, but despite the inclusion of an MPAA-hated “shit shot,†it was changed to an R following an appeal.) Megaplex, which also refused to show Brokeback Mountain in 2006, was also responsible for a hilarious bait-and-switch at South Jordan location over the weekend: When a showing of High School Musical 3 was moved to a larger theater, someone forgot to change a reel and a bunch of chaste, bright-eyed preteens were subjected to the first few nudity-filled minutes of raunchy comedy Sex Drive. Ha! But was it an honest mistake? Or did they just find Zac Efron’s sex appeal even more dangerous than Sex Drive?
Larry Miller’s theaters reject ‘Zack and Miri Make a Porno’ [Salt Lake Tribune]
’Musical’ switched for ‘Sex’ in Megaplex mix-up [Deseret News]