-by Mike Finkelstein
When your film has 12 Oscar Nominations, more than any film that year, and is the frontrunner to win Best Picture, usually that’s a sign that you should leave it alone.
Well according to Harvey Weinstein, that is actually a sign to start a complete re-edit.
The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Weinstein is thinking about re-editing THE KING’S SPEECH in order to get it down to a PG-13 or possibly a PG rating.  The move would be part of a new marketing strategy intended to up the film’s appeal to a broader swath of moviegoers since in Great Britain, the movie features a 12-and-over rating and has topped the box office for three consecutive weekends.
“The British numbers are huge because the rating lets families see the movie together…Tom and I are trying to find a unique way to do this that keeps his vision of the movie.”
Also part of the new marketing strategy–expand the film to 2,500 theaters domestically this weekend, up from 1,680. It also is repositioning ads to focus on the movie’s theme of friendship rather than relying mostly on positive blurbs. Weinstein says:
“The message more was about the critics, but now we’re trying to get across that this classic movie is just as cool as the other movies people are seeing.”
In my personal opinion, the movie is a masterpiece on its own, and the only reason for the R-rating is because of a few curse words, all of which were used in good taste, and if removed, would definitely take a huge chuck of humor and life out of the movie. But again, it seems to be more about the money than the fact that THE KING’S SPEECH is one of the best reviewed and loved movies of the year. Again…just my opinion…
The new version likely wouldn’t be completed until after the Feb. 27 Oscarcast.