MPAA Ratings

Started by filmcritic, June 28, 2003, 12:41:52 PM

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ono

Who says they're forcing anyone to get these cards anyway?  They're not.  It's a service.  It's a stupid service, yes, but there will always be stupid/lazy parents who will pay for it, thinking it's a good idea.  Should bring in a nice chunk of change considering the effort involved to actually get this thing going.

UncleJoey

Quote from: DonamatopoeiaShould bring in a nice chunk of change considering the effort involved to actually get this thing going.

You say that like it's a good thing.
Well, I've got news for you pal, you ain't leadin' but two things: Jack and shit . . . and Jack just left town.

ono


UncleJoey

Quote from: DonamatopoeiaNo I don't.

Fair enough
Well, I've got news for you pal, you ain't leadin' but two things: Jack and shit . . . and Jack just left town.

MacGuffin

Does it amount to an all-access pass?
One theater chain lets parents sign off on R-rated films so teens can go unaccompanied. Source: Associated Press

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Still weeks shy of her 16th birthday, Sydni Norris caught the R-rated war epic "Troy" on the big screen last month while her parents stayed home.

The Bloomington teenager's way around the rating system's age limit was a parent-approved pass card that has started a debate over convenience versus parental responsibility and raised fears that the government might jump in to settle the dispute.

Supporters say parents can sign off on movies for their children without the time and expense of chaperoning them with the new R-card, which Springfield-based GKC Theatres began rolling out last fall in parts of its 22-city chain in Illinois and three other Midwest states. The card only works for the R rating, which requires children under 17 to be accompanied by a parent or adult guardian.

"I like it because now we don't have to wait until they come out on video," said Norris, a high school junior whose parents had to accompany her and sign for the $2 photo ID.

Critics argue that the cards amount to parents handing to their kids the delicate decision about what movies are appropriate, a shift they say violates the intent of the motion picture industry's voluntary rating system.

"All R-rated films are not alike. It is the parents' responsibility to make specific judgments about R films — and wrong to give a blanket endorsement to all," said Jack Valenti, president and chief executive of the Motion Picture Assn. of America, which issues movie ratings.

GKC, the nation's 15th-largest theater chain, is the only theater network in the nation offering the card, said John Fithian, president of the National Assn. of Theatre Owners.

Some opponents fear that leaving movie choices to teens could taint the ratings system, voluntarily enforced by theaters since 1968. They say that could open the door to government regulation that would stifle creativity and experimentation in filmmaking.

"If parents lose faith in the system, the first thing they'll ask is 'What are our recourses?' Then, we could start hearing from every politician that wants to make a name for himself in the name of family values," said Dann Gire, president of the Chicago Film Critics Assn.

GKC has issued about 700 R-cards — most in central Illinois — and plans to offer them throughout the chain by the end of the year, said James Whitman, the company's director of operations and marketing.

Whitman said he came up with the idea after parents complained that they wanted to let their kids see R-rated movies but didn't want to sit through the films themselves. He said GKC encourages parents to give the cards to kids only after approving a movie.

"From what I can tell, the people who have them like them, and the parents are trying to use them responsibly. We're not being inundated with kids whose parents are giving them access to everything that comes on the screen," Whitman said.

The motion picture and theater owners associations are pressing GKC to abandon the program, but some parents think the cards are a good idea.

Joyce Needham, of Peoria, said she discusses every movie "before and after" her 16-year-old grandson uses his R-card. With or without a card, she said, kids will find a way to get what they want.

"I just think communication is the answer and trusting the child," Needham said. "If you can discuss what's going on in this world, you're better off than letting them find a way to do it on their own."
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

Ravi

Quote from: MacGuffin
"I like it because now we don't have to wait until they come out on video," said Norris, a high school junior whose parents had to accompany her and sign for the $2 photo ID.

