Final cut privilege

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Final cut privilege is a film industry term usually used when a director has contractual authority over how a film is ultimately released for public viewing. On nearly all^{[citation needed]} occasions, only established and bankable directors are given such a privilege (such as Stanley Kubrick, Steven Spielberg, Ridley Scott, The Coen Brothers and M. Night Shyamalan).

Before a film is released, studios will usually make changes for commercial purposes, or to remove any controversial content. Sometimes such practices can cause conflict between the director and studio releasing the film (see American History X and Brazil).

Other contractual agreements will still apply, though: A director commissioned for a film with a rating no higher than "R" (in the US) will still have to make sure to meet this agreement. This happened with Eyes Wide Shut, which included an orgy scene that was shown in Europe, but would have given the film a higher "NC-17" rating in the US. For its US release, background actors were digitally added to obscure some sex acts to reach the contractually obliged R rating. Stanley Kubrick died before editing was completed on the film.