Lucky Bastard Gets an NC-17; Release Plans Announced Anyway
Steve Barton
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Sex and violence are potentially too volatile a mixture for the MPAA to handle, and as a result everyone’s least favorite parental guiders have slapped the upcoming cinéma vérité effort Lucky Bastard with the dreaded NC-17 rating. That’s okay, though; it’s still heading to theatres.
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.
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.
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