Hasn't she heard of "sneaking in"?

hedwig

FROM http://www.capalert.com/capmarstartpage.htm# COMES A MOST REVEALING PIECE OF INFORMATION ON THE RELIGIOUS STATE OF OUR NATION



QuoteSexual Immorality:

self-touching

What?! Since when was it sexually immoral to touch yourself? I'm confused. I always thought it was something natural and ordinary, like scratching an itch!

xerxes

a lot of things that are natural and ordinary are not condoned by religion

MacGuffin

Piracy King
The MPAA crowns a new movie boss.
Source: Entertainment Weekly

He may not be Spider-Man, but Dan Glickman, who will swing his way into the office of president and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America on Sept. 1, faces the superheroic task of succeeding the retiring Jack Valenti, Hollywood's main webslinger in Washington for the past 38 years. "The symbol of America is the movie industry," says Glickman, the 59-year-old former Kansas congressman and Clinton-era secretary of agriculture. "You go anywhere in the world, even places that are hostile to us, and you can make friends by referring to movies or actors. So you want to keep it strong."

Yep, Glickman talks like a politician - the MPAA's seven member studios are counting on his D.C. connections and reputation as a bipartisan dealmaker to clamp down on the piracy of blockbusters starring the likes of Spidey and Shrek. "The piracy issues are not ideological at all," notes the Democrat, adding, "It's daunting, because it's going to be easier and easier to copy things just through technology." Also vital is making nice with an independent-film industry stung by last Oscar season's movie screener debacle, and possibly rejiggering a movie ratings system many complain is archaic.

Besides all that, Glickman already knows a little about Hollywood. His son, Johnathan, has produced such films as Grosse Point Blank and Rush Hour. "I'm familiar with at least his end of the business, as a dad would listen to his son," he says, before admitting, "I love the Rush Hour movies." And his experience in government has prepared him for touchy times. "When I was in the Department of Agriculture I was the most assaulted member of the Cabinet," he says. "They threw genetically modified foods at me, I had nude protesters, I had all sorts of things." In other words, Hollywood is a natural fit.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

Myxo

F-bombs catch a break
MPAA lets 'Palace' push profanity limits

--

While the decency wars continue to rage in Washington, the MPAA has okayed the most profane PG-13 pic ever.

Palm Pictures won its appeal Thursday of the original R rating given to Iraq war documentary "Gunner Palace." Pic is the Michael Tucker and Petra Epperlein-helmed docu following U.S. soldiers living in a bombed-out palace formerly owned by Saddam Hussein's son Uday.

"Palace" was picked up by Palm last year at the Toronto Film Festival via the Submarine and Cinetic MediaCinetic Media sales banners.

"Palace" contains no gory footage, but the documentary does contain numerous instances of soldiers cursing, including the words "fuck," "shit" and "asshole."

Officially pic will be released rated PG-13 "on appeal for strong language throughout, violent situations and some drug references."

Palm argued that teens considering enlisting should be able to get an honest sense of what war zones are like, violence, profanity and all.

Last summer, the producers and distribs of "Fahrenheit 9/11" made a nearly identical but unsuccessful case to appeal their R rating.

One witness to the "Palace" proceedings said that the appeal session was an intense one, with some board members actually tearing up over the decision.

"In these times, language has become a volatile political issue," said Palm marketing toppertopper Andy Robbins in a statement. "We are pleased that the MPAA chose to view the language of the American troops in the context of their situation. They are at war."

Most incidents in which the expletives are used occur in combat situations or in scenes in which the soldiers are shown blowing off steam by freestyle rapping. The words do not appear in the docu's interviews.

While violence, sexuality or drug use alone can land films an R rating, they are usually difficult to quantify, while the use of profanity is easy to count.

In the case of "Fahrenheit 9/11," four uses of the word "motherfucker" (in a heavy metal song sung by a soldier) were said to be the main sticking point for the appeals board of the Classification and Ratings Administration, the branch of the Motion Picture Assn. of America which assigns film ratings.

The ratings system does not follow a precedent system -- Cara rules expressly forbid distribs from referencing other films in their appeals -- but the "Palace" decision is likely to create informal pressure for raters to be more lenient on language in other films.

Though the ratings guidelines allow for wide discretion, sources familiar with the ratings process say the number of profanities used often determines ratings.

For instance, one "fuck" will automatically get you a PG-13. Two will usually get you an R, though some films with two F-words have sometimes gone out PG-13. Three or more, as with "Palace," has always been an R.

The appeals board voted 9 to 3 to reverse its original decision. Last year, 12 films appealed their ratings and three were overturned, including "Hotel Rwanda," which had originally been rated R for violence.

