Art and Censorship

I think Giuseppe Andrews was wonderful in "Tweek City". As for the censorship, I have never seen that in a film before, and I think that it only added to the film's originality.

Hello,

This note is in large part the same note I wrote on this subject about a year ago...

Whether you love, hate or are totally indifferent to "Tweek City", I concur that the "bouncing ball of opacity" (as I've come to call it) is an absolutely egregious scar on the film which damages the film and diminishes its emotional impact.

Throughout the creative process, from the screenplay to the final edit, I made every decision on Tweek City without any regard for commercial considerations. For this reason, whatever Tweek City's flaws, I will never regret any choice I made during its making and will always be proud of the final film -- warts and all.

Unfortunately, due to a certain video chain's policies and a general double-standard which exists in the industry, an unrated DVD from an unknown filmmaker has little to no chance of being seen nationally in its uncensored form. Additionally, if your distributor doesn't think there is money in releasing two versions (as mine didn't), they won't.

So, after being confronted with this reality, I was forced to make a choice between self-distributing a totally uncensored version through my website to hundreds of people (a couple thousand tops) or signing with a distributor who would release a SLIGHTLY censored version to many, many thousands more.

With much inner-turmoil, I signed the deal -- WITH PROVISIONS.

Most importantly, I retained the right to self-release a COMPLETELY UNCENSORED deluxe version – more on that later.

From there we had to resolve the "problematic" (from the distributors perspective) frontal nudity. I steadfastly refused to cut one shot out of my film and due to the fact that I never took commercial considerations into account while shooting, there was no "R" rated coverage to drop in (which I wouldn't have done anyway), so we came to a compromise. With great sadness in my heart, I agreed to mildly blur the frontal nudity in two shots.

Without getting into the politics of it all, the version I turned over still had the "Cleveland steamer" (you'll come to understand if you ever watch the film) and the blurring of genitalia was hardly perceptible – it was something I could live with. Unfortunately, THAT VERSION WASN'T RELEASED. I didn't see the version that is now in stores until I rented it at my local video store. To my utter and total devastation, I saw that the "bouncing ball of opacity" was dropped in all over the place without any regard for aesthetics or artistry. Unless I wanted to get into a legal fight which I couldn't possibly pay for, I was stuck with what they released. Welcome to show business.

So, where can you find an uncensored version???

The distributor has first dibs to release the completely uncensored version. If they choose not to, I have the right to self-distribute it. If I self-distribute, this version will include additional extras including deleted scenes, a short film and a making-of doc. I'm currently dead broke, and am an army of one, so it may take a while to pull this version together but it will come out by the end of next year (2009), I assure you.

There is also still the possibility of future theatrical screenings. Perhaps I could arrange one in your city...

If you choose to sign up for the Tweek City email list at www.tweekcity.com, I'll let you know when you can see Tweek City the way it is meant to be seen.

All the best,
Eric Johnson