# "Zack and Miri" - do they or do they not "Make a Porno" ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 31, 2008, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zack-and-miri-do-they-or-do-they-not-make-a-porno/470412 "2008-10-31T12:51:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![fighting\_ignorant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ac8455/32.png) [@fighting\_ignorant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fighting_ignorant)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zack-and-miri-do-they-or-do-they-not-make-a-porno/470412/1 "2008-10-31T12:51:41Z")
I started seeing ads awhile back for “Zack and Miri Make a Porno” and that seems like the actual title of the movie. However recently I’ve seen TV ads for the same movie, just calling it “Zack and Miri” ? WTF? Did they decide the title (!) was too racy to say on TV? Did they actually re-name the movie at some point? What’s the Straight Dope on “ZAM(MAP)”? ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zack-and-miri-do-they-or-do-they-not-make-a-porno/470412/2 "2008-10-31T13:01:43Z")
I read an article recently which stated that some media outlets/venues decided that the “porno” thing was too adult for their audiences, so the last part of the title was dropped for those particular media. The Chicago Tribune review this morning had the full title listed. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zack-and-miri-do-they-or-do-they-not-make-a-porno/470412/3 "2008-10-31T13:17:06Z")
Locally it looks like they have the full title, here in York PA. Man, I think Elizabeth Banks is smokin’ hot, but I just haven’t been able to bring myself to watch her latest movies. Unless she actually gets naked in this one, it looks too stupid to go to. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zack-and-miri-do-they-or-do-they-not-make-a-porno/470412/4 "2008-10-31T13:46:01Z")
[No such redaction for the New York Times.](http://movies.nytimes.com/2008/10/31/movies/31zack.html?8dpc) (This is a movie review, so beware of spoilers.) This might be one of those pro-America/anti-America geography deals. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zack-and-miri-do-they-or-do-they-not-make-a-porno/470412/5 "2008-10-31T13:47:28Z")
What **FH** said. They were getting flak over the title in their advertising, so they dropped the last bit in some areas/some media. IIRC, Kevin mentioned this in an interview with the LATimes yesterday. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zack-and-miri-do-they-or-do-they-not-make-a-porno/470412/6 "2008-10-31T13:51:22Z")
Looks like some guy in [Salt Lake City](http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/zackandmiri_blog.html) was so afraid of the title that he banned it from his theatres. “OMG! It has the word PORN in it! Run for the hills!!” ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zack-and-miri-do-they-or-do-they-not-make-a-porno/470412/7 "2008-10-31T14:15:41Z")
And during the World Series, you had the irony of “Zack and Miri” (sans porno) commercials and erectile disfunction medication commercials (complete with 4 hour erection warnings) airing during the same break. ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zack-and-miri-do-they-or-do-they-not-make-a-porno/470412/8 "2008-10-31T14:21:25Z")
Yeah, on certain channels I’ve seen commercials for just “Zack and Miri” and I did a double take. Seems like most outlets are listing the full title though. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zack-and-miri-do-they-or-do-they-not-make-a-porno/470412/9 "2008-10-31T14:30:09Z")
> [@](#): > > Looks like some guy in Salt Lake City was so afraid of the title that he banned it from his theatres. > > “OMG! It has the word PORN in it! Run for the hills!!” Par for the course for Utah, even as “worldly” a place as SLC. Utah, after all, tried to place a ban on R-rated movies on premium cable channels, censored shows broadcast by public television station KBYU (out of Brigham Young University, the church school. But not out of KUED, the one broadcast by the state school, University of Utah. Thank God. They evebn censored the Granada/WGBH Sherlock Holmes shows), cleaned up shows at Pioneer Memorial Theater (I saw “Amadeus” with all the vulgarity cut out of it. Without the vulgarity, it doesn’t make much sense.). Until court orders stopped them, there was a Utah company selling versions of movies on DVD with all the potentially offensive parts excised. When I first arrived in Salt Lake in 1983 there were actually three porno theaters there. By the time I left, four years later, they had all been shut down. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zack-and-miri-do-they-or-do-they-not-make-a-porno/470412/10 "2008-10-31T14:31:39Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > Man, I think Elizabeth Banks is smokin’ hot… She sure is in those trailers for the flick. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zack-and-miri-do-they-or-do-they-not-make-a-porno/470412/11 "2008-10-31T15:14:12Z")
I was surprised to see the title sans “porno” on Comedy Central. I thought they were pretty open to shit. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zack-and-miri-do-they-or-do-they-not-make-a-porno/470412/12 "2008-10-31T15:59:07Z")
I can understand why some people might not want the full title appearing just _anywhere_. “Mommy, what’s a porno? How do you make a porno? Can we make a porno, Mommy?” ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zack-and-miri-do-they-or-do-they-not-make-a-porno/470412/13 "2008-10-31T17:26:10Z")
