whynotsmile

One of the reasons I really dislike the mpaa is because they give ratings based soley on content, not context. Amazing that in films where hundreds die, things blow up and people are shot, burned, stabed and punched in fantasy/action films can recieve pg 13 films, while violent content taken from a real war america is currently fighting and does concern the under 17 crowd gets an R.





LOS ANGELES (AP) - Distributors of Michael Moore's documentary ``Fahrenheit 9/11'' are appealing to get a PG-13 rating, instead of R.

A screening by the Motion Picture Association of America's appeals board has been set for June 22, just three days before ``Fahrenheit 9/11'' hits theaters. But the film's distributors are trying to move that screening up to this week to expedite a decision, said Tom Ortenberg, president of Lions Gate Films, one of the companies releasing the film.

An R rating means those younger than 17 cant' see the movie unless accompanied by an adult. The MPAA ratings board gave ``Fahrenheit 9/11'' an R rating for ``violent and disturbing images and for language.''

``I think the message of the movie is so important that it should be available to be seen by as wide an audience as possible,'' Ortenberg said Monday. ``Frankly, I don't consider any of the images in the film any more disturbing than what we have all seen on the cable news networks and the gratuitous violence that fills the screen of so many PG-13-rated action pictures.''

In ``Fahrenheit 9/11,'' Moore depicts President Bush as asleep at the wheel in the months before the Sept. 11 attacks. The movie also accuses the White House of breeding fear of more terrorism to gain public support for the Iraq war.

The film's images include a public beheading in Saudi Arabia, Iraqis burned by napalm and a grisly scene of an Iraqi man dumping a dead baby into a truckbed loaded with bodies.

``It is sadly very possible that many 15- and 16-year-olds will be asked and recruited to serve in Iraq in the next couple of years,'' Moore said. ``If they are old enough to be recruited and capable of being in combat and risking their lives, they certainly deserve the right to see what is going on in Iraq.''

``Fahrenheit 9/11'' won the top honor at last month's Cannes Film Festival for Moore, who received the 2002 Academy Award for best documentary with ``Bowling for Columbine.''

Moore had to seek new distributors for ``Fahrenheit 9/11'' after Disney refused to let its Miramax subsidiary release it, saying it was too politically charged.

Miramax bosses Harvey and Bob Weinstein bought the movie back from Disney and lined up Lions Gate and IFC Films to help distribute it.

The film opens June 25 in 500 to 1,000 theaters in ``every major city in America,'' Ortenberg said.

That constitutes an exceptionally wide release among documentaries, which typically play in only a handful of theaters.

RyoHazuki

Woah. Tell us what else happens. How was the movie overall? Did it establish a connection between Bush and Bin Laden?




Or have you not seen it yet?

wmansir

Ok, but they aren't old enough to be recruited, or be in combat and risk their lives. I tell you what, Michael, how about if they are allowed to see the film unsupervised 1 whole year before they become eligible to enlist, deal?

yecul

Well, it depends what he shows. If it's CNN fodder then it's silly to give it an R. If it's stuff you'd find on bangedup, then I suppose an R would be appropriate. How he'd get that footage and/or why he'd use it I don't know. I'm assuming it's the former.

silentbob007

It will be on DVD way before it is time to enlist ...

jaeufraser

Oh take the R rating. While I'm sure the movie has merit, I am getting a little tired of this rhetoric of trying to pretend Moore's film is somehow so important and needs to be seen by everyone. No offense to Moore, I admire him for being successful in what he does, but your movie ain't that important. Honestly the actual content will probably have far less effect than the controversy and rhetoric surrounding it. The film might have something important to say, but geesh...I've never seen ANY film that is as life changing and eye opening as they're trying to make out.

Regarding the rating...haven't seen it so obviously I can't judge.

Jackskeleton

I doubt any parent will be wanting to take their under aged kid to watch this. I mean really, what's the point? there views don't really matter on the subject because they can't vote. Also, it's realistic violence because it is real. I don't see what the problem is.

