Chapter 267: Must Be Rated R

"After watching the trailer for 'Deadpool,' I realized I'm too innocent."

The Super Bowl halftime is still ongoing, and in a film and TV online chat room, people have already started discussing "Deadpool."

Although the Super Bowl is far from being able to be live-streamed online, North America's high internet and computer penetration rate means many can sit in front of their computers watching TV, which doesn't hinder them from discussing what they just saw on online forums or related interest chat rooms immediately.

From the initial Halloween to now the Super Bowl, 20th Century Fox, following Murphy's advice, has crafted a unique promotion for "Deadpool," generating widespread attention. This ad, fully showcasing Deadpool's cheeky charm, has invigorated many.

"Wow, more exciting than a solo stand-up comedy show."

"Classic Deadpool, just his mouth can make enemies fly."

"How cool it would be to watch this in theaters now."

"Prefer the rascal Deadpool over the hypocritical Professor X. I like the real Deadpool."

It seems Deadpool's character and setup are very appealing to the general audience, after the first promotional video was released, the chat room was filled with anticipation.

But the next moment, the entire chat room shifted the topic.

"What?!?"

Someone seemed shocked, as if they couldn't believe what they just saw on the TV screen, "What just happened?"

"That was explosive!"

"Oh my God, Justin Timberlake actually ripped off Janet Jackson's bra!"

"There was a nipple slip at the Super Bowl!"

Instantly, no one cared about the previous ads and movie trailers anymore, everyone's attention was drawn to Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake.

During their performance, at the end of the song "Rock Your Body," Timberlake casually ripped off a piece of Jackson's top, exposing her right breast to the global audience, shifting all news focus from the intense game to this gossip topic!

Not just the ordinary viewers, even Murphy was surprised, recalling this outrageous performance by the two at the Super Bowl.

"What are they doing?" Gal Gadot, holding Murphy's hand, didn't understand the behavior of the two pop stars, "Don't they know many children are watching?"

She looked at Murphy, full of indignation, "They're going to take all the entertainment media's attention!"

Gadot was more concerned about the latter; she didn't care if American children were corrupted, not being from Israel.

Murphy nodded, agreeing with Gadot's prediction, which would inevitably become reality. Whether it was the New England Patriots or the Carolina Panthers taking the Vince Lombardi Trophy, regardless of the creative and financial efforts of Porsche and Coca-Cola's ads, or the anticipation for "Spider-Man 2" and "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," tomorrow's media headlines would be dominated by Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson!

Gadot, not being naive, added, "They did it on purpose, right?"

"Possibly." Murphy didn't believe it was a spontaneous decision by Timberlake to rip off Jackson's bra, "They'll be the topic of discussion for a long time."

"This is the Super Bowl," Gadot still puzzled, "broadcast on public television, aren't they afraid of being drowned by public opinion?"

"What's the big deal?" Murphy shrugged, "Just apologize after the media hype dies down. Since Janet Jackson is African-American, if the media criticism is harsh, surely some African-American groups will stand up, accusing it of racial discrimination. That's Hollywood for you."

This event was clearly more beneficial than harmful, and whether it was planned or not, only Justin Timberlake, Janet Jackson, their managers, and PR managers would know.

Sure enough, the next day, both the Super Bowl winner, the New England Patriots, and the well-received "Deadpool" were overshadowed by Timberlake and Jackson, becoming the main topic on numerous social and entertainment media front pages. Although mainly criticized, they quickly garnered continuous attention from the three major newspapers and four major television networks in the US.

Compared to the uproar caused by Timberlake and Jackson, the buzz around "Deadpool" was just a small wave.

With over 110 million people, including many children, watching the live broadcast, this event gave conservative viewers evidence to accuse Hollywood of corrupting children's vision. Timberlake apologized for the "wardrobe malfunction," while Jackson called it an "accident."

However, the media storm triggered by this event didn't die down easily.

This incident profoundly affected the entire American television industry.

The Federal Communications Commission swiftly began investigating this shocking incident, with the live broadcaster CBS and the show planner MTV unanimously claiming it was an "accident" and expressing deep regret.

Subsequently, the FCC fined CBS $550,000, which Viacom, CBS's parent company, refused to accept, taking the FCC to federal court...

Now, in North America's entertainment industry award season, to prevent similar incidents, subsequent live broadcasts such as the Grammy Awards and the Oscars prepared to delay the broadcast by a few seconds, allowing time to mute or edit out any inappropriate language or gestures.

Despite Timberlake and Jackson stealing the spotlight, it didn't affect Murphy much. "Deadpool's" post-production continued smoothly. With Valentine's Day approaching, Murphy called back Robert Downey Jr. and Jessica Alba to the set, shooting a new Valentine's Day promotional album.

A week before Valentine's Day, 20th Century Fox released the latest "Deadpool" promotional posters through the internet, magazines, newspapers, and billboards.

In one poster, Robert Downey Jr. remains in full "Deadpool" costume, making a heart shape with his hands, with the tagline "This Valentine's Day, feel the love."

In another version, Jessica Alba, appearing as the female lead for the first time, shows a different style from the previous dark humor, with Wade Wilson and Vanessa lovingly looking at each other, surrounded by a romantic aura with the slogan "I love you, Wade Wilson."

This version also features Alba as Wade's girlfriend, nestled against him, under the slogan "True love never dies," giving the impression of a pure love story.

After the Super Bowl, there were doubts about "Deadpool's" rating since superhero movies are famously targeted at teenagers.

20th Century Fox made efforts in this regard, releasing another promotional album before Valentine's Day, directly targeting the struggling Walt Disney.

Of course, neither 20th Century Fox nor "Deadpool" officially made such statements, finding suitable internet influencers wasn't hard.

A well-known blogger, mimicking Deadpool's tone, wrote a blog post.

"Kids wanting to watch my movie, get lost. This is for the big kids. Go watch Disney with your mom."

The film being rated R delighted "Deadpool" comic fans. Murphy never considered making it PG-13. He knew some so-called moralists always liked to criticize from a moral high ground without considering their standing.

After consulting with Grace, Bill Rosas, and the 20th Century Fox marketing department, who all supported the decision, Murphy also shot a promotional clip for the movie's rating, released simultaneously on Fox Television and the official "Deadpool" blog.

In the clip, a pompous host talks about the rating system, with Deadpool sneakily punching him out from behind.

Finally, Deadpool pulls out a simple, humorous hand-drawn sketch by Murphy himself, making a statement to the camera—It must be rated R!

"This is settled, fans can pop the champagne."

"Wow! 'Deadpool' is rated R!"

Deadpool's fans celebrated wildly, as did the supporters Murphy had attracted with his previous films.

Why were they all so ecstatically irreverent? Because he's Deadpool, the comic world's most unique character, the most bored, shameless, and unreasonable.

Murphy, unusually, updated his blog, "R-rating is standard. If we lowered the bar, Deadpool wouldn't be Deadpool! My stance has always been R-rated, and it hasn't changed! The world is ready for a different kind of superhero movie. 'Deadpool' is a miracle to us, let it bravely be R-rated and stand alone!"

After wrapping up these tasks, it was the day before Valentine's Day. Murphy ended work early in the afternoon, called Grace to confirm that some of the custom gifts had arrived, left Century City, and went to Westwood to pick up Gal Gadot from the University of California, Los Angeles. They returned to Beverly Hills, to a studio specializing in custom film costumes and props, to have a suit tailored for his girlfriend as one of her Valentine's Day gifts.

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