The Naked Truth: Why Hollywood Doesn't Make X-rated Movies

Acknowledgments

The genesis of this project dates back to 1990, when I attended the opening screening of the first NC-17-rated film, Henry & June, at the Showcase Cinemas in Ann Arbor. Drawn in and tantalized by the newly decorated X rating, I left the theater largely perplexed, wondering what all the fuss was about. My professors at the University of Michigan, particularly Stuart McDougal and Peter Bauland, had trained me soundly in textual analysis, but I could not for the life of me tell the difference between this NC-17 film and the many R-rated films I had seen in my youth: Fast Times at Ridgemont High, ½ Weeks, and the long gone but not forgotten Hot Dog . . . The Movie. Fast-forward several Criterion laser discs and a Basic Instinct later. My curiosity about the rating system evolves into graduate work at Sheffield Hallam University in Sheffield, England. I am grateful to Richard Maltby and Steve Neale for their enthusiasm and generosity in seeing through the initial stages of this book. Other people played central roles throughout this project ’s evolution. Their suggestions and support were invaluable, and I thank them immensely: Aaron Baker, Gregg Barak, Bryan Beckerman, Daniel Bernardi , Matthew Bernstein, David Darts, Edward Donnerstein, Tamara Falicov, Tony Grajeda, Philip Hallman, Dotty Hamilton, Lowell Harris, Heather Hendershot , Jennifer Holt, Henry Jenkins III, Dale Kunkel, Mark Langer, Peter Lehman, David Lugowski, Charlotte Pagni, Stephen Prince, Judd Ruggill, Eric Schaefer, Stephen Vaughn, Robin Wood, and Justin Wyatt. I especially want to thank my colleagues at the University of Arizona for all their support: Caren Deming, Vickki Dempsey, Mary Beth Haralovich, Nicole Koschmann, Yuri Makino, Michael Mulcahy, Patrick Roddy, Dorothy Roome, Beverly Seckinger , Barbara Selznick, Beretta Smith-Shomade, Lisanne Skyler, Albert Tucci, and Vicky Westover. vii Acknowledgments Two friends and colleagues, in particular, made a huge difference during the course of this project: Dennis Bingham and Evan Kirchhoff. Their cogent insights, keen eye for detail, and willingness to read entire chapters at a moment’s notice were invaluable and so greatly appreciated. I also want to personally thank three individuals who have supported me throughout my academic career: Robert Eberwein, William Paul, and Gaylyn Studlar. I am indebted to them for their mentorship, encouragement, and advocacy. My gratitude is matched only by my respect for each of these individuals. Support for this book came from a Fine Arts Research and Professional Development Incentive Grant, a Hanson Film Institute grant, and the Provost’s Author Support Fund at the University of Arizona. Portions appeared at an earlier stage of development as “The Naked Truth: Showgirls and the Fate of the X/NC-17 Rating,” in Cinema Journal 40, no. 3 (spring 2001): 69–93; and “Movie Ratings as Genre: The Incontestable R,” in Genre and Contemporary Hollywood: Formulas, Cycles, and Trends since the Late s, ed. Steve Neale (London: Routledge, 2002), 201–217. My students, many of whom took my film censorship class at the undergraduate and graduate levels, deserve special thanks for allowing me to test my theories and presumptions on them, sometimes forcefully, sometimes unwittingly, but always with a smile. They continue to be a source of inspiration for me. I am especially grateful to Nazanin Bahkshi, Corey Becker, Rachel Boyes, Michael Burk, Jennifer Cady, Lance Christiansen, Josh Eichenstein, Ryan Fagan, Chiara Ferrari, Tana Ganeva, Tyler Gillett, Brett Gray, Robert Gudiño, Ben Herman, Justin Hultman, Henry Jenkins IV, Elisa Koehler, Kathleen Kuehn, John Laughlin, Ian Markiewicz, David McClafferty, Lanée Mellegard , Tim Morris, Stephen Parsey, Chelsea Powell, Jordan Rosenberg, Darren Rudy, Michael Schaner, Christine Scheer, Michael Shoel, Rebecca Skeels, Kyle Stine, Kristen Warner, Marissa Watson, and Matthew Witte. A number of people in the industry agreed to share their resources, knowledge , and time with me. Among them are Paris Barclay, Wes Craven, Anthony D’Alessandro, Kirby Dick, John Fithian, Timothy Gray, Scott Hettrick, Gabriel Snyder, Michael Speier, Kenneth Turan, Christine Vachon, and John Waters. I especially want to thank Richard Heffner for making himself and his papers available to me for this project. Mary Marshall Clark, Whitney Krahn, Rosemary Newnham, Courtney Smith, and Shalini Tripathi at the Columbia University Oral History Research Office were immensely helpful in assisting me with Heffner’s papers. The staff at the Margaret Herrick Library and the British Film Institute National Library were indispensable for the completion of this book. acknowledgments viii Leslie Mitchner at Rutgers University Press has been an...