3 Films so far go NC-17 in 2004

[metroshane]

Clue me in on something...why do we need the MPAA?  I mean are there rules that say a theater can't show an unrated film?  They aren't a government agency...just a self-important bloated organization.  What if I didn't even want the MPAA do rate my movie...would they anyway?

[MacGuffin]

Clue me in on something...why do we need the MPAA?

It's a system for parents to help regulate what their children watch.

I mean are there rules that say a theater can't show an unrated film?

That's up to the rules made by the theater chains themselves. And they're more likely to play an unrated film than an NC-17 rated one.

What if I didn't even want the MPAA do rate my movie...would they anyway?

That's what unrated films are. Films that skip the rating process of the MPAA altogether.

[metroshane]

I think you missed the point of my question.  I mean why do we "as filmmakers" need the MPAA.  Obviously very few people agree with their methods...so why do we allow them to keep doing it.

[Ghostboy]

Technically we don't (and you and I can't afford it anyway), but it's become so ingrained in the studio and distribution system that a film released without a rating will have significant trouble finding space in the theatrical market.

[Chest Rockwell]

Technically we don't (and you and I can't afford it anyway), but it's become so ingrained in the studio and distribution system that a film released without a rating will have significant trouble finding space in the theatrical market.

I don't understand why the recent NC-17 films decided to go NC-17 when they could go Unrated and find a larger market. Plus, I wouldn't have problems seeing them.

[grand theft sparrow]

I don't understand why the recent NC-17 films decided to go NC-17 when they could go Unrated and find a larger market. Plus, I wouldn't have problems seeing them.

Controversy makes money.  More people are taking note of The Dreamers with the NC-17 than if it was unrated.

And no, you wouldn't necessarily get into see unrated films that should be NC-17.  I used to work in a movie theatre and the rule was, if it's unrated, treat it like an NC-17.

[bonanzataz]

the nc-17 rating makes me want to see a movie a lot more. i think it's good they're getting rid of the nc-17 stigma, it'll bring in more money for filmmakers. i would never have even heard of haute tension w/o the nc-17 rating controversy, and now i'm dying to see it.

[Gold Trumpet]

I don't understand why the recent NC-17 films decided to go NC-17 when they could go Unrated and find a larger market. Plus, I wouldn't have problems seeing them.

Controversy makes money.  More people are taking note of The Dreamers with the NC-17 than if it was unrated.

And no, you wouldn't necessarily get into see unrated films that should be NC-17.  I used to work in a movie theatre and the rule was, if it's unrated, treat it like an NC-17.

Actually, The Dreamers isn't really making that much of a splash with its NC-17 rating. So far, its pulled in just 2. 2 million dollars and is being considered a dissapointment. I agree with you though on your second paragraph. Unrated really means NC-17.

I'm not really hopeful for the case of NC-17. Sure, some movies are getting the label and finding distribution, but they are still movies that had the expected life of a NC-17 film anyways. They are art circuit films that would have stayed on the art circuit, regardless of the rating. For any legitimacy of the NC-17 rating to come, either a law has to be made calling theatre chains refusal to show NC-17 films censorship (which won't happen) or some very major filmmakers and stars need to start making high profile NC-17 films where it will get major theatre chains to want to change their policy to make money (again, unlikely). You gotta give Mel Gibson some credit with The Passion of the Christ for semi legimitizing subtitles in a big picture. I do see more major films throwing in subtitles every now and then in their films more than before. The Passion may be pushing that forward.

Roger Ebert has a cute idea with his "A" Rating system, but it won't work. It just doesn't get past the power struggles going on in Hollywood. The right has a lot of power of influence (MPAA, religions, politicians) and the studios believe the american audience is mostly conservative so fear straying too far from that core audience. Ebert's simply finding a rating that sounds "less pornographic" than NC-17. Its not the problem and won't ever be. This shit won't change for a while if it ever does.

[cine]

Roger Ebert has a cute idea with his "A" Rating system, but it won't work.

It may not work for precisely the reasons you said, but I fully support his idea as it would become a very Canadian ratings system.

[Gold Trumpet]

Roger Ebert has a cute idea with his "A" Rating system, but it won't work.

