Max Payne director John Moore (Behind Enemy Lines) set off a firestorm in Hollywood through an exclusive interview with DasGamer.com in which he called the Motion Picture Association of America unfair, among other things. Moore just received a PG-13 rating for his version of the best-selling video game, which is set to release nationwide on October 17 with Mark Wahlberg in the lead role. With the battle behind him, Moore talked to GameDaily BIZ about the new film, the upcoming extended DVD cut and even threw some ideas out for Max Payne II in this exclusive interview.

BIZ: Did you have to make many cuts to get Max Payne down from an R rating to a PG-13?

John Moore: I must say, and that's what's a little bewildering about this, I didn't have to change much. We trimmed some frames more for the sake of trimming frames than anything, but we got the rating without any major changes at all. I'm a little surprised that we changed their minds, effectively, but I'm happy about it. It proves that if you stick to your guns and you have the creative, and dare I say moral sense, that you're in the right, that you can get the right thing done.

BIZ: Now that you have your final cut of Max Payne, what are your thoughts on the impact of this film in the video game-to-movie genre?

JM: I think it's as effective a video game movie you're ever going to see. I think getting an R rating or not doesn't impact the movie one bit. I'm surprised we eventually did get away with what we did get away with. I'm happy for anyone to watch the movie. I say, "Bring It On!"

BIZ: Do you have any regrets about what you said about the MPAA the last time we spoke?

JM: Everybody's human so I spoke in very strong terms about the MPAA. Nobody likes to be called names. I was feeling very strong emotionally about it at the time. I don't retract anything or take anything back that I said. I perhaps should use milder language in the future, but I felt I was being very unfairly treated and I think everybody came to their senses.

John Moore on set with Mark Wahlberg

BIZ: Did you feel like this was a David versus Goliath battle?

JM: I had to stick to my guns. There are forces of millions of millions of dollars when you're in high cost production like this and that's one of the things the MPAA can always use against you. They can always run out the clock. Believe me, I had a lot of sleepless nights thinking, "Oh f--k it, why don't I just cut some stuff and make them happy and we can move on." But there was no way I was going to let this movie be watered down.

BIZ: What did the widespread Internet buzz, especially among gaming sites, tell you about the fans that want this Max Payne movie to succeed?

JM: I have to tell you, despite the fact that this was traumatic for me because I'm not a famous person and I'm not used to being quoted on the Internet, what was hugely moving about it was the sheer number of sites that picked it up and how many fans responded in an overwhelming positive way to my desire to give them what they want, which was the real Max Payne, not some tricked-out, watered-down, family-friendly version.