The actual ratings guidelines use quantity but provide the board huge loopholes: "More one such expletive must lead the rating board to issue a film an R rating, as must even one of these words used in a sexual context. These films can be rated less severely, however, if by a special vote the rating board feels a lesser rating would more responsibly reflect the opinion of parents."

While the rating board is comprised of parents, the appeals board is drawn from the entertainment industry.

pete

Nine Months had quite a few fucks in there.
"Tragedy is a close-up; comedy, a long shot."
- Buster Keaton

MacGuffin

Study says Hollywood's movie rating system flawed

CHICAGO (Reuters) - You think that PG rating means the film at the local multiplex is appropriate viewing for your 10-year-old? Think again.

A study released on Monday shows that one in five films rated PG, or "parental guidance suggested" -- with some material that may not be suitable for children -- actually have more violent actions than the average for those listed as PG-13, or inappropriate for children under 13.

It also found that one in 10 PG films had more violent acts than the average for those in the study that were rated R, or "Restricted" -- meaning any viewer under 17 should be accompanied by an adult.

"The most striking finding was that more than one quarter of the violence in each of the three rating categories was of lethal magnitude," said the report from the School of Film, Television and Digital Media at the University of California, Los Angeles, on a review of 100 top-grossing films.

The Motion Picture Association of America rating system provides secondary information on violence, nudity and language, but it is often in the background in advertising. Thus parents who rely on the age-based categories are using what Theresa Webb, one of the report's authors, called "the weakest of all the indicators" to make viewing decisions.

However, even the secondary content listings for nudity and the like "are not completely reliable. Many films that were rated primarily for language were in fact just as violent as films that were rated for violence," the study said.

The association said its movie ratings were designed as an "advance cautionary warning" and suggested parents consult reviews, friends and other sources in deciding which movies they want their children to see.

The findings were published in the May issue of Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. The authors suggested the industry needs to provide more consistent information on violent content and add a "quantitative component" to the ratings -- to better describe how much violence is involved.

The system "should determine the frequency and seriousness of the violent acts, the frequency and types of problematic language use, the frequency and graphicness of sexual representations," the report said.

Such descriptives could lead to numerical values that would make the ratings more precise and consistent, as opposed to such current "vague qualifying terms" as "some," "strong," "mild," "moderate," "brief" and so on, it added.

The report also said content descriptions should be made "clear and legible on all print advertisements and on all film, video, and DVD trailers."

The study reviewed the 100 top-grossing films of 1994, including "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective," "Dumb and Dumber," "Four Weddings and a Funeral," and "Pulp Fiction."

Webb said there have been no structural changes in the rating system since 1994 and "We feel it is still a representative sample and indicative of what's going on."
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

ono

Couldn't seem to find this mentioned anywhere here.  It's relatively old news (late January).

Sundance: MPAA doc pirated by the MPAA?
Quote from: Karina LongworthIn an irony of a kind not seen since yesterday, when I fell asleep in a screening of a film called Who Needs Sleep?, filmmaker Kirby Dick has accused the MPAA of illegally copying This Film is Not Yet Rated, his documentary about the ratings board which premieres here at Sundance tomorrow night. Dick's lawyer has contacted the MPAA demanding that they return all copies of the film in their posession, and explain who authorized the reproductions, and why. The MPAA in turn admits that they made the copies, but insist that their doing so doesn't qualify as illegal piracy. "We made a copy of Kirby's movie because it had implications for our employees," MPAA VP Kori Bernards told the LA Times, before essentially accusing Dick of stalking MPAA workers. "We were concerned about the raters and their families." Dick showed the Times a copy of an email exchange he had with the Board, in which he told the MPAA he would only submit a copy of his film to be rated if they promised not to copy or distribute it. In turn, a board rep told Kirk that "the confidentiality of your film ... is our first priority. Please feel assure (sic) that your film is in good hands."

In other Dick news, IFC confirmed today that they've sold the UK broadcast rights to the doc to the BBC.

http://www.cinematical.com/2006/01/24/sundance-mpaa-doc-pirated-by-the-mpaa/

See also: this and this, links I got from here.

