Censorware

[FordPrefect]

After finding out about what's been going on between Nostalgia Critic and Tommy Wiseau, I started reading different articles about films being altered by others and the reactions of the original creators. Eventually I found an interesting article dealing with Censorware called, "Keep Your Hands Off Those Nipples". It's probably out of date (I don't know when it was first posted) but I still thought it brought up some good points.

I don't think i'd ever want censorware even if I had kids. It seems like it would be easier to just watch stuff with your kids that is already family friendly if you're going to go that route. However, if it requires a "real" copy of the DVD for it to work, I don't think it would hurt the studio anymore than the Rifftrax Player would. It doesn't even seem like their argument is "oh we'll be losing money" it's more like "we're afraid they'll be confused with the original version of the film and nobody should mess with the film even if people have the option of viewing both versions." I don't literally think we'll be getting to a point where directors can go to the extreme the writer illustrates, but I think certain people who make movies might like to have that kind of control.

http://freecinema.org/articles/nipples.html

[Plastic Self-Cleaning Duck]

Except that it probably has as much trouble knowing what one really wants as much as Spell Check on Word, Auto-complete on your cellphone and voice recognition software on most customer service phone lines.

[SJP]

I think this makes a good point about Rifftrax and iRiffs makers as well.  The only movies we can put up on the website are ones found in the public domain, since to put up the movie with the Trax on it would be a copyright violation...we would have no right to distribute their work, even modified.  But what if the DGA went one step further and said, "Hey, you're watching our movie while having an audio file played right alongside it!  That's not how you're supposed to watch our work!  That destroys the intent of the director, and thus the movie itself!  Stop doing that!"  Then, down goes Rifftrax, and for me, a nice...er, small...er, middling...ok, not real big contribution to my income.

I think Ridley Scott, despite his constant statements of "My God, I'm awesome" he manages to throw in on all his commentary tracks, is one of the few who understands that not everybody wants HIS perfect vision of movies, thus why you can still buy every version of Blade Runner ever made, or Legend, or Gladiator, or so on.  That thing about "This is how you are supposed to watch the movie" came to its most annoying in Mulholland Drive, where I didn't find out until later there are no chapter breaks on the DVD...David Lynch wanted people to watch the movie in its entirety to catch its subtlety.  I didn't realize this right away, since the DVD player I watched it on has the ability to pick up where it left off when the machine is shut down, and I watched the second half of the movie the next day.  What business is it of David Lynch that I have to watch two hours of weirdness in one sitting?  And I LIKE his movies!

Like the guy writing the article says, this isn't about piracy, or stealing work that rightfully belongs to other people...this is the freedom to enjoy something rightfully purchased as you see fit without destroying the lives of people around you.  20 bucks says there are plenty of people who'd be just fine buying a copy of Star Wars: Special Edition if they had the ability to cut out Greedo shooting first, or Episode 1 if they could replace Jar Jar Binks with a farting robot (hey, anything's better than nothing, right? ).

What I think it comes right down to, though, is ego.  There are a lot of people in Hollywood that are told everyday how awesome they are, especially by agents who want to keep getting paid by them.  And when somebody, anybody, says something bad about something they made, they throw a hissy fit and complain they are being unfairly targeted (Godzilla vs. Megalon, anyone?).  It's the idea that these people have that they are untouchable, that their art is the greatest ever, and anyone who says otherwise is an idiot.  What they forget is that it is impossible to be universally loved.  Just not happening.  Even if it's only Armond White who doesn't like it, there's nothing short of sending him to Guantanamo to getting him to agree with you, and even then it's not going to be a willing concession to your godlike presence.  Somebody, somewhere, no matter how hard you try, isn't going to like what you make, and rest assured if it's out there to the public, they will let you know about it.  And legislating people's opinions of your work, good or bad, isn't the right way to go about it.

I also say this as someone who's dad, while growing up, allowed him to watch stuff like Alien, Ghostbusters, and even the Predator movies, while working hard to edit out nudity and violence, as well as use the "Audio Dub" feature on the VCR to wipe out the naughty language.  And years later, I thought it was fun to be able to see the movies in their full form, to see what it was I missed out on as a kid.  Seeing the edited version didn't ruin me or my love for movies; they actually made me enjoy them even more, since now I can be all nostalgic about them.

Of course, I never ended up watching a lot of family films, either.  Still never seen Wizard of Oz from beginning to end.  Is that weird?  Just checking.