The Center of the World was expected to close tonight after a two-week run at The Esquire Theater, 320 Ludlow Ave., Clifton.

        Instead, the erotic drama from award-winning director Wayne Wang (The Joy Luck Club, Smoke, Anywhere But Here) was pulled Monday by its distributor, Artisan Entertainment, because the theater edited the movie without authorization.

        The Center of the World was distributed without a rating from the Motion Picture Association of America, because the filmmakers declined to excise graphic sexual images sure to earn it an NC-17 rating.

        Those are the images that the Esquire apparently excised without permission.

        “Artisan cannot condone when an exhibitor makes a unilateral decision to alter a film,” said Paul Pflug, executive vice president for national publicity and corporate communications for Artisan. “We stand by the integrity of the films we release and the vision of the filmmakers we support. Thus, we made the decision to remove the film from that venue.”

        Gary Goldman, who runs Theater Management Corp. that owns the Esquire and Mariemont theaters, could not be reached for comment Tuesday or Wednesday.

        Artist and anti-censorship activist William Messer said he discovered the movie was gone when he tried to buy a ticket on his return from a business trip to Chicago.

        “To me, it was a little frustrating,” he said. “If I had known, I would have seen it in Chicago, in a metropolitan area full of grown-ups.”

Ashcroft asserts stand against bias
Racial profiling ban introduced in Senate
Heavy rain clogs roads; flooding is widespread
More add summer to school seasons
Taft vetoes lawmaker immunity
Going to NASCAR race? You won't get there fast
Officials search for answers to highway fatalities
PULFER: The Bush girls
Swimmers mostly stay indoors
Italianfest moves to river
Oh boy, does Hamilton County love it when 'NSync comes to town
Retired city worker accuses Tillery in Genesis case
Street violence raises tensions
Uniforms considered for middle school
Meeting breaks precedent
'Virtual' site considered
State OK's student standards with 'more meat'
State seeks fast track for testing
Out-of-wedlock births cited
Center for troubled boys to close after 30 years
2 charged in cocaine sales
Commissioners award bids for ballpark work
County approves deal over Bengals seats
Court puts school-funding plan on fast track
Edited movie yanked at Esquire
Ex-teacher in court on charge of sexual battery
Gas line set ablaze
Gas tax in Ky. may rise by fall
N. Ky. to help save unwanted infants
Nye joins race for Hamilton mayor
Officials leave office
Witness: Lies would kill U.S. visa for Demjanjuk
Kentucky News Briefs
Tristate A.M. Report