NC-17 rating decision to be appealed by movie’s producer

The producer of “Where the Truth Lies,” an upcoming murder mystery that stars Kevin Bacon and Colin Firth, will appeal a decision by the Motion Picture Association of America to give it an NC-17 rating.

That would limit the audience to people older than 17. Many theaters will not show films with that designation.

Producer Robert Lantos said the rating is based on a pivotal menage a trois scene involving Bacon, Firth and Rachel Blanchard, whose character is found dead the next morning, which “cannot be cut without compromising the central scene of the narrative and thus rendering the mystery of the film incomprehensible.”

“Where the Truth Lies,” due to open Oct. 14, concerns the efforts of a reporter (Alison Lohman) to find out years later what happened that night.