‘The Last Photograph’ Director Zack Snyder Thinks Hollywood Needs an NC-17 Hit to Save Eroticism in Movies

Zack Snyder has never been shy about weighing in on where he thinks the film industry has gone wrong, and his latest press tour has given him plenty of opportunities to do just that. With ‘The Last Photograph’ making its rounds at the Toronto International Film Festival, Snyder has spent the past week fielding questions about everything from his reputation to his creative future.

Much of that conversation has centered on Snyder pushing back against long-standing criticism of his work, including accusations that his films carry fascist undertones and lean too heavily on violence against women. He’s responded to that criticism directly, at one point defending ‘Watchmen,’ ‘300,’ ‘Sucker Punch’ and ‘Rebel Moon’ by arguing that the violence in his films treats every character equally rather than singling anyone out.

But in a new Variety interview, Snyder shifted the conversation toward a different concern entirely: the disappearance of sex and eroticism from modern movies. He told the outlet that “sex in movies is weirdly gone,” adding that he doesn’t understand why eroticism has, in his words, somehow been stomped out of contemporary filmmaking.

Snyder didn’t stop at diagnosing the problem, though. He also offered up a pretty specific solution, telling Variety, “We need an NC-17 movie that’s a hit.” He went on to describe a scenario where a big-budget erotic thriller released in IMAX and rated NC-17 could be the thing that finally breaks the stigma surrounding the rating, saying such a film succeeding commercially could “lift the stigma” that has kept studios away from adult content for years.

The NC-17 rating has carried a reputation problem since its creation, largely because major theater chains and retailers have historically limited how widely films bearing it can be distributed. That reputation has made studios reluctant to greenlight anything that might land in NC-17 territory, effectively discouraging the kind of adult-oriented content Snyder is describing.

Snyder’s comments arrive at an interesting moment for his own career, given his history of pushing boundaries with sexuality and violence throughout his filmography. From the stylized eroticism woven through ‘Watchmen’ to the fantastical, hyper-stylized violence of ‘300,’ Snyder has built a reputation as a filmmaker willing to lean into content that makes some audiences uncomfortable, even as his newest film, ‘The Last Photograph,’ has received a largely negative reception out of TIFF.

That willingness to court controversy extended into other parts of the same Variety conversation, where Snyder also defended ‘300’ against accusations of glorifying hyper-masculine, authoritarian aesthetics by calling it one of the gayest movies ever made. Whether audiences agree with his read on the current state of eroticism in cinema, Snyder’s comments fit a broader pattern of the director positioning himself as someone unafraid to say what he thinks Hollywood is too scared to admit.

Given how much attention Snyder’s comments have already drawn, it’s clear plenty of people have opinions on whether an NC-17 erotic thriller really could become the kind of hit that changes how the industry approaches adult content.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments.