Fact is, ‘Blue’ wasn’t ‘banned in Boise’

It's not as if Idaho doesn't, on occasion, give the rest of the world reasons to lampoon it. But it would be nice if people got their facts straight. Especially about movies being "banned in Boise." You may have seen such reports applied to the French film "Blue Is the Warmest Color," which played for a week at the AMC River Park Square and is now scheduled to open Dec. 13 at the Magic Lantern. But, according to Spokesman-Review staff writer Betsy Russell, the story about "Blue" being "banned in Boise" was both overblown and not accurate at once. In an email response to her SR colleague Tom Sowa, Russell explained the situation:

"This story is wrong. The movie is now playing at the Edwards Cineplex. The rumor, reported incorrectly by the Hollywood Reporter and other national outlets, stated because Blue is the Warmest Color wasn't booked into our local art movie house, The Flicks, because the Flicks doesn't show NC-17 rated movies because it has a liquor license. That's where Idaho state law comes in; explicit films or live sex displays are banned at premises with a liquor license. The big movie theater cineplexes don't have liquor licenses and thus are showing the movie."

So much for controversy. And alliterative headlines.