Fiilem tersohor tetapi sarat dengan kontroversi 'The Wolf of Wall Street' dilaporkan diharamkan tayangannya di Malaysia ekoran bahasa dan kandungan yang lucah.
"Sumber-sumber dalaman pejabat filem kerajaan Malaysia memaklumkan THR yang pengedar filem itu sedia maklum yang mereka akan berhadapan masalah besar dengan lembaga penapisan kerana kelucahan, babak bogel serta seks sewaktu tayangannya," lapor laman web hiburan The Hollywood Reporter.
Filem itu diterbitkan Red Granite Pictures, syarikat yang dimiliki bersama oleh Riza Aziz yang merupakan anak Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, hasil daripada perkahwinan pertamanya.
Filem Hollywood yang diarahkan Martin Scorcese itu menyaksikan pelakon utamanya, Leonardo DiCaprio memenangi anugerah pelakon terbaik bagi kategori komedi dan muzikal pada anugerah Golden Globe ke-71 Ahad lalu.
Presiden Red Granite Pictures, Christian Mercuri dipetik oleh THR sebagai berkata kandungan filem itu bermasalah bagi wilayah-wilayah tertentu .
"Sebahagian daripada kandungan dalam filem itu menjadikannya sukar dibenar tayang di wilayah tertentu di mana mereka membuat tapisan dan boleh mengharamkan tayangan sesebuah filem," beliau dipetik sebagai berkata.
"Anda cuba membuat filem untuk penonton di seluruh dunia . Ini sebuah filem yang menakjubkan sepanjang tiga jam tayangannya. Adalah mengecewakan apabila negara-negara tertentu tidak membenarkan seni ditayangkan secara keseluruhan," katanya.
Filem, yang merupakan pesaing untuk Academy Award tahun ini, mencipta rekod penggunaan perkataan lucah 'F' paling banyak dalam filem R-rated. Menurut Variety, perkataan 'F' itu didiucapkan 506 kali dalam filem itu, atau 2.81 kali seminit.
Red Granite Pictures membenarkan kandungan tertentu filem itu dipotong untuk melepasi proses tapisan di beberapa negara.
Sebagai contoh, bagi tayangan di India, tiga babak terpaksa dipotong iaitu adegan pesta seks gay liar, adegan onani di tempat awam dan satu lagi adegan melibatkan aksi Leonardo DiCaprio menghembus kokain ke dalam punggung seorang perempuan.
Setakat ini, filem itu telah mengutip AS $80 juta di Amerika Syarikat dan AS$40 juta di peringkat antarabangsa. -mk
TO SHIELD NAJIB-ROSMAH FROM SON'S SCANDAL? M'sia bans screening of Wolf of Wall Street
KUALA LUMPUR — “The Wolf of Wall Street” may be funded by Malaysian producer Riza Shahriz Abdul Aziz’s firm, but movie fans here will not get to watch the Hollywood show after it was reportedly banned by local authorities.
According to a report by The Hollywood Reporter this week, the film directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio was banned in Malaysia and Nepal despite getting through the censors —albeit not without significant cuts — in strict Middle East countries such as Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates.
“Sources within Malaysia’s government film office told THR that the distributor of the film realised upon screening it that it would face huge problems with the censorship board because of its profanity, nudity and sex,” said the report.
Malaysian viewers motivated enough can, however, catch the film in Singapore, which has approved it for shows in up to nine theatres there after slapping it with the “R21” rating that limits it to those over the age of 21.
The new Scorsese comedy covers the debauched life of former stockbroker Jordan Belfort, who was convicted of securities fraud, during the 90s heydays of Wall Street.
But the raunchiness of the show that features sex, nudity, public masturbation, drugs and 569 instances of the F-word has had distributors across the globe fighting to get the film — or most of it — approved for viewing.
“Some of the content in the film makes it difficult in certain territories where they have censorship and can even ban films,” Christian Mercuri, the head of international at Red Granite, was quoted as saying by The Hollywood Reporter.
The movie made waves in Malaysia last month after whistleblower website Sarawak Report published reports that revealed Riza’s role in Red Granite Pictures, the producers of “The Wolf of Wall Street”, and linked him to the purchase of a RM110 million apartment in New York.
The allegations contained on the website run by Clare Rewcastle-Brown, the sister-in-law of former British prime minister Gordon Brown, led to demands by opposition lawmakers for Riza to be investigated by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over a reported purchase.
But the MACC said on December 30 that it was not empowered under the law to investigate such “mismatch” of income against “excessive” assets, but added it was hoping for an amendment to be tabled in Parliament next year that will allow it to do so.
Producer Riza Aziz , and cast members Leonardo DiCaprio and Margot Robbie arrive for the UK Premiere of ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ at Leicester Square, London January 10, 2014. — Reuters pic
On January 6, lawyers representing Red Granite sent a letter of demand to Sarawak Report over allegations that the firm was funded using “ill-gotten wealth” from Malaysia, that “The Wolf of Wall Street” was dropped by major studios but resurrected upon the firm’s involvement, and the firm was a Malaysian concern.
“The Wolf of Wall Street” has already picked up numerous accolades, which most recently included two Golden Globes this week for “Best Comedy” and “Best Comedy Actor” that was won by DiCaprio.
It is also nominated for Academy Awards in the categories of Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (DiCaprio), Best Supporting Actor (Jonah Hill), and Best Adapted Screenplay.
Riza is the stepson of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak. - Malay Mai