Kevin Smith Happily Battling MPAA Over ‘Porno’

Photo: Getty Images
It's hard to side with the MPAA when it puts its undeniably wackadoo foot down and gets into a tussle with a director over a sex comedy. On the other hand, it's hard to side with Kevin Smith, Rebel Indie Trench-Coat Guy, as he gleefully goes to war with the MPAA over his upcoming Zack and Miri Make a Porno. Star Seth Rogen tells MTV today that the film could get hit with an NC-17 rating and compared Porno's naughty bits to a scene in Clerks II, saying, "A guy fucking a donkey, [the MPAA] ain't got no problem with. But a man and a woman having sex they seem to have real issues with, for some weird reason." As much fun as it would be to ding the MPAA for its cushy treatment of bestiality, though, it does seem fair to point out that the donkey scene would have run into problems were it a graphic depiction of man-on-donkey sex, rather than a long setup followed by a string of reaction shots. Presumably, Zack and Miri includes some footage below the shoulders.



Smith's first rude shock over the film came when the MPAA asked him to pull the Internet-only "teaser trailer," which it turns out is still available anyway. Apparently all trailers are supposed to be submitted for a rating, and this one wasn't. So now, instead of being merely the raciest teaser-trailer of all time, it's also the most notorious teaser-trailer of all time. Kevin Smith is so lucky!

So, now he'll enter into one of those "cut this thrust," "cut that moan" exchanges with the MPAA. He will complain about it a lot on his blog, he will tell the story during the press junket, he will get an R rating, he will release the movie, he will release the DVD, he will release the extra-dirty unrated DVD, and everybody will be happy. Except, of course, for the donkey, who still feels dirty. —Linda Holmes

Seth Rogen Says Kevin Smith's 'Porno' Is Having Trouble Getting An R Rating Instead Of NC-17 [Movies Blog / MTV]

Oprah Remains Most Powerful Celebrity

Oprah Winfrey has landed at the top of the annual Forbes Celebrity 100 Power List for the second consecutive year. She has topped the list in four previous years. Tiger Woods placed second -- also for the second straight year, while Angelina Jolie placed third. In a statement, associate editor Matthew Miller, who heads the staff that compiles the Forbes magazine list, said, "It's not surprising that Oprah Winfrey and Tiger Woods remain at the top this year -- they're certainly some of the biggest earners." Winfrey reportedly earned $275 million during the past year; Woods, $115 million. However, Jolie took home a comparatively modest $14 million. While recognition on the list is weighted heavily on celebrities' earnings, other factors, including magazine covers, news reports, and talk-show appearances also figure in the assessment.


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Hernandez voted off American Idol

David Hernandez has become the latest contestant to be voted off 'American Idol'.
Hernandez was placed in the bottom three with Syesha Mercado and Kristy Lee Cook and viewers voted to eliminate the 24-year-old.
Hernandez had sung 'I Saw Her Standing There' on the Lennon-McCartney-themed episode.
Commenting after his elimination, he said: "Honestly, things happen for a reason. We all have a plan, and on top of that you'll see me at the top. This isn't it for me."
Hernandez was the subject of controversy last week following media reports that he had worked as a stripper.

Model Bruni marries French president

Former international model Carla Bruni married French president Nicolas Sarkozy on Saturday in Paris.
The couple walked down the aisle at the presidential Elysee Palace, less than three months after they reportedly first met.
In a short statement, the couple said that they "were married... in the presence of their families in the strictest privacy."
The official who had performed the ceremony, Francois Lebel, mayor of Paris' eighth arrondissement said, "The bride wore white; she was ravishing, as usual and the groom wasn't bad either."
53-years-old Sarkozy married Bruni, thirteen years his junior, in the presence of 20 close family and friends, Lebel said.
He called the ceremony "a moment of family intimacy for the young newlyweds, of great simplicity and apparently a lot of affection between the spouses."
"I wished them a lot of happiness," he said.
At a news conference in January, Sarkozy revealed that the relationship was "serious" and hinted that wedding plans were in the works.
However he refused to reveal the date for a wedding, saying only that France might learn about the nuptials once they had already taken place.