The head of the Motion Picture
Association of America, Jack Valenti,
said today in New-York
that the film industry
plans to set up a voluntary
rating system,
designed to keep youngsters
from seeing undesirable films.
years ago, on this very day,
November the st of
the film industry stopped censoring
and started a rating system.
The system has since been praised,
but also condemned.
For years, the MPAA
has been helping parents decide
what movies they should let
their children see.
But lately,
their decisions've come under fire.
Encino, California.
Inside the headquarters of the MPAA,
an anonymous group of parents
gathers to rate films
G, PG, PG- , R
and NC- , formerly X.
But the MPAA won't let anyone inside
to see who these people are,
or how they make their decisions.
And among their most
controversial decisions
are the films they rate NC- .
My film was very autobiographical.
It was very reflective of many
of the girls that I knew in downtown NY
who were passing as men.
So, I was in the editing room, and I got
a call from my producer, and he said:
"We have some bad news.
You got an NC- ".
And I was like:
"That's great!"
Oh, NC- ! All the films that I love
have it...
Well, it used to be an X.
They said: "It's not good",
and I said: "Why?"
They said: "Well, the studio won't
release your movie if it has an NC- ."
I was so floored...
To have worked so hard,
against all the obstacles of no money
and with people saying: "You can't make
that movie. It makes no sense",
getting the audiences to love it,
at that point...
And then, they have this unknown board
- that was apparently
doing it for the filmmaker... 'cause
that's kind of the whole mantra -
saying I couldn't have my meaning.
It was like being shut up,
and I was like:
"Wait! Let me talk to you.
"You can't make...
This isn't right."
So, I said to my lawyer
"What were the counts... the problems?"
There were three.
After Brandon goes down on Lana,
he comes up, and wipes the cum off
his mouth.
We had to strike on that.
I said: "Okay, what's the problem?"
"Well, we don't really know,
but that's really offensive."
And I said:
"So, I sh**t Brandon in the head,
"and I do all these things...
And that's fondamentaly okay,
"- but there is a problem here.
- Yes.
"- Can somebody explain?
- No
"- Anybody I can call?
- No.
"Okay, what's the second one?"
"The a**l r*pe.
They want to cut it out."
I said: "No, I'm not cutting that.
It's inherent to the movie.
"What's the rd thing?
"Well, Lana's orgasm is too long."
And I was like:
"Who's ever been hurt
by an orgasm that was too long?
"Well, it's offensive."
And I was like: "That's outrageous."
So, when I looked at her orgasm,
I was like:
"This is totally about Lana's pleasure.
"So, there's something about that
that's scaring them, unnerving them."
Why do you think
they had a problem with...
- With female pleasure?
- Yeah.
Well, in a construct where most movies
are written by men, directed by men,
they're most for the male experience.
So I think that... even in sex scenes,
it's from a male perspective.
So I don't think that the focus
is female pleasure.
I think that female pleasure
is unnatural, scary.
In that kind of narrative setting.
So I think that if you are a woman
who understands female pleasure,
and understands it
from the woman's perspective,
you're probably going into a terrain
that's unfamiliar.
And I think generally,
unfamiliar is what breeds the NC- .
I definitely felt censored
and I felt discriminated against
for making a gay film.
We were told anything with a dildo
would have to be removed.
Give me the physical frame: where
exactly do we go from a PG to an R?
You're given a list in the beginning
with everything that can't be on screen.
I had to cut one shot
where you just infer...
that one of the girls is going towards
the crotch of the other girl.
There was some pressure from the studio
to cut a part of it.
And in the end, they cut seconds.
I think it was...
And the MPAA members'd tell you:
"You don't have to accept the ratings.
"It's not mandatory."
That's bullshit!
Why should that film get an R?
And why, for seeing my pubic hair,
do we get an NC- ?
It's a terrible situation.
The current rating sytem
is a form of censorship
in a kind of fondamental way.
Because it categorizes films
in advance of their release
and they're categorized
not by the people who make 'em
but by a handful of people
whose names we'll never know.
The rating board members
who are parents,
neither gods nor fools,
look at a movie
and try to put a rating on it,
that the average parent
would believe to be an accurate
depiction of that film.
This mythical american parent
is a fiction!
A convenient fiction
that somebody has to make up
to come up with what's got to be
an arbitrary system.
