An appeals judge has ruled that editing movies to delete objectionable language, sex and violence is an “illegitimate business” that hurts Hollywood studios and directors who own the movie rights.
Judge Richard P. Matsch has ruled that is causes irreparable injury to the creative artistic expression in the copyrighted movies,and that “there is a public interest in providing such protection.”
The defendants, including CleanFilms, CleanFlicks and Play It Clean Video have been ordered to stop “producing, manufacturing, creating” and renting edited movies and to turn over their inventory to the movie studios within five days of the ruling.
Back in 1998, the owners of Sunrise Family Video deleted scenes from “Titanic” that showed Kate Winslet in the nude. This caused uproar in Hollywood, resulting in several lawsuits and countersuits.
“Audiences can now be assured that the films they buy or rent are the vision of the filmmakers who made them and not the arbitrary choices of a third-party editor,” said Michael Apted, president of the Director’s Guild of America.
It’s official: this must be the end of the world. How else could anyone explain this?