It lives again: ‘Captivity’ saga writes itself

What kind of buzz would Captivity have generated without the hoopla over its gruesome ad campaign? Answer: None. The initial publicity was gold, but now After Dark Films is into priceless territory, with the MPAA refusing to rate the flick and demanding approval of future promotional materials. The Hollywood Reporter calls the move “an uncharacteristically harsh reprimand … the first time the MPAA has imposed such a sanction.” It’s no leap to envision the next wave of ad copy: “The Movie They Didn’t Want You to See! So Controversial, It Couldn’t Be Rated! So Intense, It Had to Be Punished! So Disturbing, We Shouldn’t Even Be Doing This Ad!” For once, such hackneyed horror hype would be no less truthful than calling Vince Vaughn vehicles “comedies.”