The major chains that have theaters in New York and L.A. may not show NC-17 films, but independent theaters and smaller chains (such as Laemmle in the L.A. area) generally have no problem with NC-17 or unrated films.
> On Mar 26, 2022, at 5:31 PM, Tom Wolper <[email protected]> wrote: > > The cinemas in New York and Los Angeles won’t show NC-17 films. The ones that > will would also show them unrated. It’s possible they’re using the adult > rating as a selling point. > > On Sat, Mar 26, 2022 at 8:15 PM Adam Bowie <[email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: > I have to concur with Tom that this makes little to no sense. > > I know that they have cinemas in New York and Los Angeles, so could it be > that they need MPAA certificates to get into even just those theatres? In the > UK, a few Netflix films get short cinema runs in some of the arthouse chains > (and I always wonder if Netflix gives incentives to those chains to play the > films). But even then, the titles that get these releases are the awards > hopefuls that Netflix usually saves up for later in the year. Those films do > need certification in the UK under the BBFC, which these days tends to be > more concerned with violence and sexual violence than more than anything. I > think only film clubs, not open to the paying public can show unrated films. > > There was a good documentary a few years ago called This Film Is Not Yet > Rated which tore apart the US movie ratings scheme and noted the inequities > between hetero and homosexual deptictions resulting in different ratings. > > [Just before I hit send I saw Tom's reply...] Snap! > > On Sat, Mar 26, 2022 at 10:58 PM Kevin M. <[email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: > 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 <[email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>> 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 <[email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>> 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/ > > <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 [email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>. > 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 [email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>. > 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. 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