Moviegoers planning to see The King’s Speech sometime after the Oscars might see a different version than what has already been released.
King’s Speech executive producer/distributor Harvey Weinstein is mulling an idea to re-edit the R-rated movie — which received 12 Oscar nominations Tuesday, more than any other film — in order to get a different rating, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Weinstein, who said he is discussing the idea with director Tom Hooper, is aiming for a PG-13 or even a PG. The move would be part of a new marketing strategy intended to up the film’s appeal to a broader swath of moviegoers.
Weinstein said he was encouraged by the movie’s box-office performance in Great Britain. There, 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,” Weinstein told the Times. “Tom and I are trying to find a unique way to do this that keeps his vision of the movie.”
The new version likely wouldn’t be completed until after the Feb. 27 Oscarcast.
Also as part of the new marketing strategy for King’s Speech, the Weinstein Co. is planning to 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.
“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,” Weinstein said.
