A while back, filmmaker and occasional pot smoker Kevin Smith penned an essay about the MPAA that a quick Google search did not unearth, but I recall him explaining the process including the appeals for several of his films.
On Sat, Mar 26, 2022 at 3:52 PM Tom Wolper <twol...@gmail.com> wrote: > I find this story the way it’s reported to be confounding. Here’s what I > understand about movie ratings: > > Originally each state had a censorship board and each film had to be > submitted to each one and then cuts would have to be made in order for the > film to be distributed to theaters. As Hollywood grew to the point that > they couldn’t continue the system they set up a national production code > and an office in Hollywood to enforce it. The production code process lost > its teeth in the early sixties with lots of foreign films and independent > films coming into the market. The successor they came up with was the > ratings system. A filmmaker submits their script to the MPAA office, is > told the rating, and what they would have to change if they want a > different rating. > > Mature films got an X rating. With court decisions striking down obscenity > statutes, mainstream theaters started showing hardcore porn movies with the > X rating. Major theater chains decided not to show any X rated movies, even > serious adult themed ones. Same with newspapers and the ads they’d accept. > So the MPAA came up with NC-17 which was supposed to differentiate from > porn but it got caught up in the same embargo. > > In practical terms if a studio submits a script and is told it will get an > NC-17 rating they ask what changes they need to make to get an R rating for > distribution. > > Netflix doesn’t need to submit a film for a rating in order to stream it > and if wide theater distribution meant anything to them they’d make the > changes to get it to an R. And art houses will gladly accept unrated movies. > > What confounds me is why Netflix bothered to submit the script for a > rating in the first place. > > On Sat, Mar 26, 2022 at 3:29 PM Mark Jeffries <spotligh...@gmail.com> > wrote: > >> "Blonde," the Netflix adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates' novelization of >> the life of Marilyn Monroe starring Ana de Armas as Marilyn, has picked up >> the scarlet "adults only" rating from the MPA, the first film made for a >> streamer with that rating: >> >> >> https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/netflix-marilyn-monroe-blonde-nc17-1235118236/ >> >> The possibility of a limited run in theaters may not be much of a problem >> in this case, since the major theater chains don't touch NC-17 films with a >> fork lift and won't book Netflix films, while the mostly independent >> arthouse circuit will. Besides, the big audience will be when it hits The >> Service. >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "TVorNotTV" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to tvornottv+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >> To view this discussion on the web visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/72fc934b-fc67-4429-9a52-eb3b72d42b10n%40googlegroups.com >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/72fc934b-fc67-4429-9a52-eb3b72d42b10n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "TVorNotTV" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to tvornottv+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAJE-FiHDzDLYK%3DVtBLfGiyaNCvxxf_1z3PUu0Ea5-bwWZncuHg%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAJE-FiHDzDLYK%3DVtBLfGiyaNCvxxf_1z3PUu0Ea5-bwWZncuHg%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- Kevin M. (RPCV) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to tvornottv+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKgmY4DZnee3iWC-goRJ%3D1S35GRP-K7wLzhgVWGu_%2BcjTEvz5A%40mail.gmail.com.