RegularKarate

Yeah, that showed at SXSW... I didn't see it because this whole thing came up at an otherwise interesting panel discussion about piracy and intellectual rights. 
I wouldn't normally defend the MPAA, but this guy really did push the limits with bugging these people and when they decided to keep a copy of his movie for their lawyers, he decided to turn it into an ongoing publicity stunt for his film.  He even showed up at this panel I was at and sidetracked a great discussion between the MPAA and a couple fimmakers just so he could tell his story in front of everyone and promote his movie.  The woman who was there repsresenting the MPAA seemed very tired of this sort of thing happening everywhere and was far more professional responding to him than he was... after he got his movie's named dropped enough times, the conversation became fun again and I could hate the MPAA in peace.

I'll probably see this doc just for curiosity's sake, but I didn't see it at the festival because I thought the stunt was pretty lame.

MacGuffin

MPAA, NATO reform ratings system
Process more clear for parents, filmmakers
Source: Variety

Looking to reform and demystify the ratings system, the MPAA and National Assn. of Theater Owners are planning a series of changes, including a new admonishment to parents that certain R-rated movies aren't suitable for younger kids, period.

Another key change: For the first time, a filmmaker will be able to cite another movie when waging an appeal.

Along with specific rule revisions, the campaign to make the ratings process more user-friendly and transparent for parents and filmmakers includes an extensive outreach and education program.

Campaign officially kicks off Monday at the Sundance Film Fest when MPAA topper Dan Glickman and Joan Graves, chair of the Classification & Rating Administration, will meet with indie filmmakers, producers and specialty arm execs to go over the alterations. (CARA is operated by the MPAA, which reps the major studios, and NATO.)

A year ago at Sundance, Kirby Dick made noise with his docu "This Film Is Not Yet Rated," which took direct aim at the Motion Picture Assn. of America's ratings system for being shrouded in secrecy and, hence, lacking accountability.

At the time, Glickman had already been meeting with and gathering input from various stakeholders in the ratings system -- including filmmakers, guilds, parents' groups and Washington lawmakers -- but Dick's film had an impact.

"The documentary made it clear that we probably haven't done as much as we can to explain how it all works," Glickman told Daily Variety, adding that the voluntary ratings system--devised and implemented by Jack Valenti, his predecessor -- is a "gem," even if it needs some polishing.

To that end, the public soon will have access to information previously unavailable. That includes:


For the first time, CARA will post the ratings rules on the MPAA Web site, describing the standards for each rating. The ratings and appeal processes also will be described in detail, along with a link to paperwork needed to submit a film for a rating.

Most members of the ratings board will remain anonymous, although CARA will describe the demographic make-up of the board, which is composed of parents. The names of the three senior raters have always been public; now, they will be posted online.
In terms of rule revisions, the planned changes include:


A filmmaker who appeals a rating can reference similar scenes in other movies, although the appeals board still will focus heavily on context.

CARA will formalize its rule that a member of the ratings board doesn't stay on the board after his or her children are grown.

CARA also will formalize its educational training system for raters.

When the CARA rules are implemented later this year, the MPAA and NATO will designate additional members to the appeals board who don't come from the MPAA or NATO fold. (Indie filmmakers might be one possibility.)

NATO and MPAA will occasionally be able to designate additional observers from different backgrounds to the appeals board.
Glickman, Graves and NATO prexy John Fithian said CARA also will increase its efforts to educate parents, including circulating a poster and video that will advertise a new Red Carpet Ratings Service, a weekly email alert that gives the parents the ratings for new releases.

In terms of the new explanation stating that a particular picture might not be appropriate for younger children, MPAA and NATO often receive numerous complaints from parent orgs about adults who take younger kids to movies with a hard R-rating.

The new explanation is designed to give parents, as well as theater staff, additional info. Anyone under 17 would still be allowed into any R-rated movie if they were accompanied by an adult.

"We are the frontline when it comes to enforcing the ratings system," Fithian said.

CARA hasn't come up with the precise language for the admonishment, which would be included in the rating definition.

After Sundance, Glickman, Graves and Fithian will hold a series of roundtables with a number of other interested groups to talk about the changes and what they mean for the ratings system, culminating with a briefing at ShoWest, when theater owners will be briefed by Fithian.

The ratings system can't ever be completely defined, since there will always be a subjective factor to decisions made by the ratings board, but Graves believes the changes will help make the process less opaque.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks