Red, White & Royal Blue director on why he wouldn’t have edited gay rom-com for PG13 rating

Matthew López, the director of the gay rom-com, Red, White & Royal Blue has explained why he wouldn’t have edited the movie to get a PG-13 rating.

The Prime Video adaptation of Casey McQuiston’s New York Times bestseller arrives on the streaming platform on 11 August.

It follows the friendship-to-romance journey of the fictional Prince Henry of England (Nicholas Galitzine) and Alex Claremont-Diaz (Taylor Zakhar Perez), the first son of a female US President.

Like the book, the film features some steamy scenes as the men fall in love and explore their queer identities. We catch a glimpse of these in the film’s official trailer.

In an exclusive interview with Attitude prior to the film’s release, López said the rating was “immaterial.”

Referencing the film’s sex scenes, he said they were what he set out to make.

In May the film was given an R-rating as it features “language, some sexual content, and partial nudity.”

“No one asked me to change the movie”

“Part of me was surprised at the R-rating and part of me wasn’t,” López continued.

“I question if it had been a man and a woman would we have got an R-rating for that scene? More importantly, if it had been a scene about violence, instead of love, would it have got an R rating or a PG 13 rating?”

However, López also shared he was never under any pressure from the studio to edit the sex scenes or gay content.

“Contractually I was able to deliver an R-rating. But no one asked me to change the movie in order to get a PG 13 rating. [I] probably wouldn’t if they’d asked so [I’m] glad they didn’t.”

Elsewhere in the interview, López defended his leading men against criticisms of a lack of chemistry.

Red White & Royal Blue will premiere globally on 11 August on Prime Video.

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