If you still want to see the version of The King’s Speech that won Best Picture at the Oscars, you’ve got one week. The Weinstein Company announced that it’s going forward with plans to replace all R-rated copies of The King’s Speech with “f—”-scrubbed PG-13 versions on April 1st, a date that could leave a few attendees wondering if they’re being f—ed with that night. But will people really run with their children to see the months-old film now that Colin Firth‘s pottymouth has been wiped clean? The Weiinsteins sure think so—they got the head of the MPAA to sign a waiver last month allowing them to rush the new version out.
Previously, one would have to wait 90 days after closing the original to release a new cut in theaters, which may explain why the only other time a film has been edited and re-released in theaters with a lower rating was Saturday Night Fever (that went from R to PG when producers realized more kids could see the disco dancing if they chucked the gang-rape scene). Since Speech is already an international blockbuster, there’s little risk for the Weinsteins (who know how to milk a winner when they get one) and odds are the R cut will be available for adults again on Blu-Ray/DVD. But we’re a little disappointed the bad words are allegedly just muted, though—we’d pay to see Firth say “In this grave hour fudge fudge fudge perhaps the most fateful in our history butter shoot shoot.”
[Photo: Weinstein Co.]
