Oscar buzz is growing—nominations for the February 27th ceremony are revealed tomorrow night. The event, hosted by the uncontroversial Anne Hathaway and former Columbian James Franco, promises to be, well, as tepid as every other Academy Awards. And while the ceremony may rely on the same bad jokes and the same emotional speeches, the movies involved have not gone without their share of controversy. Take Derek Cianfrance’s Blue Valentine and Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan—two films garnering attention for something a little different.
The former was originally was slapped with an NC-17 for a specific scene of female oral pleasure (according to executive producer Harvey Weinstein), while Black Swan, which depicts a similar event, got an R-rating right off the bat. An NC-17 rating is Hollywood’s own dark mark for an independent film. Yes, it means horny high school boys looking for soft-core porn can’t buy a ticket—but more importantly, it limits the amount of theaters it opens in and practically ruins its chances come award season. NC-17 rated movies just don’t get Oscar nominations (see Ang Lee’s Lust Caution).
