March 28, 2006 | Sex & Society

One f*cked documentary

Simultaneously a noun, a verb, an adjective and an adverb, "fuck" is one of the most versatile words in the English language. It's also one of the most controversial. Even so, the "F" word is everywhere -- books, television and now, courtesy of filmmaker Steve Anderson, its own documentary.

"FUCK" debuted last year at the AFI Fest and appeared at the South By Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas, earlier this month, according to Indie Wire. It reports that Toronto-based THINKFilm has acquired worldwide rights to the movie and plans to release it in theaters later this year; television partner Showtime will air the film in 2007.

"FUCK" features interviews with the likes of Drew Carey, Sam Donaldson, Alanis Morissette, Ice-T and Pat Boone, all reflecting on the four-letter word and its impact on society. Issues discussed include usage on television and in movies, censorship and free expression, as well as the origin of the word, which some believe was originally an acronym for "fornicate under command of the king."

The F word is used more than 600 times in Anderson's film, Indie Wire reports, which is sure to make the movie a target for moral crusaders and conservative-minded film critics.

Anderson welcomes the controversy, however. "We have a built-in two-word response to all bad reviews," he told Toronto's Globe and Mail. "One of the words is 'off.'"

• Four-letter word film acquired by THINKFilm [Indie Wire]
• Could Oscar be a four-letter word? [Globe and Mail]