'Psycho' Trimmed

Wednesday October 21, 1998 12:00 AM EDT

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Controversy continues to beset "American Psycho," the film adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis's violent novel about a misogynistic killer. (The book was protested for its perceived anti-woman stance.) Originally slapped with an NC-17 rating by the Motion Picture Association of America for a sexually explicit scene involving a threeway between a man and two hookers, the movie received a more-commercial R rating on Monday after director Mary Harron trimmed a few seconds from the scene in question. The film -- which at one time was set to star Leonardo DiCaprio (who did "The Beach" instead) -- features Christian Bale as the psycho of the title, as well as Willem Dafoe, Reese Witherspoon and Chloë Sevigny. Following its premiere at Sundance last month, "Psycho" goes into wide release April 14.