After Dark Films will be releasing the horror film Captivity on May 18, starring Elisha Cuthbert (The Girl Next Door, 24) , Daniel Gillies (Spider-Man 3), Pruitt Taylor Vince (Deadwood), Laz Alonso (Stomp the Yard) and Michael Harney (Deadwood).
The studio had placed ads which appeared on 30 Los Angeles-area billboards and 1,400 New York taxi tops with images of the abduction, torture and death of a young woman. Apparently the billboard was not formally approved by the MPAA, which all films looking to get rated (i.e. "G", "PG", "PG-13", "R") must also submit their advertising art for approval.
After Dark, its theatrical distribution partner Lionsgate Films and the MPAA received a barrage of phone calls objecting to the gratuitous depiction of the film's star Elisha Cuthbert being tortured and killed, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The MPAA said the organization had not approved the four-frame ad, and the posting of the ad was in clear defiance of MPAA rules and regulations.
The Hollywood Reporter has an interesting story which describes the events and controversy further, which can be read here!
Well ... the public billboards may have been taken down, but it's viewable here in cyberspace as we've nabbed a high-resolution image for the four-frame image.
CLICK HERE to decide whether this advertisement is over-the-top! Take a look, before we're asked by the studio to take down the image :)
In Captivity, a fashion model and a chauffeur are kidnapped and held hostage in a small room by a serial killer. While the madman methodically terrorizes them, the victims draw strength from each other and fall in love.