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‘Lucky Bastard’ Gets its Wanted NC-17 Rating from the MPAA!

Lucky Bastard image

For those of you that are familiar with Robert Nathan’s debut film, Lucky Bastard, you probably aren’t surprised the film got the dreaded NC-17 rating from the MPAA.  Where most filmmakers would be shocked and trying to find ways to cut the film to get an R rating, the filmmakers of Lucky Bastard are  happy with their rating and don’t plan on cutting a thing.  I wish all filmmakers were as confident about their film as Robert Nathan is.   They plan on an April 5th theatrical release with the NC-17 rating.

From the Press Release

Vineyard Haven, LLC, has announced the April 5, 2013, Los Angeles theatrical release of LUCKY BASTARD, a “found footage” thriller taking place behind the scenes of a porn website. The film is rated NC-17 by the Motion Picture Association of America for explicit sexual content.

LUCKY BASTARD is the directorial debut for Robert Nathan (Law & Order), the Peabody-winning, Emmy-nominated veteran writer. The film stars Don McManus (The Shawshank Redemption) as the proprietor of a website that invites fans to have sex with porn stars. Jay Paulson (“Mad Men”) plays Dave, an eager young fan given a chance to have sex with the fabulous Ashley Saint, played by Betsy Rue (My Bloody Valentine). Everyone gets more than they bargained for from the seemingly mild-mannered Dave…to gruesome results.

“LUCKY BASTARD defies categorization in its blend of suspense, drama, social commentary and humor in the ‘found-footage’ format,” said Vineyard Haven’s Lukas Kendall, the film’s co-writer and executive producer. “We decided to take the film directly to audiences as it plays exceedingly well as a communal, theatrical experience.”

“LUCKY BASTARD is a mix of themes that epitomize independent filmmaking,” said Robert Nathan, also a co-writer and executive producer. “The film offers a reflective take on the deepest currents in our society: its preoccupation with sexual desire, the commoditization of sexuality, and humiliation as a product of commerce.”

The film carries the rarely used NC-17 rating. “There was a time when the most important and relevant pictures—Midnight Cowboy, A Clockwork Orange and Last Tango In Paris—were rated X, the precursor to NC-17,” said Kendall. “We have a long way to go to measure up to those masterpieces, but our society should have a place for thoughtful artistic dramas for adult audiences. Our film has less sex than the average late-night cable erotica—and no actual sex—but the rating is appropriate, and we proudly accept it.”

LUCKY BASTARD opens April 5, 2013, at Vintage Cinemas’ Los Feliz 3 Cinemas, 1822 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027.

Plot Synopsis

Mike (Don McManus) runs the Lucky Bastard website; Dave (Jay Paulson) is a young fan given a chance to have sex with a porn actress, and Ashley Saint (Betsy Rue) is the porn star who reluctantly agrees to participate in the website’s “have sex with a porn star” contest. In the end everyone gets more than they bargained for when the seemingly mild-mannered Dave is irrevocably transformed by his experience. When, as Ashley predicted, Dave becomes humiliated, his personality is transformed; and he seeks revenge on his tormentors. In this world, where everyone is safe within its borders, an outsider poses the ultimate danger.

 

Lucky Bastard movie poster

Michael Juvinall

I am a Horror journalist, producer, ravenous Horror fiend, aficionado of the classic Universal Monsters, Hammer Horror, Werewolves, and all things Horror.

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