Bad things afoot between New Line and DETROIT ROCK CITY'

I've been very happy with New Line recently, especially with the work and the help they've been extending Peter Jackson and LORD OF THE RINGS, but lest we get too buddy buddy with New Line let's take a look at one of those age old problems. This one concerning what rating to release a film at?

We've had reports on DETROIT ROCK CITY in the past... Some wonderful reviews. People dearly loving the film. I've heard that Gene Simmons is ecstatic with the film. In fact according to the ever present word on the street is that this film has received the highest test scores in New Line's history.

Well... Gosh if this really is testing at this orgasmic level. If the movie is really as good as the buzz I've heard... then why is it that against the director, Adam Rifkin's desires... New Line is allegedly trying to cut the film from it's current 'R' status to a PG-13 in a last ditch effort to make the film a little more 'teen friendly'.

Apparently the studio is feeling the film is too edgy for teens. But ultimately it would be editing for the sake of financial reasons... not artistic ones.

When I called around to see what I could find out, I heard that Adam Rifkin is ready to take his name off the film IF the cuts are made. And frankly I don't blame him. AMERICAN PIE just came in at over $18 million this opening weekend beating WILD WILD WEST for the top spot even though it was on nearly a thousand less screens.

It's amazing when we can sit back and watch studios like UNIVERSAL and PARAMOUNT sticking by their creators and their ratings, when that's what I used to think New Line was about.

DETROIT ROCK CITY is about MY GENERATION, not the current under 18 crowd. This is a movie about the KISS in makeup generation. We're the guys that bought the comic/magazine printed with drops of the band's own human blood. We're the ones that collected all four solo face albums. We're the ones that started the mythology that Gene Simmons had sewn a real cow tongue into his mouth in place of his own. We're the ones that were told at school and at home that KISS stood for KNIGHTS IN SATAN'S SERVICE. Now dammit... Leave our movie alone. You market this film to the STAR WARS generation... The original ones. This is one FOR US. And if you had any sense at all, you'd instantly contact Ernie Cline and pick up his FANBOYS script and project as a follow up. Because.... you know what? This isn't a film for the current under 18 crowd. This is a film for the under 24 crowd from 1982. And we'll rock-n-roll all night.... and everyday... Leave this movie as is please.

However, I dearly hope the rumors are wrong and that Adam Rifkin gets his cut and the cut with those high scores.