Then again he may be bitching about this simply to get his face back on page 1 of the news papers.

docF94

Having not seen the film, I can't say whether or not an R-rating is appropriate. However, the ratings in general are a joke, and specifically with Moore's work, they reflect more the gravity of the subject than the content of the film. Bowling for Columbine was a very serious and disturbing film, but it should not have received an R-rating. When I saw its rating, I assumed it was due to the actual Columbine footage - but of course, there were no violent acts displayed in that footage. the film's impact is not due to what it shows, but due to the thought it provokes.

I see a point in the ratings, to keep pre-teens from easy access to excessive or mature material. But I am very uncomfortable with the notion that the MPAA decides not what images cross a line in the sand between decent and indecent, but what subjects, and what ideas, and what points of view are too graphic - without necessarily being graphic at all.

Now, from what I've read about the film, there are disturbing things in it. and I've no idea what it takes to be on the MPAA, or how seriously the job of assigning ratings is taken by its members. They may be doing a good job with this. But they failed abomnibly with Bowling and failed even more disturbingly with Roger and Me - though there was a man shot to death in that film, but I believe it was from a TV newscast. Anyway, 11 year-olds in most of Europe can deal with it, parent-free. In the land of the free, however, You Are Not Permitted To View This Film Until You Are 17. It's a joke, on us.

I bet there are good grounds for appeal, though I've no idea if the appeal will be successful. Anyone know of successful challenges to preliminary ratings, without altering content? If Moore strikes down the MPAA, all Americans of every political stripe will win.

Wajkon.

Applejack

So, The Passion of the Christ gets a PG-13 and this gets an R?

It really doesn't matter though. It isn't like kids are going to be rushing out to see this.

NitroJMS

The Passion is rated R.

Brian Gentz

Not sure what the big deal of the R rating is, I highly doubt many under 17 really want to see this. And his target audience is 18 and over, for obvious reasons.

shaun3000

Those under 18 will one day be 18 as well and be able to vote. Just because they can't vote, now, doesn't mean they should be sheltered from the real world until their 18th birthday. Giving a movie that uses footage from a war we are currently fighting and depicts the true nature of the war an R rating is just stupid.

Brian Gentz

The DVD will be out soon.

DRG

Agree 100%. There will be some, for sure, but not a whole hell of a lot. Not enough to make a big deal out of this for. To be quite honest, the R actually makes this more interesting to me.

Drexl

Is it true that if a film has more than one use of the F-word, it automatically gets an R? That may be why this has gotten it.

Groucho

I believe it's three uses, or one use in a sexual context.

mikehunt

It's been reported, and I don't think he's denied it, that he had at least one if not more camera crews in Iraq
Plus the arab networks have probably shown the really bloody stuff. I just got a video showing tracer fire taking out an RPG holder and it has a new channel logo on the bottom but it looks a bit more violent than what us channels show, plus the reporter isn't speaking english

mikehunt

that'd be my bet even if it was an actor/movie maker other than moore

mikehunt

so what if it's an R anyway? Like people under 18 never go to R movies

mmconhea

I'm glad it got an R rating. Hopefully this will keep all the Michael Moore bashers back at home with their parents.

silentbob007

Fixed.

(You know it had to happen ... )

chanster

ZOINKS!

Giles

The way parents casually take their kids to the movies nowadays the rating's are a joke IMO. Moore should just be glad that the MPAA didn't brand the movie with the kiss of death, an NC-17.

LiquidSky

Re: MPAA: I'm still wondering how the latest Harry Potter film got a "PG" instead of a "PG-13".

Frank TJ Mackey

I don't know why he seems concerned about 15-year-olds seeing this.

Facts show that most people under 30 don't bother voting, so who really cares.

Their wouldn't even be a need for an election campaign if younger people voted this time around.

We're not stupid, just lazy. (which makes us stupid i guess)