NY [PR Newswire]- Nearly 30 years after the release of Caligula, acclaimed actor Malcolm McDowell discusses the outrage he felt over the movie's editing and script changes -- as well as his distaste for the film's producer, former Penthouse publisher Bob Guccione -- in an exclusive interview in the November/December issue of The Girls of Penthouse magazine, on sale at newsstands now.
McDowell's interview is as shocking and compelling as the film that inspired it. "I'm proud of the work I did in Caligula," McDowell told the magazine's Managing Editor, Eric Danville. "There's no question about that. But there's all the raunchy stuff-the blatant, modern-day porn that Bob introduced into the film after we'd finished shooting. That to me was an absolutely outrageous betrayal and quite unprecedented. Frankly, it showed that Bob had no class whatsoever."
McDowell also tells the publication that he took the role on the strength of Gore Vidal's original script, without even knowing who was backing the project. "When Gore told me it was Bob Guccione, I asked, 'Isn't he a pornographer?' Gore said, 'Malcolm, just think of him as one of the Warner brothers. He just signs the checks!' Well, of course that wasn't true..."
The newly remastered, Hi-Definition version of Caligula, which he now considers "a good chapter in the autobiography of Malcolm McDowell," is available from www.penthousestore.com. The unrated, three-disc "Imperial Edition" release contains hours of previously unreleased footage, two "Making- of" documentaries, and audio commentaries from McDowell and his co-star, Academy Award winner Helen Mirren.
A single-disc edition, presented in uncensored and R-rated versions, is available as well.