This isn’t the first time this has happened. Back in 1987 there was the movie **Sammy and Rosie Get Laid**. Lots of places were reluctant to give the whole title, for some reason, and the movie became known as **Sammie and Rosie**. They made up posters that looked as if they had the whole title, but if you looked closer it looked like a photo of the poster, with the bottom torn off through the words “Get Laid”. If you knew what it was supposed to say, you could sorta read it. [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093913/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093913/) > [@](#): > > During its initial release, many American newspapers would not run ads with the full title. Ads would show “Sammy and Rosie” printed at the top of a poster, with the bottom part shredded up. [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093913/trivia](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093913/trivia) Unfortunately, a quick search only reveals the UN-torn version. But for a long time I only saw the torn version. And don’t get me started on **The Pope Must Die!/ The Pope Must Diet** [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102691/trivia](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102691/trivia) ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zack-and-miri-do-they-or-do-they-not-make-a-porno/470412/14 "2008-10-31T18:11:48Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > This isn’t the first time this has happened. Back in 1987 there was the movie **Sammy and Rosie Get Laid**. Lots of places were reluctant to give the whole title, for some reason, and the movie became known as **Sammie and Rosie**. > > They made up posters that looked as if they had the whole title, but if you looked closer it looked like a photo of the poster, with the bottom torn off through the words “Get Laid”. If you knew what it was supposed to say, you could sorta read it. Amazon has been touting a new teen sex comedy on DVD called YPF. Apparently, it’s original title (in glorious Canada) was Young People Fucking. ---
**Author:** ![MrSquishy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9e5f3/32.png) [@MrSquishy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrSquishy)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zack-and-miri-do-they-or-do-they-not-make-a-porno/470412/15 "2008-10-31T18:27:26Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Amazon has been touting a new teen sex comedy on DVD called YPF. > > Apparently, it’s original title (in glorious Canada) was Young People Fucking. I’m pretty sure, where I live anyway, it was advertised as “Young People F\*cking”. We’re not European, you know. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2008, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zack-and-miri-do-they-or-do-they-not-make-a-porno/470412/16 "2008-11-01T01:25:51Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > She sure is in those trailers for the flick. Dang. Before I read what you quoted, I thought maybe you were referring to the “unless she actually gets naked” part. ☹ But then again I guess they wouldn’t be showing that in the trailers… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2008, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zack-and-miri-do-they-or-do-they-not-make-a-porno/470412/17 "2008-11-01T01:45:17Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > When I first arrived in Salt Lake in 1983 there were actually three porno theaters there. By the time I left, four years later, they had all been shut down. And the advent of the VCR had nothing to do with it? This new movie reminds me a lot of[The First Nudie Musical,](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074533/) which had Ron Howard and Cindy Williams in the cast, neither of which took any clothes off, but I thought it was fun nevertheless. ---
**Author:** ![Mahna\_Mahna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47c2d/32.png) [@Mahna\_Mahna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahna_Mahna)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2008, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zack-and-miri-do-they-or-do-they-not-make-a-porno/470412/18 "2008-11-01T19:32:18Z")
In the lefty uncensored wonderland that is Canada, we also got [the posters](http://www.cinematical.com/2008/09/03/the-banned-zack-and-miri-poster-youll-only-see-in-canada/) that were deemed “too racy” (if, by “racy”, you actually mean “subtly witty”). Instead, they replaced them in the US with posters that show two stick figures doing nothing that could be misinterpreted as even the slightest bit racy. Silly 'Muricans. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2008, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zack-and-miri-do-they-or-do-they-not-make-a-porno/470412/19 "2008-11-01T20:32:07Z")
> [@MrSquishy](#): > > I’m pretty sure, where I live anyway, it was advertised as “Young People F\*cking”. > > We’re not European, you know. The ad copy read “Young People F\*cking”, but the voice-over was simply “Young People”. It was pretty silly when people were talking about it on a few news shows (in relation to bill C-10); they pronounced it “Young People Effing”. I never saw it, but anything with [Callum Blue](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0089485/) (aka Mason from Dead Like Me) in the cast can’t be all bad. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2008, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zack-and-miri-do-they-or-do-they-not-make-a-porno/470412/20 "2008-11-01T21:28:51Z")
So back to the OP… whatever you title it, DO they make a porno, DOES Banks get naked? Enquiring minds wanna know. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zack-and-miri-do-they-or-do-they-not-make-a-porno/470412.md?page=2)