We haven’t heard much about directorKevin Smith’s new movieYoga Hoserslately, sinceproduction wrappedback in June. The director debuted the first trailer at Comic Con, but it still hasn’t been officially released yet, and the movie doesn’t have a release date in place at this time. Yesterday, the director took to hisInstagrampage to provide an interesting update about the second installment of hisTrue North Trilogy, which has been slapped with an R rating by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). The reason behind the rating, however, will certainly surprise you, as you can see in his lengthy statement below, which also reveals he’s planning a summer release for the movie.
The #MPAAgave my kids movie @YogaHosers an R rating for a cartoony drawing of testicles on a book cover. So now, for the 4th time in my 22 year career, we will hold an appeals screening with the Motion Picture Association of America’s ratings board and attempt to get the R overturned for a less severe (and far more appropriate) PG-13. I also ran afoul of the MPAA the first time I made a movie set in a convenience store, when they initially slappedClerkswith an NC-17 rating for language. Back then, Harvey Weinstein hired mega-lawyerAlan Dershowitzand turned our rating appeal into a Free Speech case. But on the day of the actual appeals screening, it was just me and the Miramax lawyer getting up in front of the appeals folks to argue for a less restrictive rating without having to change or trim any shots. We won that day andClerksreceived the R rating without a single cut. The next two occasions I fought an MPAA rating was onJersey Girl(won a PG-13 instead of the R they gave us) andZack and Miri Make a Porno(which went from an NC-17 to an R, without cuts). I don’t mind doing this dance with the MPAA a fourth time (hey - at least they even OFFER an appeals screening) but this #YogaHosers R rating is riDONKulous. The core audience for the flick is tween girls (it’sCluelessmeetsGremlins!), so I refrained from salty language to make a totally kid-friendly movie. And while it’s a “horror” movie, there’s no blood on display: when our Bratzi bad guys get killed, concentrated sauerkraut explodes everywhere - not guts or entrails. Honestly, this movie is TAME (or “lame” according to some reviews). Even so, next week I’ll screen the flick for the MPAA appeals audience and, lawyer-like, plead my case for why the film is really PG-13 - all so that I can keep the graffiti drawing of nuts on a fictional library book in my goofy girl-power monster movie. Weird life. Mind you, this is NOT a First Amendment issue at all; instead, it’s the very definition of a First World Problem. But before I can tour the movie in June & July and release it in theaters this August, I’m gonna have to win #TheBattleForTheBalls! #KevinSmith #harleyquinnsmith #lilyrosedepp #johnnydepp"
Yoga Hoserscenters on centers on 15-year-old yoga nuts Colleen Collette (Lily-Rose Depp) and Colleen McKenzie (Harley Quinn Smith), who were introduced in the first True North installment,Tusk. They both work together at an after-school job at a Manitoba convenience store called Eh-2-Zed. When an ancient evil rises from beneath Canada’s crust and threatens their big invitation to a Grade 12 party, the Colleens join forces with a legendary man-hunter from Montreal named Guy Lapointe (Johnny Depp) to fight for their lives.
The supporting cast includes a number of theTuskstars in much different roles, such asMichael Parks,Justin Long,Haley Joel Osment,Genesis Rodriguez,Ralph Garman,Jennifer Schwallbach Smith, the director’s wife,Harley MorensteinandTony Hale. If the director does plan on releasing the movie in August, it’s possible we could see the first trailer very soon, although that could depend on whether or not the filmmaker prevails in the MPAA appeals process. We’ll keep you posted as soon as the filmmaker has more updates on his appeal forYoga Hosers.
The director’s True North trilogy will close out withMoose Jaws, which the director has teased will feature the gruesome death of his iconic Silent Bob character. Then again, that may not happen just yet, since the character is expected to be back for bothClerks IIIandMallrats 2, so we’ll have to wait and see. It isn’t known whenMoose Jaws, or any of the director’s other projects, will go into production, so stay tuned.
