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NC-17 rating in US, saturated market trip `Lust, Caution'

"Every art-house film that tries to go wide is having trouble, so while we are going out in every major market and getting great numbers, we are being very cautious until we see how the market shakes out."

James Schamus, Focus Features chief executive

The head of the US production company that made Ang Lee's (李安) new Chinese-language spy thriller Lust, Caution said he was cautious about expanding its release in the US because of its Asian flavor and a crowded market.

Despite winning the top Golden Lion award at the recent Venice Film Festival, Lee has set low expectations for the movie's US box office, saying it is a "very Chinese" film.

Lust, Caution is about the sexually charged relationship between an undercover female student activist and the Japanese-allied intelligence chief in World War-II Shanghai. It is based on a short story by Chinese author Eileen Chang (張愛玲).

In another obstacle for Lust, Caution, which features explicit sex scenes, was the restrictive "NC-17" rating it received in the US, banning viewers younger than 17.

The movie's executive producer and Focus Features chief executive James Schamus said in an e-mail late Monday he was careful about opening Lust, Caution in more movie theaters.

The film had made US$2.1 million from 125 theaters in the US as of Sunday, the box office tracking Web site Box Office Mojo said.

It has earned nearly five times that figure overseas, Box Office Mojo said, with strong contributions from Hong Kong and Lee's native Taiwan.

Its release in China is scheduled for Nov. 1.

Lee said earlier that Lust, Caution was budgeted at US$12 million but he fronted another US$2 million.

Schamus, a prominent independent filmmaker, said the US movie market is "insanely overcrowded" and that there is limited space for art-house films.

"Every art-house film that tries to go wide is having trouble, so while we are going out in every major market and getting great numbers, we are being very cautious until we see how the market shakes out," he said.

"Right now it's an art-house hit, but it could cross over [to mainstream appeal]," Schamus said.

The executive also called Lust, Caution "a very Asian film ... whose politics and sexuality are challenging" and noted its "NC-17" rating in the US.

Schamus said newspapers in Salt Lake City have refused to carry advertisements for the movie.

"It's utter hypocrisy, but we're dealing with it," Schamus said without elaboration.

Schamus has helped write scripts for many of Lee's movies, including Lust, Caution, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hulk and The Ice Storm.
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