With "Where the Truth Lies," his 10th film, Canada's leading art-house director Atom Egoyan had reason to believe this would be his crossover hit. With Hollywood stars in his cast and a script based on a gleefully seedy novel by Rupert Holmes (once a singer who scored big with "The Pina Colada Song"), surely this would be the film that extended his audience to those who can't pronounce Cannes. That was before the MPAA slapped an NC-17 (adults only) rating on the film in the United States. Egoyan discussed the controversy and more in an interview with The Japan Times.

Given that the film is not explicit, why did the MPAA give it an NC-17 rating?

It will remain a big mystery to me. We cut and resubmitted it three times, but they never overturned their decision. The only thing I could conclude was that what was most offensive [to them] was not anything that was actually shown, but rather the idea that there were famous actors involved in those scenes. There's no code to the rating system -- it's just based on a feeling they get when they watch the material. There isn't anything hardcore in the film. But it all came down to the threesome. We couldn't do anything about that -- it's the most essential moment in the film. There's no way we could take it out. It was a very strange and frustrating process because it really marginalized the film in the States.