Director Adam Green publicly spoke out against the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), saying the group is an "evil" organization that didn't give Hatchet II a fair shake.
Instead, Green worked with the AMC movie theater chain to market the movie directly to viewers. The writer-director also noted his rocky relationship with the MPAA -- the latest in a string of run-ins with the trade group -- although this latest incident could be more severe.
“It’s bad,” the director recently said. “I know they’re going to be out for blood with me. And the ratings board, I’m sure, is very certain that we’re not going to do any business and then they’re going to say to everybody, ‘You see what happens when you don’t play by our rules?’"
Green's Hatchet II, a sequel to the original Hatchet movie released in 2006, again sees pretty girl Marybeth (played by Danielle Harris) running from Victor Crowley (played by Kane Hodder) throughout the Louisiana woods. Since being released over the weekend, the independent movie has garnered poor reviews from movie critics and bloggers.
Collected opening weekend office sales also were rather unimpressive, with the film's official debut in 70 theaters nationwide. Meanwhile, the movie collected less than $1,000 per-screen average for each movie filming -- but should still end up making a profit, especially after the movie is released on DVD.
The problem with this very public stance against the MPAA, even if other people inside the industry also agree, is that the MPAA has a strong marketing and promotional campaign. This type of horror movie seemed like a natural fit for FEARnet, but MPAA support could still have drastically helped lead to more film debuts in additional theaters.
This should be a clear message to filmmakers that are weighing the options between going independent or working with the MPAA.
