Chapter 35: The Issue of Rating

Time imperceptibly reached the end of July.

Today, July 28th, was a Monday.

At nine o'clock in the morning, Simon arrived on time at the Fox Studios in Century City, Beverly Hills. Due to his injuries not yet fully healed, Simon had opted for a taxi instead of cycling as usual.

Upon reaching Fox Studios, Simon realized he didn't have a pass. The skeptical security guard, after scrutinizing the young man who claimed to be there for a movie production meeting, reluctantly agreed to make a call for him.

Minutes later, the assistant to David Giller, the producer of "The Butterfly Effect," arrived at the gate to escort Simon in.

Simon followed the assistant to David Giller's office where Brian De Palma had already arrived early, making Simon feel slightly embarrassed. However, both David Giller and Brian De Palma seemed unconcerned, even asking kindly about Simon's recovery.

After brief pleasantries, Peter Sanders, a vice president at Fox, and Vincent Hill, a professional script analyst from Fox, arrived one after another, and the meeting officially began.

In a small conference room in the administrative building of Fox Studios, David Giller, Brian De Palma, Simon, and two others sat around the conference table. A secretary distributed copies of the script and a memo.

The script for "The Butterfly Effect" had been refined over seven years and was nearly flawless. Simon didn't think there was much room for changes based on the final theatrical version.

However, upon reviewing the memo prepared by Vincent Hill, the script analyst present, Simon realized that securing the remaining $60,000 from his contract with Fox might not be so straightforward.

On the previous Thursday, while still in the hospital, Simon had received the first installment of $140,000 from his contract with Fox.

The memo from Vincent Hill detailed assessments and modification suggestions from the title to the story's conclusion. Skimming through, Simon noticed over fifty annotations, nearly one every two pages, indicating a significant demand for changes.

Putting down the memo, Simon looked up at the others. Aside from Vincent Hill, everyone else was also reviewing the memo. David Giller and Peter Sanders maintained neutral expressions, but Brian De Palma's brows were furrowed.

As a novice screenwriter, Simon knew he had little say in script revisions. To secure the subsequent $60,000, he would have to comply with the studio's demands for changes, or allow Fox to hire another writer to make them.

With this in mind, Simon refocused on the memo in front of him, determined to preserve as much of the script's integrity as possible.

Brian De Palma was the first to speak up, his tone clearly dissatisfied as he addressed Peter Sanders directly, "Peter, you want to make this film PG-13, right?"

Simon looked up again upon hearing Brian's comment.

After a thorough reading of the memo, Simon also understood Fox's intention.

The original script for "The Butterfly Effect," due to its many mature elements and dark tone, would likely be rated R, restricting viewers under 17 from watching it without an adult, effectively excluding a significant portion of the teenage audience.

According to the memo's suggestions, it was evident that Fox intended to eliminate many scenes that could impact the movie's rating.

Given that the United States hosts the largest movie market in the world, it has a well-established film rating system.

Movies in North America are classified into one of five ratings by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA): G, PG, PG-13, R, and NC-17. A G rating is the most lenient, accessible to all ages, while NC-17 is the most restrictive, prohibiting viewers under 17. The closer a rating is to NC-17, the narrower the potential audience.

From a purely business standpoint, Fox's strategy was understandable.

Adjusting a film from R to PG-13, which only requires parental guidance for children under 13, would significantly broaden the potential audience.

However, for the story of "The Butterfly Effect," such a change seemed unwise.

"Brian, you know this movie is budgeted at $10 million," Peter Sanders responded calmly to Brian De Palma's challenge. "We have to consider the film's commercial prospects."

Brian De Palma shook his head, "In my view, the script for 'The Butterfly Effect' is already perfect. Your changes would only damage its structure. Besides, ever since 'Carrie,' all my films have been rated R. A good movie will achieve sufficient commercial success, so I don't see any problem with it."

"If Simon can write a perfect script, then he can certainly revise it to meet our needs for an even more perfect script," Peter Sanders responded, turning to Simon with a familiar tone, "So, Simon, do you have the confidence to do that?"

Although Peter Sanders spoke kindly, with an encouraging, elder-like tone, Simon sharply sensed the underlying imposition in his

 words.

Realizing he had limited power in this situation, Simon was not prepared to simply nod along.

Feeling Peter Sanders' subtle challenge, Simon responded forthrightly, "Mr. Sanders, if I may speak frankly, 'The Butterfly Effect' is already a tightly interwoven story. It's like a large net, where touching any strand could affect the whole. If we make changes according to this memo, what we'll end up with might be an entirely different story. Therefore, if Fox wants a PG-13 movie, perhaps I should write a new script instead."

Peter Sanders, taken aback by Simon's assertive start, and recalling the young man's recent act of breaking five young men's legs, subdued his instinct to retort and raised an eyebrow, turning to David Giller, "David, what do you think?"

David Giller, with a half-smile, lifted the memo in his hand, "Peter, the discussion I had with Ronald last week didn't go this way. Speaking of ratings, Fox released two movies this summer. 'Space Station' in early June, rated PG, had a budget of $18 million but barely made $9 million at the box office. 'Alien 2' last month, rated R, with a similar budget of $18.5 million, made $25 million in just two weeks. So, I don't see a problem if 'The Butterfly Effect' ends up rated R. If you insist on proceeding with today's meeting based on this memo, I may have to cancel it and have another talk with Ronald."