WEINSTEIN MAY WASH FOUR-LETTER WORDS FROM KING’S SPEECH

Harvey Weinstein is considering reediting The King’s Speech to remove scenes in it in which Colin Firth, who plays the stammering King George V, is encouraged to shout obscenities by his speech therapist, played by Geoffrey Rush, the Los Angeles Times reported today (Wednesday). The scenes resulted in the film being hit with an R rating by the MPAA’s ratings board. Taking note of the fact that it has topped the British box office for the past three weeks, beating U.S. blockbusters, Weinstein told the Times, “The British numbers are huge because the rating lets families see the movie together.” He added that he and director Tom Hooper “are trying to find a unique way to [recut the film] that keeps his vision of the movie.” The newspaper also disclosed that Weinstein is planning to expand the movie’s release to more than 3,000 theaters — a huge number for a low-budget independent film — around Valentine’s Day. And although there’s little romantic content in it, ads for the movie are going to urge moviegoers to “see it with the person who inspired you and changed your life.”