Deadpool and Deadpool 2

Disney, the producers of Deadpool 2 are testing out a move to PG-13 for a projected series of films. The company has produced a festive version called Once Upon a Deadpool which has been cut for a PG-13 rating in the US.

The cuts were insufficient for the BBFC to lower its rating and the film was given a 15 rating.

In Australia the festive release achieved an M rating which is an advisory label recommending the film as suitable for 15 year olds.

As is the default case, the Australian rating is automatically accepted for New Zealand release with the film censor able to step in  to consider a New Zealand rating if it is felt necessary. And after the film had released, the New Zealand chief censor did indeed step in and replaced the Australian rating with a New Zealand R13. This is a straight 13 age restriction require all cinema goers to be 13 or over.

Chief censor David Shanks said he had decided to call the film in because of the disparity between the Australian and American assessments and Britain where it was slapped with a 15 classification.

Aware of the popularity of Deadpool 2 and significant interest in this new version from young Kiwis, particularly since it includes the now 16-year-old Dennison in a prominent role), Shanks and the rest of the censorship office included three members of its Youth Advisory Panel (YAP) in the special screening. The panel is made up of a dozen 16-to-20 year olds. Shanks said:

They confirmed many of our impressions, which was that, while significantly toned-down in terms of graphic gore, sexual innuendo and language, this film was still fundamentally a Deadpool film -- which meant that it features wall-to-wall death and violence and dark, adult-oriented humour.

They thought, on balance, an R13 classification would reflect the fact that this film has had some of the graphic content in the original Deadpool 2 toned down -- but the result is really still for teens and above.

Will Deadpool Movies Remain PG-13 Moving Forward?

13th December 2018 See article from movieweb.com by Trevor Norkey

Yes concludes the commentator, producers Disney would be much happier if they could drop the R rating.

Meanwhile the Once Upon a Deadpool poster has offended mormons

13th December 2018  See  article from patheos.com

Some Mormons are 'outraged' by a poster for Once Upon a Deadpool, because Deadpool looks too much like the religious character Jesus.

A petition with about 30,000 signatures insists that the poster is a doctored version that plays fast and loose with a sacred image of The Second Coming:

In the original painting Jesus Christ is at the center surrounded by angels. In the poster Deadpool replaces Jesus Christ.

Deadpool is positioned exactly as Jesus Christ was and is wearing a white robe. It is unknown if the picture was used to intentionally mock the Church of Jesus Christ, but it is clear it was copied from the original picture. This is a form a religious discrimination.

We ask that the picture be not used or posted in any manner. That they find another poster to represent their movie.

Once Upon a Deadpool (Deadpool 2 Re-edited Version) is a 2018 USA action comedy adventure by David Leitch.
Starring Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin and Morena Baccarin.

Deadpool 2 was initially released as an MPAA R rated Theatrical Version and an unrated extended 'Super Duper $@%!#& Cut', Both are 15 rated by the BBFC.

Later the film was cut for an MPAA PG-13 rated festive version titled Once Upon a Deadpool. This version was rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, crude sexual content, language, thematic elements and brief drug material.

Once Upon a Deadpool retained its 15 rating in the UK but the BBFC consumer advice demonstrates that it has been toned down. The original Theatrical Version was passed 15 uncut for strong bloody violence, sex references, very strong language, whilst Once Upon a Deadpool was passed 15 for strong violence, crude humour. So it seems that blood has been deleted from the violence, sex references have been removed, and strong language has been cut.

  Fox has announced that it will cut Deadpool 2 for a PG-13 re-release on December 21, 2018.

Ryan Reynolds confirmed the news on Instagram with an image that appears to be from newly-shot footage of Deadpool retelling the events of Deadpool 2 as a bedtime story to a grown-up Fred Savage, Princess Bride-style, as a framing device:

One has to think that the editors will be hard at work trying tone down the rather caustic humour of Deadpool.

Deadpool 2 is following in the footsteps of the original Deadpool by suffering at the hands of film censors from the Central Board of Film Certification.

Deadpool has had strong language beeped out or muted but bollywoodlife.com reports that the film has not suffered any visual cuts.

After the language cuts have been implemented the film has been granted an adults only 'A' certificate.

