Thanksgiving Director Eli Roth Kills Misconceptions Around Horror Movie Censorship - Exclusive
It's not unusual for the Motion Picture Association of America to scrutinize the works of horror filmmakers, especially when it comes to slicing out explicit, NC-17-level gore in movies going for an R rating. But horror maestro Eli Roth has become known for pushing ratings boundaries, kicking off his feature filmmaking career in 2002 with the indie sensation "Cabin Fever" and directing such gorefests as "Hostel," "The Green Inferno," and one of the greatest horror movies never made — until now — "Thanksgiving."
"Thanksgiving," of course, made its smashing debut as a fake trailer featured in Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez's 2007 double feature "Grindhouse." Inspired by 1980s slasher films that Roth and his co-writer, Jeff Rendell, loved growing up, the fake "Thanksgiving" trailer was loaded with ghastly scenes, which the filmmakers naturally expand upon in their new, fully realized film.
The interesting thing is Roth told Looper in an exclusive interview that his encounters with the MPAA over the explicit use of gore aren't what they seem. In fact, Roth said, he's never felt like he's been a target of horror movie censorship.
"People have a real misconception of what it's like to work with the MPAA," he explained. "They're the only organization that has a real conversation with you and treats you like an artist and wants to help you protect your work. It's actually the opposite experience. They're very respectful. They're very nice."
Roth says the MPAA understands artists; other countries, not so much
When it came to rating "Thanksgiving" and his previous horror films, Eli Roth said the members of the MPAA ratings board were pleasant to deal with because they get what he's trying to achieve as a filmmaker. "They understand what my audience wants, and they have to be the referee and say, 'We know what you want, we know what the fans want, but we think this is going a little too far and maybe pull back in this area,' and I would pull back on this," Roth told Looper. "It's never a fight. It's never a battle. It's always an incredibly respectful, pleasant conversation, and they're the only organization that treats you this way."
In other countries, however, Roth said getting his films properly rated really has been a battle — sometimes for reasons that go beyond the actual movie.
"When you're in England, there's a couple of government people [who determine the ratings] and you never have a conversation with them," Roth explained. "When you're in New Zealand, it's one government person. They cut out the entire bloodbath sequence in 'Hostel II' — no discussions, no nothing — even for an 18 rating. They cut it because they want to appear virtuous, and they want to get re-elected. Dealing with bureaucrats and politicians with a horror movie is a nightmare. There are no conversations with them."
Thanksgiving will not get a director's cut, Roth says
Fortunately for Eli Roth, MPAA members want to converse. "You're talking to people that love movies and love talking to filmmakers," the writer-director noted. "I don't know where people get this idea that it's a battle with the MPAA. I've had the diametric opposite experience, and that's the reason that you get to see the gore in my movies. They go out of their way to protect it."
Starring Patrick Dempsey, Addison Rae, Nell Verlaque, and Gina Gershon, "Thanksgiving" follows an axe-wielding, masked killer who terrorizes residents of the birthplace of the Thanksgiving holiday — Plymouth, Massachusetts — following the events of a local, horrific Black Friday sales stampede.
Given his positive relationship with the MPAA, Roth said he won't be releasing a director's cut of "Thanksgiving" because he got to tell the story the way he originally intended. "More gore doesn't make the movie better," Roth said. "Too much of one ingredient doesn't make the movie better. It means it's too much of an ingredient."
"Thanksgiving" opens in theaters November 17.