Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
It's a well known fact that the NC-17 rating is a mark of death for any movie released in the United States. This is primarily because most theatre chains and stores won't exhibit or sell NC-17 rated films and due in part to such policies, there is a stigma attached to the rating. For at least two reasons, I think the NC-17 rating has become irrelevant and meaningless:
1) Many R-rated films and unrated cuts already contain what should be NC-17 content.
There have been quite a few films that were originally rated X or NC-17: Scarface, South Park, Hellraiser, Passion of the Christ, Wolf of Wall Street, Kill Bill, Scream, etc., only to be re-rated R after making minor edits, or in some cases (Scarface) not edits at all. Kill Bill, part 1 received an R-rating by simply changing its bloodiest scene to black and white (huh?) Additionally, many movies that were edited for an R rating have unrated releases, which stores carry without problems.
2) Theaters and stores have no problem selling unrated/"hard R" movies.
I could respect a decision made by a theater or store to not sell NC-17 rated movies, but they have no problem selling R-rated movies that actually should be NC-17 and unrated movies that often have NC-17 rated content.
3) Some NC-17 rated movies have relatively mild content compared to some R-rated movies.
Many say that the NC-17 rating is the bane of indie filmmakers. Now, I don't totally sympathize with them (is it that hard to create something that won't land an NC-17?), but it is kind of true. There have been some indie films that receive NC-17 ratings for content that is either equal to or less offensive than major films that are R-rated. Orgazmo, for instance, has a pretty raunchy theme, but not that much in the way or nudity or violence, yet it's NC-17 rated. For South Park, which has significantly more offensive content, the creators received a specific list of stuff to cut for an R-rating, something they didn't receive for Orgazmo despite asking what they could cut for an R.
What do you all think about this topic? Should there be more NC-17 rated movies? Should the MPAA be stricter about which movies receive the rating?
The history of the rating system has many sordid moments and some notable a**hole characters involved. (Jack V. comes to mind.) Problems with ratings often come because of local obscenity laws and the laws referencing "legal" age rather than the ratings cut-off age. As lifeexplorer pointed out, our culture wallows in violence while puckering butt at anything more than a kiss or passing sideboob. Adults with functioning brains pay little attention to ratings, except perhaps as a guide to protecting kids from some material. Those of us who have worked in the industry are well aware of the complete idiocy of many of the determinations of rating.
The obvious fact is that you cannot reduce complex themes and visuals to a simplistic system of rating and have that rating convey useful insight. You might as well try to classify all cars into RF (red and fast) f (family) t (truck) RV (recreational vehicle) and U (unrated)
Movie theaters don't like NC-17 rated movies because they require them to turn away potential customers. It's as simple as that.
No. In my career in the industry, I never once heard that mentioned. Most times we were more than glad to turn away unaccompanied teens, simply because they were a royal pain in the tukis, out to test boundaries. What was a concern was having some sneak into a show and running afoul of obscenity laws.
Human nature being what it is, those who attend NC-17, X rated, and other heavily restricted shows (excluding porno) can be extremely well behaved. Much of the time there are neighbors, co-workers, and relatives that would disapprove of the feature, so their intent is to raise an absolute minimum of chance that they get found out for being there AND some having some misbehavior. Even with porno, absent the opportunity for casual sex, the audiences are very quiet.
While movie theatres don't mind turning away potential customers, the film studios and production companies can freak if they don't get the rating they want. Theatres and production have been separated by law since 1948.
While movie theatres don't mind turning away potential customers, the film studios and production companies can freak if they don't get the rating they want. Theatres and production have been separated by law since 1948.
Something I've wondered, and maybe you can answer it, is if studios could legally pressure theatre chains into exhibiting movies the theatres might balk at. I don't necessarily think that should happen nor would agree with it, but it seems like studios have enough influence to convince major chains to show, for instance, a major film that is given an NC-17 rating. Scarface was actually such a production, and if I understand its history, it was originally given an X-rating by the MPAA, and multiple attempts to cut the film for an R-rating were made until finally they were persuaded to give an R to the original, X-rated cut. Could the distributor have simply accepted the X-rating and convinced the major theatres to show the film, maybe by withholding other films if they didn't? (I can only assume that there are laws or contracts with theatres that prevent this, thought at the least I guess it would be quite a risk on the distributor's part.)
Something I've wondered, and maybe you can answer it, is if studios could legally pressure theatre chains into exhibiting movies the theatres might balk at. I don't necessarily think that should happen nor would agree with it, but it seems like studios have enough influence to convince major chains to show, for instance, a major film that is given an NC-17 rating. Scarface was actually such a production, and if I understand its history, it was originally given an X-rating by the MPAA, and multiple attempts to cut the film for an R-rating were made until finally they were persuaded to give an R to the original, X-rated cut. Could the distributor have simply accepted the X-rating and convinced the major theatres to show the film, maybe by withholding other films if they didn't? (I can only assume that there are laws or contracts with theatres that prevent this, thought at the least I guess it would be quite a risk on the distributor's part.)
Legally? No. In reality, yes. What comes closest to addressing your question is the concept of "block booking," which is outlawed. Studios pressure exhibition all the time in various ways. Block booking was the concept that if you wanted to play ANY product from the studio, you had to play a bunch of the crap, or dedicate your largest auditorium to them. Example - If you want to play "Star Wars 42" you also have to play "Catwomen from Venus," "Mortimer Snerd and the Munchkins," and "The Meaning of Living in Cleveland."
The original anti-trust case was all about block booking, which turned independent exhibitors into having movie theatres that ONLY played one studio's product - ever. In the era of the multi-plex, variations of the concept play out all the time. Understand though that the carrot is always the blockbuster, and the dingleberries are the little films where someone owes so-and-so a favor. "Scarface" likely wouldn't be in such a scenario.
The pressures on film makers and exhibitors are not limited to ratings. The history of Hollywood during the rise of the Nazis is worse than a lot of Washington politics.
Location: Live:Downtown Phoenix, AZ/Work:Greater Los Angeles, CA
27,606 posts, read 14,601,062 times
Reputation: 9169
The last NC-17 movie I saw theatrically was Killer Joe, with Matthew McConaughey and Gina Gershon, directed by William Friedkin. Saw it in a mainstream theatre too, but that sometimes shows indie movies on one screen
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
