Too much sex, drugs and violence in the theatre is the usual topic of the ongoing Hollywood debate. But in the case of “Green Street Hooligans,” it’s Hollywood’s censorship that is causing a stir. Its decision not to mass-distribute the movie in theatres because of the controversy surrounding its portrayal of European football which has been causing an uproar behind closed doors.

Undaunted by tinsel town’s refusal, the producers of “Hooligans,” which include Jon Faverau and director Lexi Alexander, have decided to forge ahead and self-distribute. The film’s tagline: “the movie Hollywood doesn’t want you to see.”

The story centers on Matt Buckner (Wood), a Harvard senior and journalism major who is wrongfully expelled from the university two months shy of his graduation.

With no other options, Buckner decides to visit his sister in London, where he quickly gets caught up in the firms (semi-gangs that roam around the city in defense of their teams, beating up any opposition that crosses their path) that cause chaos in European football.

Although the beginning seems slightly contrived and implausible (Matt gets expelled because of his roommate’s cocaine stash), the action in England makes up for the lackluster start. Matt spends his first night in England tagging along with his sister’s brother-in-law, Pete Dunham (Charlie Hunnam), to a West Ham football game. This is a breakout role for Hunnam, although he has appeared in a number of smaller roles including one in the English version of “Queer as Folk.”

Red Sox fans will appreciate the combative dialogue exchanged between the two mismatched friends on the way to the game. Pete and Matt start a debate about what is greater: football or baseball. Pete calls baseball “a girl’s sport,” while Matt, the ever-loyal Sox fan, boasts about an impressive 100-mph Sox pitcher.

“It just means he can wank faster,” replies Pete, undaunted by Matt’s passion.

Despite the local references, moviegoers should by no means expect a light-hearted comedy. The dark world of the footballs firms is a place filled with beer, drama and intoxicating violence.

It’s an unnatural place for a Yankee Ivy League journalist, but once Matt gets into his first fight after that first game he realizes he’s “not made of glass.” A few fights later Matt becomes addicted to the violence and reputation that comes with being part of the best firm in England.

“Hooligans” is filled with heart-wrenching emotion. Matt gets lost in the violent world and begins to lose track of where his future was once headed. The firms helped build up his confidence, but the recklessness of living that kind of life catches up with him by the end.

For Americans watching this film it might seem to be complete fiction, but the truth is hooliganism is still the ugly side of European football.

The film is “quite a personal story” Alexander, who was once a part of a German firm herself, told The News.

As a woman, it was very rare to be accepted into the firms, but her extensive training in karate and kickboxing allowed for an easy fit. She could trust the other members in the firm more than anyone, and based many of the characters in the movie from members she fought with.

“It’s not knowing that [the other guys] have your back,” Matt says in the film, “it’s knowing that you’ve got theirs.”

In the United Kingdom, the movie hasn’t received great reviews from critics, but Alexander says it’s not because of the quality of the movie, but because of the context. Hooliganism is considered to be a “British disease,” she said, and because of the American production, critics are wary.

It seems the caution of British critics has transferred into Hollywood. Despite being the first film to ever win both the Jury and Audience awards at the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Tex. and receiving a special invitation to the Tribeca film festival, the controversy surrounding it has caused Hollywood to pass on distributing the movie in the states. Regardless, Universal England is currently distributing “Hooligans” overseas.

Lacking the budgets of many American distributors, Alexander said the producers have had to depend on alternate methods to promote the film.

“Compared to the Hollywood machine, we don’t have $30 million to distribute the movie,” she said.

Instead, the producers have used word of mouth, the publicity of the cast and crew and appearances at colleges to get their movie out in the public. Even with all the hard work done by the independent distributors, the movie’s life in the theatres still survives on a week-by-week basis.

“This is a film that’s really loved by people, it really touches people,” Alexander said.

It is unfortunate Hollywood is refusing to get behind such a well-made film, but “the ship has sailed,” Alexander said. She said she’s proud of how well “Hooligans” is doing without Hollywood’s backing and is depending on the college-age community to rally behind this movie.

“It seems that this generation is most disappointed in what is in the movie theatres and they will feel pride in that Hollywood doesn’t want them to see this,” she said.