By Sean Chavel in Los Angeles

The new Kevin Bacon film Where the Truth Lies has been met with censorship problems which will ultimately keep the film in limited distribution. The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) slapped the film with an NC-17 rating, which is a kiss of death at the box office. The Atom Egoyan film (the acclaimed art-house director of The Sweet Hereafter, Exotica) attempted several re-edits of the film, but could not find a way to change the film’s key scene – involving sex and nudity with two other players – in a way that could get the film a more acceptable R-rating from the MPAA. This is a shame because along with co-star Colin Firth, Where the Truth Lies contains one of Bacon’s best performances. The film is certainly intended for a mature audience, and the moviegoers that do seek out to see the film in select theaters will witness Bacon in top form. Reporting from Los Angeles, Bacon discusses the new film and the ratings board.

Q: What is your opinion of the ratings situation with this film?

KEVIN: Ah well, I was disappointed. I was shocked actually. Atom [Egoyan] called me with the news and I said, ‘You’re kidding me, right?’ But he said that he had made a couple of cuts and gone back twice and that the MPAA [ratings board] still gave the film an NC-17. I just don’t get it. It’s the old story that there is a double standard in terms of violence and sex. You can get away with a lot more violence.

I think there is also other issues that also come up. Like nudity seems to be – People are much more uncomfortable with nudity. Characters can be acting in a sexual nature or be seen as sexual objects, but it’s okay as long as they have certain body parts or not. Uh, I don’t get it.

Q: Are you going to be the next Kevin Costner in showing your butt on film?

KEVIN: Uh, I don’t understand.

Q: Well, Kevin Costner was known for film after film after film for showing his butt. Now that you've shown your butt, are you going to be showing it off a lot now?

KEVIN: Uh, well I don’t generally look at a script and make a judgment on the script based on how many butt shots there are.

Q: Yeah I know. Just kidding...

KEVIN: But, you know, I – well, I might as well be known for something. [CHUCKLES]

Q: If the MPAA had objections to only one scene in the film, what did they say they wanted changed in order to make it an 'R' rating?

KEVIN: When they first started to discuss with Atom, the director, that they were possibly going to send out an NC-17, the [MPAA] said, ‘We want you to know, it’s not because of the homosexual elements in the film.’ To me, that’s like, ‘If we think then we protest too much.’ Makes me wonder if that really was the issue.

I don’t understand why that particular scene, uh… I mean there are other scenes in the movie that are more graphic. You can change them. But still, they had an issue. The scene in question was an emotional and dramatic scene. It was a scene about the beginning of the end for the characters. The end of a partnership. About being on the edge with the drugs. You could have almost had the scene without the sex in a way.

Q: What were the major aspects of the material that originally enticed you to sign onto the project?

KEVIN: Um, you never know. Like the scene in the Chinese restaurant, and the guy says ‘Being a nice guy is the hardest thing in the world when you’re not.’ It’s a moment that I haven’t seen before. It’s great when you find a character that hasn’t been tried before. That idea of living in a fishbowl, you know, was something that obviously I related to.

Q: What else appealed to you about the part?

KEVIN: Also about the idea of playing an entertainer. You sometimes get to do that in bio-pics, but there are no more dead rock stars for me to play. Rarely do you get a chance to play an entertainer or celebrity. I’m used to playing the everyman roles of cop and fireman.

Q: What did you mean when you said that you live your life in a fishbowl? In what way?

KEVIN: Yes. The second I leave my room or my house, people are looking at you. Judging you. Liking you. Not liking you. Better looking. Uglier. Fatter. Thinner. Taller. Shorter. Older. Younger. ‘I love him.’ ‘I can’t stand him.’ That sort of thing.

Q: Has it gotten easier over the years?

KEVIN: Yes, because I really don’t know anything else. You know what? It’s 95 percent great. People are usually nicer to you. They give you free things. You get the good tables in restaurants. There’s a lot of good things that go with it. But there’s also that feeling that once in awhile it’s good to disappear and just not…

Q: You've done your best and edgiest work in recent years, like in "Mystic River," "The Woodsman," and now this. Have you reached your peak of satisfaction with your career?

KEVIN: Yeah, there’s that satisfaction. And there’s also that feeling where I’m not really where I want to be. Whether it be creatively or artistically. Or I read parts that I don’t get. I think it’s a killer part for me and I’ll knock this out of the park. And there’s twenty other guys that feel the same way. And I’m not always on top of that list. So…Do I feel good about things? It changes day to day. I’d still like to play the hero who saves the day and gets the girl. There must be a normal part for me out there somewhere.

"Where the Truth Lies" is now playing in limited release.