Uncut ‘Damage’ Premiere Sets Off Battle of Sexes

“T hree women I know went to a screening of the movie, and they loved it.

“But the man they were with hated it, and afterward when he was attacking it he said, ‘Sex isn’t like that.’

“And the women said, ‘But it could be!’ ”

That from Jeremy Irons, whose anecdotes enlivened the lobby of the Pacific Design Center Theatre as men and women smothered him with hugs and kisses after the Los Angeles premiere of “Damage,” in which he plays an English politician sexually obsessed with his son’s fiancee.

“Some men do seem to be made very angry and disturbed by this movie. Perhaps they feel threatened by loss of control,” said the film’s director, Louis Malle.

“Thanks to the MPAA, I’m now the pornographer,” Malle joked as he assured the celebrity-packed crowd that they were watching the uncut version, still containing the five seconds the Motion Picture Assn. of America rating board has insisted be removed to avoid an NC-17 rating when the New Line Cinema film is released.

With the film opening next week in Los Angeles to qualify for Academy Award consideration, it was clear that awards talk has taken over mere box office grosses as the hot topic of conversation.

“I’m here promoting myself,” admitted Seymour Cassell, adding that his desire to draw attention to his performance in “In the Soup” is “not just for me, but because it shows what all good actors can do when they are given the material to work with.”

Meanwhile, enthusiasts surrounding Miranda Richardson found themselves with three performances to congratulate: “Enchanted April,” “The Crying Game” and now “Damage,” in which she has to downplay her youth and beauty to portray Irons’ wife.

Juliette Binoche, the object of Irons’ obsession in the movie, held on to her dignity and good humor amid a barrage of sex talk.

“I’m not a very sexual person, but I’ve spent days doing interviews in which all the reporters seem only to want to ask sex questions,” she said.

Binoche said it is very difficult to watch herself in scenes of emotional intimacy. She waited outside the theater until the reception.

Guests include Malle’s wife, Candice Bergen, and Josephine Hart, author of the “Damage” novel; Holly Hunter, Anthony Edwards, Malcolm McDowell, Corey Parker and directors Michael Apted and Barbet Schroeder.

“I wanted to see this film because it’s a subject I want to tackle myself one day,” said Schroeder. “The closeness of the sublime and the ridiculous makes it the most difficult subject of all to handle. I used to think comedy was the most difficult, but no. It’s sexual obsession.”