I'm confused... Yet another "red band" trailer for the upcoming motion-capture epic Beowulf has been released (click on the image above to go see it). For those of you who don't know, a red band trailer is one that is not suited for all audiences (as opposed to the familiar trailers that start with the green background). Red band trailers are considered "restricted" and contain R-rated material.

Why am I confused by this?

Because at the San Diego Comic-Con, the filmmakers stated that they're shooting for a PG-13 rating for the film's release this November.

Why would a studio market a movie that will be rated PG-13 using R-rated footage? This means that shots that are seen in the trailer will not be in the movie. Releasing a red band trailer is usually meant to entice and show viewers that want to see more violence/nudity/sex in a movie that the film in question will contain those items. Advertising that and then not delivering it in the final product seems to me like a huge marketing mistake that's going to come back and bite them in their collective butts at the box office.

Sure, there's talk of an unrated DVD version, but if that's their plan, shouldn't they have released these R-rated trailers just before the DVD comes out?

It's a very odd marketing decision.

Oh, and about 1:10 into the trailer, it seemed to me that it was channeling 300. :-)