Final cut privilege
Encyclopedia
Final cut privilege is a film industry term, usually used when a director
has contractual authority over how a film is ultimately released for public viewing.
directors are given such a privilege (such as Stanley Kubrick
, Ridley Scott
, Joel & Ethan Coen
, Martin Scorsese
, James Cameron
, Quentin Tarantino
, Wolfgang Petersen
, Steven Spielberg
, Robert Zemeckis
, and David Fincher
). However, outside the Hollywood studio system - in France, for example - directors whose reputations are built on artistic merit, as opposed to bankability, frequently have final cut on their films. In America some acclaimed, but not necessarily bankable directors, such as Woody Allen
and Terrence Malick
, also enjoy final cut. Sometimes nonbankable directors get final cut privilege when they make the film on a low budget, like with George Lucas
on American Graffiti
.
Before a film is released, studios will usually make changes for commercial purposes, or to remove any controversial content. Sometimes such practices can cause conflict between the director and studio releasing the film (see American History X
and Brazil
).
Other contractual agreements will still apply, though: A director commissioned for a film with a rating
no higher than "R" (in the US) will still have to make sure to meet this agreement. This happened with Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut
, which included an orgy scene that was shown in Europe, but would have given the film a higher "NC-17" rating in the US. For its US release, background actors were digitally added to obscure some sex acts to reach the contractually obliged R rating.
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
has contractual authority over how a film is ultimately released for public viewing.
Condition
On nearly all occasions, only established and bankableBankable star
A bankable star is an actor famous or charismatic enough to be "capable of guaranteeing box-office success simply by showing up in a movie". A bankable director is a similar notion.- Overview :...
directors are given such a privilege (such as Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...
, Ridley Scott
Ridley Scott
Sir Ridley Scott is an English film director and producer. His most famous films include The Duellists , Alien , Blade Runner , Legend , Thelma & Louise , G. I...
, Joel & Ethan Coen
Coen Brothers
Joel David Coen and Ethan Jesse Coen known together professionally as the Coen brothers, are American filmmakers...
, Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
, James Cameron
James Cameron
James Francis Cameron is a Canadian-American film director, film producer, screenwriter, editor, environmentalist and inventor...
, Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
, Wolfgang Petersen
Wolfgang Petersen
Wolfgang Petersen is a German film director and screenwriter. His films include The NeverEnding Story, Enemy Mine, Outbreak, In the Line of Fire, Air Force One, The Perfect Storm, Troy, and Poseidon...
, Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
, Robert Zemeckis
Robert Zemeckis
Robert Lee Zemeckis is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Zemeckis first came to public attention in the 1980s as the director of the comedic time-travel Back to the Future film series, as well as the Academy Award-winning live-action/animation epic Who Framed Roger Rabbit ,...
, and David Fincher
David Fincher
David Andrew Leo Fincher is an American film and music video director. Known for his dark and stylish thrillers, such as Seven , The Game , Fight Club , Panic Room , and Zodiac , Fincher received Academy Award nominations for Best Director for his 2008 film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and...
). However, outside the Hollywood studio system - in France, for example - directors whose reputations are built on artistic merit, as opposed to bankability, frequently have final cut on their films. In America some acclaimed, but not necessarily bankable directors, such as Woody Allen
Woody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
and Terrence Malick
Terrence Malick
Terrence Frederick Malick is a U.S. film director, screenwriter, and producer. In a career spanning almost four decades, Malick has directed five feature films....
, also enjoy final cut. Sometimes nonbankable directors get final cut privilege when they make the film on a low budget, like with George Lucas
George Lucas
George Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, and director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm. He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
on American Graffiti
American Graffiti
American Graffiti is a 1973 coming of age film co-written/directed by George Lucas starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat, Charles Martin Smith, Cindy Williams, Candy Clark, Mackenzie Phillips and Harrison Ford...
.
Before a film is released, studios will usually make changes for commercial purposes, or to remove any controversial content. Sometimes such practices can cause conflict between the director and studio releasing the film (see American History X
American History X
American History X is a 1998 American drama film directed by Tony Kaye and starring Edward Norton and Edward Furlong. It was distributed by New Line Cinema....
and Brazil
Brazil (film)
Brazil is a 1985 British science fiction fantasy/black comedy film directed by Terry Gilliam. It was written by Gilliam, Charles McKeown, and Tom Stoppard and stars Jonathan Pryce. The film also features Robert De Niro, Kim Greist, Michael Palin, Katherine Helmond, Bob Hoskins, and Ian Holm...
).
Other contractual agreements will still apply, though: A director commissioned for a film with a rating
Motion picture rating system
A motion picture rating system is designated to classify films with regard to suitability for audiences in terms of issues such as sex, violence, substance abuse, profanity, impudence or other types of mature content...
no higher than "R" (in the US) will still have to make sure to meet this agreement. This happened with Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut
Eyes Wide Shut
Eyes Wide Shut is a 1999 drama film based upon Arthur Schnitzler's 1926 novella Traumnovelle . The film was directed, produced and co-written by Stanley Kubrick, and was his last film. The story, set in and around New York City, follows the sexually-charged adventures of Dr...
, which included an orgy scene that was shown in Europe, but would have given the film a higher "NC-17" rating in the US. For its US release, background actors were digitally added to obscure some sex acts to reach the contractually obliged R rating.
See also
- Auteur theoryAuteur theoryIn film criticism, auteur theory holds that a director's film reflects the director's personal creative vision, as if they were the primary "auteur"...
- Director's cutDirector's cutA director's cut is a specially edited version of a film, and less often TV series, music video, commercials, comic book or video games, that is supposed to represent the director's own approved edit...
- Artistic controlArtistic controlArtistic control or Creative Control is a term commonly used in media production, such as movies, television, and music production. A person with artistic control has the authority to decide how the final product will appear. In movies, this commonly refers to the authority to decide on the final...
, the same term when applied to musicianMusicianA musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
s - Alan SmitheeAlan SmitheeAlan Smithee was an official pseudonym used by film directors who wish to disown a project, coined in 1968. Until its use was formally discontinued in 2000, it was the sole pseudonym used by members of the Directors Guild of America when a director dissatisfied with the final product proved to...