I still have not heard back from Daniel Alter about yesterday’s Xavier Gens-getting-kicked-from-Hitman story, which is odd. But IGN did talk to somebody who agreed that Nicholas De Toth has been brought in as an editor, but denied that he had been ordered to cut a bloodless version of the movie. "The film still has intense action and will definitely be rated ‘R,’" the source tells them.
So what’s the deal? Obviously Fox found some fault with Gens’ cut of the film, otherwise their editor wouldn’t have been assigned. Was the rumor that De Toth was softening the film borne only from the fact that his role on Live Free or Die Hard was exactly that? Or is it possible that Fox thought that Gens’ cut was courting an NC-17? Despite TV commercials saying Hitman is rated R, the MPAA website has no rating information for the movie yet.
I’m still hoping to hear from Alter at some point and get an insider’s view of the situation. As much as I love the boys at IGN, and as much as they are, on a day to day basis, a totally independent entity, they are owned by Fox. I know that IGN deals with the same hassles and jumps through the same hoops as most other outlets and gets little by way of preferential treatment, but if Fox wanted to spin this situation, IGN might be their way of doing it. Stay tuned!