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By Rosemary Pollock
Edited Video Efforts Again Make National News
KAYSVILLE, UTAH -- While many members of The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints abhor Hollywood's idea of entertainment, Clean
Cut Videos, which opened last month in Kayesville, Utah, is doing
something about it. Finally, Mark Cronin, who swore off fillms with
R-ratings, can go to the movies, even if it is at home.
According to a recent Associated Press story, carried in newspapers
nationwide, Clean Cut Videos, owned and operated by Braxton and Brian
Schenk, have 62 edited titles in their library and add three new ones
weekly. The Schenks are upstarts in this business and credit Ray
Lines, as the Utah pioneer who came up with the idea of clean videos.
"I've had my lawyers call every one of those guys. It's not a
priority for the movie houses," Lines said of his untested legal
ground. Lines has three CleanFlicks video stores near Provo, about 60
miles south of the Schenk's store. "After some hostile muttering, the
film industry has been silent," Lines said. Several calls to
Hollywood studios, directors and film industry organizations were
ignored or deflected.
"We're going to have no comment on that," said Dream Works studio
spokeswoman, Cheryl Glenn. Dream Works studio's film "Gladiator" is
among those the video clubs are editing. "It's a win for Hollywood
because everyone of these we've purchased," Lines said, pointing to
the 250 titles in his Pleasant Grove store.
Not everyone agrees that it is a good idea to alter the film. "The
very idea that seeing a movie after someone else has 'cleaned it
up'...is so stupid as to be insulting," said Geoff McMurtry, a
Sundance Film Festival buff. "There are plenty of 'Who's the Boss'
reruns on TV right now, for just this very audience."
Despite the criticism the Schenks believe that entertainment is about
good stories, not bad language. "Great movies are great because they
have a great story line, not because they drop the 'F-bomb," David
Schenk said. The "F-bomb" is dropped 139 times in "Good Will
Hunting", a movie they believe is worth the editing. "Saving Private
Ryan" has 90 profanities that are now silenced, but the pwerful
portrayal of WWII combat remains.
Some films such as "Showgirls," a 1995 movie about erotic dancers in
Las Vegas, could never be cut enough. "There would be nothing but the
opening and closing credits if the Schenks gave it their standard
edit," David said. Lines, who finds vulgar movie dialogue offensive,
claims he doesn't have to sit through the sex and profanity in order
to edit the videos. "We don't have to watch a scene to be able to
edit it," Lines said. He uses a Web site called "Screen It" to find
the offensive parts.
Source:
Utah video clubs edit films for sex and profanity, turning R-rated movies into G
Seattle WA Times (AP) 18Aug01 B2
By Rich Vosepka: The Associated Press
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