The King’s Speech goes PG-13 on April 1

News, Press Releases

Right now you can purchase a ticket for The King’s Speech, voted at this year’s Academy Awards as the best film of 2010, as long as you meet the requirements to get into an R-rated film. Not anymore on April 1st, 2011.

Per a press release, The Weinstein Company (TWC) announced today that THE KING’S SPEECH PG-13, the family-friendly version of its Academy Award-winning historical drama about King George VI, will open on 1,000 screens nationwide. It will also be the only version available in theatres.

One of the year’s most celebrated, successful and beloved films, it honored for Best Picture (to producers Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Gareth Unwin), Best Director, to helmer Tom Hooper, Best Actor to star Colin Firth and Best Original Screenplay to screenwriter David Seidler. The announcement was made by TWC’s President of Theatrical Distribution and Home Entertainment Eric Lomis.

“We are thankful to the MPAA for their wisdom and swift action in approving the release of THE KING’S SPEECH PG-13 release. The action enables those to whom it speaks most directly – young people who are troubled by stuttering, bullying and similar trials — to see it” Loomis said.

What does it mean? A film that should’ve had a PG-13 rating all along finally gets it with some selective editing. It should also boost up the box office totals for the film.

What do you think? Is this a good move, to selectively censor part of the original film in order to appease the MPAA and gain a larger audience? Or will something be lost without the pivotal scene and its profanity?