McQueen's 'Shame' can get NC-17 rating

The Film Assn. of America has given Steve McQueen's "Shame" an NC-17 rating, a move which were broadly expected. Fox Searchlight is opening the drama on 12 ,. 17. Searchlight clicked on up U.S. distribution rights within the Toronto Intl. Film Festival lately following its premiere within the Venice Film Festival. Pic, which toplines Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan, is produced by See-Saw Films' Iain Canning and Emile Sherman. McQueen, whose first feature "Hunger" also toplined Fassbender, co-written the script with Abi Morgan, which follows a 30-something guy who shuns closeness with women but feeds his desires getting a compulsive reliance on sex. When his wayward youthful sister moves into his Gotham apartment, it triggers recollections from the shared painful past. "Fox Searchlight contacted us right after the screening in Telluride to see us simply how much they loved the film," mentioned Canning and Sherman lately. "Their approach to marketing and disseminating the film this year was incredibly detailed and impressive. We are excited being coping with them around the film that's leading to debate together with a powerful emotional reply to audiences." Contact Dork McNary at dork.mcnary@variety.com