MOVIES - Aug. 3, 1990

X-asperated Miramax: The third time was not the charm for Miramax Films, which has lost its second appeal to the Motion Picture Assn. of America to overturn the X rating on “Hardware,” the company’s upcoming sci-fi thriller. Miramax needed 8 votes, but the final tally was 7-4 to overturn the rating. Miramax attorney Randy Paul said the company would talk with director Richard Stanley and the film’s producers to see if any further cuts will be made. “It hurts to have the X rating, but if the director believes this is the way it should go out, then that’s what we’ll do,” he said. The controversy is over a scene showing a man split in half when a door shuts on him.