Movie about MPAA Rating System receives NC-17 rating

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Richard Forno <rforno () infowarrior org>
Date: December 10, 2005 4:23:11 PM EST
To: Infowarrior List <infowarrior () g2-forward org>
Cc: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
Subject: Movie about MPAA Rating System receives NC-17 rating

NEW YORK, Dec. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- IFC, the first and largest network
dedicated to independent film, announced today that the IFC Original
Documentary, "This Film Is Not Yet Rated," from Academy Award-nominated
director Kirby Dick and producer Eddie Schmidt, will premiere at the  
2006
Sundance Film Festival and air on IFC in Fall 2006. The documentary, a
breakthrough investigation into the MPAA film ratings system and its
profound effect on American culture, is executive produced by IFC's  
Alison
Palmer Bourke and Evan Shapiro.

On November 30, the ratings board, an anonymous group whose mandate  
is to
classify films for the MPAA from the perspective of "the average  
American
parent," screened this documentary and gave it an NC-17 rating for "some
graphic sexual content." An NC-17 rating generally limits a film's  
avenues
of exhibition: many theater chains will not show it, media outlets  
will not
run its advertisements and video store chains will not stock it.

IFC, however, will present the film uncensored and uninterrupted. Alison
Palmer Bourke, IFC's VP of Documentaries and Features states:  
"Kirby's film
is a natural for IFC. Our 'tv, uncut.' mandate is to give filmmakers a
platform for free expression, and we let our viewers decide for  
themselves
what is appropriate and of interest to them."

Kirby Dick agrees, "It is important that this film be seen by as many  
people
as possible, as it deals with an insidious form of censorship  
resulting from
a ratings process that has been kept secret for more than 30 years."

The documentary asks whether Hollywood movies and independent films are
rated equally for comparable content; whether sexual content in gay- 
themed
movies is given harsher ratings penalties than their heterosexual
counterparts; whether it makes sense that extreme violence is given an R
rating while sexuality is banished to the cutting room floor; whether
Hollywood studios receive detailed directions as to how to change an  
NC-17
film into an R, while independent film producers are left guessing; and
finally, whether keeping the raters and the rating process secret  
leaves the
MPAA entirely unaccountable for its decisions.

< snip >

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/051207/nyw108.html?printer=1




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