HOLLYWOOD - George Clooney's newest film Solaris will get a PG-13 rating, even though the actor exposes more than just his dazzling smile.According to the Associated Press, the Motion Picture Association of America originally gave the Steven Soderbergh-directed film an R rating for a few scenes where Clooney bares his backside.
After Soderbergh and 20th Century Fox film chairman Jim Gianopulous argued their case before the ratings board Wednesday, however, the MPAA decided to give Solaris the less restrictive PG-13 rating that will help increase the film's potential audience and marketing opportunities, AP reports.
"We just thought that the material was handled in a very mature and tasteful manner and that any normal 13-year-old could more than wrap their mind around it," Soderbergh told AP Thursday. "The question was, 'Are kids in danger of having their emotional lives turned upside down by these images?' As far as Jim G. and I were concerned, the answer was, 'Absolutely not.' "
Solaris is based on the novel by Stanislaw Lem and stars Clooney as a widowed astronaut forced to deal with his grief in space. The two questionable scenes revolve around Clooney's remembering happier times with his wife, played by Natascha McElhone. In one he is dancing with McElhone and in another the couple is having a discussion in bed undressed.
The film opens in theaters Nov. 27.