‘Fall’ Used DeepFake-Like Technology To Scrub Over 30 Curse Words So The Movie Could Score A PG-13 Rating

If you were dangling from the top of a 2,000-foot-tall radio tower in the middle of nowhere, you would probably use a curse word or two to adequately express just how absurd the situation is, right It seems like the only natural way to deal with the stress of all of that, which just so happens to be the plot of the upcoming thriller Fall starring Grace Caroline Currey and Virginia Gardner.

The duo star as two women who are determined to reach the top of a really high structure, despite the fact that one of their boyfriends died on a similar trip, which is reason enough to never want to climb anything ever again (even stairs). But, while filming the movie, which also stars The Walking Dead’s Jeffrey Dean Morgan, the actors naturally said over 30 curse words that seemed appropriate at the time, but not when the movie was being edited for a theatrical release, instead of on a streamer.

“When we were filming the movie, we didn’t know if we were R or if we were PG-13, so I said the F-word so many times I think Scott wanted to kill me in post when we were trying to a PG-13 rating,” Gardner explained. In order to make those hardcore curse words into tamer, PG-13 alternatives, the studio used a type of DeepFake technology from Flawless, a London-based dubbing company that uses technology to change the mouths of the actors who may or may not be cursing. PG-13 ratings normally allow for one or two instances of the F-word, but not 30.

Director Scott Mann explained why he used Flawless (where he is also co-CEO) and their technology to make it seem like the actors were really saying “freaking!” instead of…the alternative. “For a movie like this, we can’t reshoot it. We’re not a big tentpole… we don’t have the resources, we don’t have the time, more than anything else,” Mann explained. “What really saved this movie and brought it into a wider audience was technology.”

Currey said she couldn’t even tell which of her scenes had been dubbed over. “As far as I know, every movement my mouth made in that movie, my mouth made.” Besides, viewers probably won’t be focusing on the actor’s mouths, they will be looking down the 2,000-foot drop and probably try not to throw up!

Fall hits theaters this Friday, August 12.