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By Evan Serpick
Evan Serpick
Evan Serpick

Q Pontiac ads running in theaters before the PG-rated Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets changed the words of James Brown's ''Sex Machine'' to ''love machine.'' Why's Papa got a brand-new lyric?

A ''We were doing it out of respect for parents who might want to keep an eye on what their children view,'' says Pontiac rep Dayna Hart. But Brown's manager, Charles Bobbit, says the Godfather of Soul wasn't aware of the redubbed version and plans to look into the matter. ''No one is authorized to do that without his permission,'' says Bobbit, adding ''It's not a song about sex as such.'' -- Evan Serpick (Send queries to BurningQuestions@ew.com)


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Posted Jan 10, 2003 | Published in issue #690 Jan 10, 2003 | Order Article Reprints