Kevin Smith’s next movie was suppose to be called A Couple of Dicks but because the network censors told Warner Bros that they would not run ads for the movie before 9p he changed the title of the movie to Cop Out. After what he went through for Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Warner Bros checked to see if NBC, ABC and CBS would advertise the movie and they said no, so they changed it to something they would air.
Silent Bob was vocal with Entertainment Weekly about how it all went down.
I’m like, “Well what about Inglourious Basterds?†And I guess, because of the spelling, they got away with it. So we were like, “Can we call it A Couple of D.I.C.s?†Because that’s the proper acronym for detectives, Detective In Charge. And [the networks] kicked that back as well. It was the pluralizing of any form of dick, whether it was d-i-c-k or any derivation.
So my feeling was like, it’s an R-rated movie, so who the f— are we talking to anyway before 9 o’clock? Warner Bros’s feeling was like, “Hey man, we have to advertise to the sports audience on Saturday and Sunday and all those sporting events usually take place before 9 p.m. in the evening.†At which point, I was like, “Oh wow, you guys are way smarter than me.â€
I personally think it is bullsh!t that he had to change the title. WTF is wrong with A Couple of Dicks? It spelled like the name and not like the organ that is specific to the people with that name. What is next no character will have the name Dick before 9p? Is that why we haven’t seen Dick Van Dyke or Dick Van Patten on TV recently?
As I said before this is not the first time that Kevin Smith has had an issue with a movie title, he had a lot of problems with his last movie Zack and Miri Make a Porno and he also told the mag how his mom felt about the title, he said she told her son “‘I might go see Zack and Miri, but I would never go see Zack and Miri Make a Porno.’ I feel like Chief Brody in Jaws 2: I’ve seen the shark up close. I ain’t going through that hell again.” Poor Kevin Smith they are trying to bring the man down. I really wonder if Quentin Tarantino tried to market a film called A Couple of Dicks or Zack or Miri Make A Porno if the networks would’ve pulled the ads before 9p because as Smith said they didn’t have a problem with Inglourious Basterds?
Now when it comes to Cop Out when I saw the trailer over the weekend I didn’t realize it was Kevin Smith’s film and I actually was like that looks like a good rental. Now that I know it is his movie, I will totally go see it when it comes on February 26th. His movies always have me in hysterics…well minus that one he blames for kind of ruining his career…Jersey Girl.
