In the family-oriented supermarket environment, certain R-rated titles have caused problems for video rental and sales operations.
The role of the retailer in determining what titles are made available for consumers is hotly debated. But there are steps that can be taken to minimize the problems, said retailers participating in SN's video roundtable.
"Our company draws the line at 'R.' We don't carry NC-17s or unrated versions of anything," said Denise Darnell, video supervisor for Southeast Foods, Monroe, La. Sometimes a complaint will come from store level, but not very often, she said.
"We are very careful about posters. Posters will get us in a lot more trouble than the movies themselves," said Dennis Maxwell, video director, Reasor's Foods, Tahlequah, Okla.
"There were titles that I have not put in the supermarket video departments and most of them were in the erotic-thriller category with objectionable box art," said Tom Carton, president and chief executive officer, Buckeye Entertainment Corp., Dublin, Ohio. As a Blockbuster franchisee which leases space in Big Bear Stores, Columbus, Ohio, Carton has the franchisor's well-established guidelines to draw from in making product decisions.
At Dierbergs Markets, Chesterfield, Mo., sometimes titles are pulled based on customer objections, said Jamie Molitor, director, video operations. "There were a few decisions that I made because my customers were very vocal about our carrying certain titles. Because it is a service that we are providing to them, I do cater to their needs," she said.
Airline versions might be an alternative for some customers, but the retailers questioned whether they would be economically viable. "It's nice to offer the choice to the customer, but it would have to be at a price where you could be sure that you are going to get your return on investment," said Matthew Feinstein, vice president at Marbles Entertainment, Los Angeles.
Here is the roundtable discussion of issues related to R-rated movies:
SN: A sensitive issue for many supermarkets is how to handle R-rated movies, especially the more explicit ones. Some chains have actually gotten out of the rental business because of it. What kinds of issues have you faced with R-rated titles?
DARNELL: Our company draws the line at R. We don't carry NC-17s or unrated versions of anything. Sometimes I will have a store manager send back a movie, saying, "I don't want this trash in my store." There might just be a little more skin showing than what he would like to see. A lot of times that stems from a customer complaint. But it doesn't happen very often and not as much as it used to.
MAXWELL: We got a few complaints when we put video into smaller existing stores, where video is in a corner and the grocery customers have to pass by and see all the posters and box art. But now our departments are separate stores attached to the supermarket and the people who might be offended by that don't end up in the video department.
We are very careful about posters. Posters will get us in a lot more trouble than the movies themselves. You can have the same pictures on that box with 50 of them on the shelf and nobody will say a thing. But you put one poster up and you are in trouble. I think people feel when you put the poster up, you are promoting it. When you have it on the shelf, you are just providing the service. I don't know if they really read it that way, but that's how it seems to work.
SN: Is there more concern over sexual content than over violence in R-rated movies?
MAXWELL: I think there is. I don't think the violence will get you too many complaints, but the skin will.
DILLON: I've never had a complaint on violence.
MAXWELL: I don't think I have either.
MOLITOR: It's really hard when you start mixing personal preferences with business decisions. It's very delicate. If you choose to take a video out of your store because of personal reasons, then you've made the right decision if it is your store. But I don't think I would ever be in a position like that because it is not my store and I don't let my personal beliefs enter into it. You are making business decisions on whether it will rent and turn a profit.
MAXWELL: If I only put in the titles that I liked and thought were good movies, buying would be a lot simpler. I'd be down to about five titles a month.
MOLITOR: As grocery stores, we cross that bridge every day. Every magazine is scrutinized by many of our customers. Whether or not we carry alcohol, whether or not we carry tobacco, whether or not we sell lottery tickets. Those are all moral issues that people make choices on every day. But I think just by providing it doesn't mean that you are supporting it.
SN: Has anybody not put an R-rated title in because of something that came down from upper management?
MOLITOR: There were a few decisions that I made because my customers were very vocal about our carrying certain titles. Because it is a service that we are providing to them, I do cater to their needs. If I get enough opinions that we should not carry something -- and our customers are very vocal -- I pull it out.
GETTNER: There was a particular movie that the president said he wanted pulled. It dealt with some very delicate issues, like religion. I opposed pulling this title basically because there is that fine line between morality and personal preferences vs. censorship. This is strictly my opinion, but I feel that if you don't want to see a movie, you don't have to rent it. But I try to keep the decision making at the store level. All our stores are family-oriented and we carry a great number of family titles. That's how we offset some of the R-rated titles.
SN: On pulling out those kinds of movies, do the instructions always come from the top down, or can the store managers make those decisions?
MOLITOR: Our store directors, those are their stores, and if they choose to pull something, they have every right to pull it. They will be supported. But there are other times, for example, when the Globe magazine published the photos of JonBonet Ramsey, our customers were very vocal about that and we did pull it because it was something they didn't want to see. That decision came down from the office, but it was based on customer concerns.
CARTON: At Blockbuster, consumers give us pretty good marks in terms of only putting things on the shelf that are appropriate for the Blockbuster image. Beyond that, there have been a couple of titles that I have kept out of my Blockbuster stores, like "Kids." There were titles that I have not put in the supermarket video departments and most of them were in the erotic-thriller category with objectionable box art.
MOLITOR: If the box art is misleading, it really does get you into trouble.
MAXWELL: The misleading box art is the main problem. If the box shows just a little bit of skin on the front, then you know what to anticipate. But when it doesn't give you any indication of what is in the movie, that's when the customer comes back upset.
MOLITOR: I felt the same way about "Kids." The box art wasn't very real clear what that the movie was about.
SN: Bob, you had mentioned a survey about the increased number of R-rated titles. Where was that from?
GETTNER: A recent survey compared 1994 to 1996 on G-rated and R-rated titles. While G-rated is making small increases, R-rated is very high as a percentage of the total, and it continues to grow. So whether the public is renting and demanding more, I don't know, but they are making more R-rated films.
DARNELL: Definitely. It seems to me there are a lot less PG-rated movies than there were two years ago.
FEINSTEIN: It goes in cycles. When "Free Willy" came out, it got the family-film genre back up and popular again, and then you saw a lot of movies like that. Family films were just taking off and, for a while, every studio was coming out with a different family film. Now it is getting back toward the R-rated film again, and the family films, such as "Zeus and Roxanne," aren't doing as well as they were a couple of years ago.
SN: Some people have advocated releasing the edited versions of R-rated movies. How would those do for you?
FEINSTEIN: If you are putting one version next to the other version, it's nice to offer the choice to the customer, but it would have to be at a price where you could be sure that you are going to get your return on investment. But if you have to pay $65 for a movie that is edited like an airline movie, then a lot of people might not chose to see that and you might not make your money back.
CARTON: I don't think it is a good idea. In my opinion, that is messing with the creative aspect of the movie a little too much. With the airlines, it is an entirely different situation, you are a captive audience. You don't have to get the headset, but it's hard not to at least observe portions of the movie while you are sitting there.
SN: The current proposal is to put out the edited version at the time that the movies are repriced for sell-through, not at the time of the initial video release. Does that make a difference?
DARNELL: That sounds good.
MAXWELL: But the rental activity is dead by that time.
CARTON: That's exactly right. Thanks, but no thanks.
DARNELL: But I've had requests for the airline versions from people. If they were sell-through priced, then we could get them on special order.
MOLITOR: If I had to make a choice, I would carry the regular version. I don't have the space to carry both versions.
DILLON: You would run into a real problem there.
MAXWELL: I think the people who would like those airline versions are a very vocal minority. It would be nice if you had a section of those, or could work it into the family section or something. But I think a lot of customers would look at it as if they were getting less for the money.
