Martin Scorsese avoided the NC-17 rating after a number of cuts to his upcoming film "The Wolf of Wall Street."
The Hollywood Reporter's insiders are confirming that that the director agreed to trim certain nudity and sex scenes in order to get an R rating.
"The Classification and Ratings Administration Board indicated that 'The Wolf of Wall Street' was destined for the more restrictive rating because of abundant, explicit sex (not to mention drugs). Scorsese and Paramount, which is distributing the movie in North America, had several exchanges with the ratings board in terms of what was needed to secure an R rating although it wasn't immediately clear what was edited out," wrote The Hollywod Reporter.
The source also revealed that the film would be two hours and 59 minutes and would therefore become the longest Scorsese movie topping "Casino," which is one minute shorter.
"The Wolf of Wall Street" tells the story of Jordan Belfort, charting his rise from wealthy stockbroker to his descent into crime and corruption.
The movie stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill and Matthew McConaughey and is rated R for sequences of strong sexual content, graphic nudity, drug use and language throughout, and for some violence. The movie is slated to be released on Christmas Day.