The movie is set to release in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu formats.

The state of Utah has enacted a censorial local law banning cinemas that sell alcohol from screening R rated movies. And indeed state officials tried to ban such a cinema from showing Deadpool.

This resulted in a challenge to the Utah ordinance on the grounds that censorship is unconstitutional. Utah officials are now trying to get that legal challenge quashed. They are asking a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed over liquor and Deadpool , claiming it is somehow not suppressing First Amendment-protected ideas or expression.

The Utah Attorney General's Office argues the law should remain in place because it reduces adverse secondary effects. It claims that:

Judicial opinions and alcohol experts confirm what is commonly known: that combining alcohol and sexual content is an 'explosive combination,' that can lead to sexual aggression and sexual violence, increased drinking, and reported and unreported crime.

The Statute's purpose and effect are to reduce these adverse secondary effects that result from combining alcohol and sexually explicit images.

The state argues that Brewvies' First Amendment free expression rights are only slightly inconvenienced by the law saying:

Plaintiff is free to show whatever sexually explicit R-rated films it chooses, so long as it does not serve alcohol at the same time, and individuals can see the same movies at other theaters. Plaintiff does not have a constitutional right to serve beer while showing movies.

Deadpool actor Ryan Reynolds is supporting a Salt Lake City cinema pub being censored by Utah authorities.

Brewvies Cinema Pub is a 21 year old movie threaten that serves alcohol. Salt Lake City is persecuting the cinema, threatening a fine and a 10 day closure order just for showing the highly popular film Deadpool.

According to Utah censorship rules, an establishment that serves alcohol is forbidden to show a film that depicts a simulated sexual act, or shows a person being touched on their privates, or displaying genitals. There are numerous simulated sex acts in the film, which were noted by a state investigator.

Brewvies and their civil rights attorney, former Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson, have filed a federal lawsuit against the state pointing out that the theater's First Amendment right to free speech has been violated.

The theater has started a crowd-finding campaign at GoFundMe.com to fight against the censorship.

Ryan Reynolds, the actor who plays Deadpool,  has donated to the campaign and joked on Twitter, Thank god, they've found a way to legislate fun.

Update: Good triumphs over evil (at least temporarily)

4th May 2016. See  article from salon.com

A Utah cinema in trouble with state censors for serving alcohol during a showing of superhero film Deadpool will not get slapped with future citations under an obscenity law mostly regulating strip clubs, at least until the theater's lawsuit is heard in court.

The state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control agreed that officials would not cite Brewvies for any screenings with alcohol as long as the films are rated R or less, state lawyers said during a federal court hearing in Salt Lake City.

Utah filed a complaint against the theater under a state law generally used to require strip clubs that serve liquor to keep their dancers wearing G-strings and pasties. But the law also bans serving booze during films with simulated sex or full-frontal nudity.

Playing Deadpool while serving alcohol violated the law because the movie includes nudity and simulated sex, including a suggestive scene in the film's credits involving a cartoon unicorn, the state said.

Brewvies argues that the law is so broad it would apply to an exhibit of Michelangelo's statue David. Brewvies attorney Rocky Anderson said the state has used the law to intimidate the theater and violate its free speech rights.

The theater will take advantage of its temporary grace period under the law this week by holding a midnight screening of Deadpool on Friday to raise money for its court battle.

A Devon cinema has censored the word 'ass' from posters advertising newly released superhero film Deadpool . The Reel cinema in Plymouth used black tape to censor the lines: Bad Ass, Smart Ass, Great Ass, Deadpool.

One cinema goer commented to the newspaper:

I kind of think they were right to censor it, but also think it's probably overkill. Surely it's pretty tame in this day and age, but if your kids are outside queuing for Chipmunks it's a different matter.

The article writer adds a good riposte:

But Alvin and the Chipmunks, Road Chip itself features one use of the word crap and extensively uses the song Baby Got Back by Sir Mix a lot - a track about women with large backsides.

Update: Guernsey too

6th March 2016. Thanks to wynterstwytter

Here's the view from Guernsey...

Deadpool is a 2016 Canada / USA action Sci-Fi adventure by Tim Miller.
Starring Morena Baccarin, Gina Carano and Ryan Reynolds.