It may not work for precisely the reasons you said, but I fully support his idea as it would become a very Canadian ratings system.

It would need the canadian government as well though.

[cine]

Roger Ebert has a cute idea with his "A" Rating system, but it won't work.

It may not work for precisely the reasons you said, but I fully support his idea as it would become a very Canadian ratings system.

It would need the canadian government as well though.

[Pubrick]

america is stupid,.

australia has: G (general audience, kids), PG (parental guidance, family), M (mature audiences, no restrictions), MA (15+ equivalent to ur R), and R (18+, equivalent to ur NC-17.) .

that's all.. and boogie nights came out in R and guess what, ppl still saw it, Pulp Fiction was R (as well it should be). and more importantly Eyes Wide Shut was R and was uncut (cos it's the reasonable-adult rating). MA usually covers everything u freaks hav as R.

open ur minds. seriously. the censorship thing (which unfortunately ur infecting us with) is symptomatic of way deeper problems in ur society. i think any normal person can see that.

[Chest Rockwell]

I was able to get into an unrated movie without any problems before.

[MacGuffin]

Studios ditch racy previews even when teasing sexy fare

New Line Cinema's upcoming John Waters comedy "A Dirty Shame," which stars Tracey Ullman as a Baltimore housewife who is transformed into a sexual addict after she suffers a blow to the head, might have received a dreaded NC-17 rating for its "pervasive sexual content." But the trailer for the movie opening Sept. 24 -- it includes brief snippets of a naughty dance that Ullman performs that is sure to raise eyebrows -- has nevertheless scored a much-desired greenband label, which means it has been approved for all audiences by the MPAA.

Traditionally, trailers have come in two varieties: racier redband and tamer greenband, identified by the color of the advisory screens that precede each trailer.

But even though studios and their specialty arms have begun venturing back into adult-oriented NC-17 territory this year -- movies that would seem to require the use of more adult-oriented redband trailers designed to promote R and NC-17 movies -- redband trailers have been all but abandoned. Although some distributors lament the passing of redband trailers, exhibitors, fearful of inadvertently alienating patrons with a glimpse of something shocking, are insisting that even the most daring movies use only tamer greenband trailers.

As defined by the MPAA, a greenband trailer is considered suitable for a general audience. According to the MPAA's guidelines, it can't feature any blood, nudity, drugs or blasphemous language, and it can't include guns pointed directly at people or the audience, among other restrictions. By contrast, the standards for redband trailers are more lenient, though they can't go so far as to carry some of the same examples of sex, violence and language that are allowable in an R or NC-17 feature.

Redband trailers are allowed to screen only before R-rated or the rare NC-17-rated film.

When it comes to the screening of greenband trailers for R and NC-17 films, the situation is more complicated. Per the MPAA, a greenband trailer for a movie that has been rated R for violence might not be screened before a G-rated film. In recent years, however, the National Association of Theatre Owners has adopted even more stringent policies: Greenband trailers for R- and NC-17-rated movies are not to be screened before G- and PG-rated movies, and in many cases, they are not even shown in front of PG-13-rated movies.

But individual exhibitors are insisting on even tougher standards. Ever since Washington politicians trained their sights on movie studios and exhibitors in 2000 for marketing adult material to children, exhibitors have clamped down for fear of upsetting patrons. They are refusing any redband trailers for fear that an error might occur and a redband trailer might accidentally end up screening in front of a child-friendly movie.

According to Dick Westerling, spokesman for Regal Entertainment Group, the largest U.S. theater chain, "We do not program redband R-rated trailers in order to eliminate potential issues with patrons regarding content of trailers." As a result, the new wave of NC-17-rated films -- Fox Searchlight's "The Dreamers," Sony Pictures Classics' "Young Adam" and New Line's "A Dirty Shame" -- are all employing safer greenband trailers.

The move to eliminate redband trailers from theater circuits has been gradual. In 1999, Universal Pictures created a redband trailer for a teenage comedy starring a group of fresh young faces involved in a film with very over-the-top humor. The movie, "American Pie," performed solidly at the boxoffice, opening to an $18.7 million first weekend on its way to a domestic gross of $102 million.

