Mel Gibson's film production company has filed a lawsuit against a Utah firm for editing his movie "The Passion of the Christ."

The suit targets Ray Lines and his company CleanFlicks, which edits the nudity, violence and foul language out of films.

Gibson's movie created controversy with his graphic depictions of violence, and Lines said he believes he had the right to cut out some of that violence.

"Just cover up the knife going in. Not a big deal," Lines told station KUTV in Salt Lake City.

The movie is 127 minutes long, and Lines said he edited out only three minutes. He also pointed out that Gibson himself released an edited version of the film.

But Gibson's company Icon Productions maintains that what he did constitutes copyright infringement.

The lawsuit is not asking for compensation, KUTV reports, but rather seeks to shut down CleanFlicks for good.

Newmax.com