So. We all knew this was coming, right? “Shame,” Steve McQueen’s raunchy, penetrative (no pun intended), sexually charged, psychologically intense character study staring Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan and their naughty bits has received an NC-17 rating. As we’ve already noted, Fox Searchlight has made the smart choice by getting out ahead of this and embracing it as a badge of honor. Take the MPAA to task if you must. Make the argument that we, as a society, are way too sensitive to images of sex while we are incredibly desensitized to images of violence. The fact of the matter is, the film won’t play in a great many theaters as a result of the ruling. But it is no less a masterful piece of cinema from one of the most promising filmmakers of our age. [Box OFfice Mojo]

Peter Knegt chats with the film’s screenwriter (who also penned “The Iron Lady”), Abi Morgan. [indieWIRE]

Steve Pond sits down with “Albert Nobbs” director Rodrigo Garcia. [The Odds]

Confirming what we already knew would happen (assuming the original made enough dough): Peter Jackson will direct “The Adventures of Tintin: Prisoners of the Sun.” [Hollywood Reporter]

Sasha Stone takes the temperature in the calm before the storm. [Awards Daily]

Steven Zeitchik gets around to the idea of a number of this year’s Oscar hopefuls being double-dippers. [The Envelope]

Jeff Wells comments on a challenge that could await Warner Bros. re: “J. Edgar”: younger audiences who have no idea who J. Edgar Hoover was. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

What the stars were really thinking at Monday’s Hollywood Film Awards. [HitFix]

Matt Zoller Seitz montages Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life.” [Moving Image Source]

Alec Baldwin launches a new podcast: “Here’s the Thing.” [WNYC]