The marketing team behind the film credits argues that its ability to screen a redband trailer was central to the movie's success. "(The redband trailer) was essential on the first movie to communicate the style of the film," Universal Pictures president of marketing Adam Fogelson said. "We would have been forced to look at other ways to accomplish the same thing. We would have been very disappointed if we couldn't have shown the redband trailer."

But by the time the sequel, "American Pie 2," was released in 2001, Universal was unable to get a redband trailer played in enough theaters to justify its cost. (A trailer can run anywhere from $20,000-$30,000 up to the mid-six figures.) Fogelson acknowledges that using a redband trailer wasn't as critical for the second film because the "Pie" sequel had a built-in fan base familiar with its style of comedy. But a redband trailer still could have helped the studio communicate its message in a simpler manner.

Sony Pictures' last attempt to play a redband trailer in theaters involved its 2001 comedy "Not Another Teen Movie." The trailer was widely recognized for its humor -- even winning a Key Art award at The Hollywood Reporter's annual marketing awards show (HR 7/1/02). But Sony only managed to play it in about 30% of the theaters to which it was distributed, and that did not justify the costs of its production.

"I'm sympathetic to the exhibitors who have to deal with the complaints, but also I feel that there are some movies that should be able to advertise in a responsible adult way," said Jeff Blake, president of worldwide marketing and distribution at Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group. "If you are only going to get 30% of the distribution that you'd get on a greenband, then there really doesn't seem to be an option right now. I'm sympathetic to both sides but I'm really concerned for adult material."

Exhibitors began refusing redband trailers in 2001, following a September 2000 report by the FTC that charged the entertainment industry with marketing adult-rated movies to children (HR 9/12/00). The report specifically cited the easy access minors had to redband trailers on the Internet as well as criticizing adult content featured in some greenband trailers.

The MPAA responded to the report by issuing a 12-point set of initiatives, one of which requested that theater owners not show trailers for movies that had been rated R for violence before G-rated films. NATO took those initiatives one step further, agreeing not to play trailers for R-rated movies before a G- or PG-rated picture and analyzing the appropriateness, on a case-by-case basis, of greenband trailers for R-rated movies appearing before PG-13-rated features.

"Our policy has been in effect for several years," Westerling added. "It evolved when the FTC began investigating the industry, and we discussed trailer compatibility and content issues and determined this was a cautious but prudent approach to addressing this issue."

As a result, movie marketers have been forced to be very creative when marketing films directed specifically to adult audiences. Earlier this year, Fox Searchlight cut a greenband trailer for Bernardo Bertolucci's "The Dreamers," the NC-17-rated film about three sexually adventurous students in Paris. Under greenband restrictions, the Searchlight marketers were prevented from showing many of the movie's more erotic scenes in its trailer.

"It's very challenging if you have a very sensual movie, and that's part of the selling point," said Stephanie Allen, head of creative advertising at Fox Searchlight. "You have to be a lot more creative. The way you use music, the shots you pick and the rhythm of the piece all factor in to how you get the best ad for the biggest audience."

Like its competitors, Searchlight also has abandoned redband because of cost considerations. "It isn't a problem from our point of view to make a redband trailer," Fox Searchlight president of distribution Stephen Gilula explained. "It's a control issue for theaters. They are always concerned a redband will get on a PG or PG-13 movie. Trailers are too expensive for us to produce both a redband and a greenband trailer. Unless you can get significant play (for a redband trailer), it's difficult to justify, particularly on a limited release feature."

While acknowledging the current situation, marketers still hope to find a way around the restrictions, and some would like to find a way to create more provocative trailers for adult-oriented material.

"There is never going to be a greenband way to get the message out there effectively," Fogelson said. "I would really like to see redband trailers or the equivalent become a viable option again. There is no question that it would help the movies and the customers of those movies to have a more complete sense of what an R-rated movie is going to be."

While the MPAA has no plans to change its policies, NATO's Fithian said: "Apparently my members don't believe redband trailers have a place in the theaters. Given the tough policies on trailer compatibility adopted both by the MPAA and NATO in 2000, we may need to re-examine the red and greenband trailer system in light of those policies."

[Myxo]

If I had a scene where I stabbed a baby to death and then put it through a meat grinder, do you think I could manage an NC 17?

Just curious.