India's crazed chief censor Pahlaj Nihalani has ordered 7 cuts to Deadpool, even for an adults only A rating. He tried to pass off the ludicrous censorship as at least better than in China where the film was banned:

We have made very general cuts. If you look at what has happened to Deadpool in China, it was apparently banned because any number of cuts was seen to hamper the storyline of the film. I can assure you the cuts we've requested in no way affect the storytelling.

The CBFC cuts were:

• Mute the words: asshole, motherfucker, bitch, blowjob, touching myself, vagina, dick, cunt, ...
• Delete visuals of bullet hitting people and splitting their heads open.
• Delete visuals in love-making scene of all nudity, jerking of bodies and double entendre
• Delete visuals of lady on a poster touching her private parts
• Delete visuals of bare bodies is a strip tease club
• Delete visuals of blood spurts in the climatic fight.

Update: Abundance of 'Fuck's allowed to remain

17th February 2016. See  article from skjbollywoodnews.com

While India's Central Board Of Film Classification (CBFC) has removed strong language like arsehole , blowjob , motherfucker , dick , cock and bitch from Deadpool , the CBFC has allowed the word fuck a free rein in the film. Censor chief Pahlaj Nihalan explained:

We were aware of the 'F' word recurring in the soundtrack. There was no way we could remove them without affecting the dialogues. The word is used like an exclamation, how we use 'Arrey' or 'Oh Teri!' in Hindi and not as an abuse.

We can't be rigid about the use of cuss words. If the 'f..' word is used repeatedly as a term of exasperation or exclamation we can't remove it from the entire film.

Deadpool is a 2016 Canada / USA action Sci-Fi adventure by Tim Miller.
Starring Morena Baccarin, Gina Carano and Ryan Reynolds.

Uncut and R rated in the US. Banned in China

Deadpool has been rated R by the US film censors at the MPAA. Now there is little hype suggesting that the once scene in the film had to be toned down to achieve that R rating.

The director Time Miller recently held a Q&A session at a Los Angeles fan event where he offered some details on some of the things they had to cut. One particular fight has an extended version with a couple more beats of violence that I liked, but the biggest scene they had to pare down was a bar scene. he explained:

In particular, there was a bar scene that was too vulgar for even the R-rated Deadpool . That bar scene was particularly mean and offensive to a lot of people because T.J. [Miller] and Ryan [Reynolds] got together and wrote a version of the scene that we just said, 'Oh my God, this is too far.' I mean there were so many people offended, it would have really been - we couldn't do it. It was just mean and so I said, 'No. We don't have to do that.'

The director added that fans shouldn't expect the full version of this scene to show up on the impending Blu-ray and DVD release. T.J. Miller added that they did get carried away with this offensive stretch of dialogue and said:

We did kind of go back and forth and it just got more and more hateful. Ryan's a very, very good improvisor, and he's very funny and, like, one of the sweetest guys. It was very... heavy duty. There were some riffs that I don't think - 'You look like a trucker took a shit on your shoulders and then shaped ears onto it.' So it's like, we're missing some of those things.

Update: 15 rated by the BBFC

2nd February 2016. See article from bbfc.co.uk

The BBFC has just passed Deadpool 15 uncut for strong bloody violence, strong language, sex references for UK cinema release.

Deadpool is released in UK Cinemas 10 February.

Update: Director's Cut

2nd February 2016. See  article from morningnewsusa.com

Director T.J. Miller revealed that there would be a Deadpool director's cut to be released this year, which would even be more raw than what fans will see onscreen in the current US R rated/UK 15 rated theatrical version. Miller commented:

[The Director's Cut's] going to be even more raw, that's pretty heavy duty.

Update: No Director's Cut

15th February 2016. See article from cinemablend.com

Deadpool director Tim Miller was on hand for Collider's IMAX preview screening of the film, and during the Q&A there was talk about deleted material and a possible director's cut. Miller's response was that of a compromise, as while there are some deleted scenes that are coming to the DVD and Blu-ray, his final say on a director's cut went as follows:

I don't wanna be all Joss Whedon on you, but no there's not [a director's cut... There are some deleted scenes that have some extra stuff, but I'm pretty happy with this cut. I like it.