They're told that they're guardians
of morality,
they're told they're the last bar
between what... what you expect what
children should see.
With that kind of authority,
they felt to take themselves seriously.
And they tend to try and promulgate
some concepts they basically make up.
They try to make up standards.
The critical community has never
really taken
the MPAA terribly seriously
or given it a huge amount of respect.
And were often, you know, very puzzled
by some of the decisions they make.
Why this is... Why people
can't go see this terrific movie?
Just 'cause, you know...
There's this "word" in it!
It just seems so...
kinda childish!
Even though it's supposed to protect
children,
it's turning us all into children.
What do movie ratings mean?
"G" means "General audiences".
No nudity, no sex, and no dr*gs.
v*olence must be cartoonish and minimal.
And there may be language
that goes beyond polite conversation.
"PG" means "Parental guidance".
There may be strong language
like "shit" or "ass" and brief nudity
like showing off an ass. Or like
v*olence like "being kicked in the ass".
"PG- ".
"Parents are strongly cautionned",
as in "Look out, mum,
here come more shits!
"Bullshit, dumbshit, little shit,
"shitfaced, and shithead."
"f*ck" is also allowed,
but usually just once.
So filmmakers're urged
to choose their "f*ck" carefully.
A simple "f*ck you!" is okay.
But referring to the sexual act,
as in "May I please f*ck you?"
or "I enjoy getting f*cked!",
is totally unacceptable.
If a character says that, especially
while abusing illegal narcotic,
the film is rated "R".
"R" means "Restricted". Nobody
or under without parent or guardian.
There may be sexual themes, franc sex
talk, sexualized nudity, tough language
and tough v*olence like handicapped
orphans decimated by hell of a g*nf*re.
But if the film depicts
realistic baby-making
in a position other than missionary,
acts involving oral sex with females,
a**l sex, fetishes, more than humans,
or what the MPAA bills
"aberrational behavior",
this film could get slapped
with an "NC- ".
"NC- " means "No children or under".
Period!
An NC- may range from
a senior citizen g*ng-bang
to a foreign Pedro Almadovar film.
But art films make people feel funny,
especially the ones with
"aberrational behavior".
We have censorship board
called the MPAA
that looks at your movie and says:
"This is the rating
we're gonna give you.
"If you want it to be any more extreme,
expect people to see your film."
Then, no advertising budget,
no distributor's gonna wanna touch it.
I have Valenti's law which says:
"If you make a movie a lot of people
want to see,
"no rating will hurt you.
"If you make a movie few people
want to see,
"no rating will help you."
Ratings have nothing to do
with box-office.
The difference between an NC- and an R
rating can be millions of dollars.
It can mean a difference of...
On some films, maybe even
tens of millions $.
'Cause it definitely limits your ability
to market the film.
If you're limited on that,
people aren't aware of it.
They won't even note to see that movie.
And if you choose not to accept
the rating,
then your ads don't really run.
You can't run TV spots...
If they run a TV spot for a movie
that hasn't been rated yet, they say:
"This film's not yet been rated."
But you never see TV spots for like:
"This film is unrated."
The worst censorship of all, I believe
is "Wal-Mart", "Blockbuster".
All the big chains - that are probably
responsible for
% of all videos sold, DVDs -
will not carry NC- .
Jack Valenti's been very good
and publicly about
"We serve the public, the parents."
It's a crap, they serve the studios!
That's who pays their bills...
They are all of the studios.
Does the perennial charge
that the studios will treat it better
than the independants hold true?
I'm sorry, but when I was there
the answer was "Absolutely no!"
When we did "Orgazmo"
which was indenpendantly financed,
they gave us an NC- .
We got a phone call with the MPAA,
and the guy'd basically say:
"It's for the overall sexual content.
"Anything we'd cut out to get an R?
"You're welcome to re-cut it
and send it back.
"We'd look at it again."
And their whole position with this film
was:
"We don't give specific notes.
"Otherwise,
we'd be a censorship organisation.
"We just give you the rating."
Then, cut to years later,
we're doing the South Park movie,
and we're working for Paramount...
And we turn in the first cut
of the movie.
And we've a phone call:
"You got an NC- .
"You need to cut out this, this.
Change this, this..."
It was extremely specific.
This word, this line, this joke.
Our treatment was a completely
different experience.
They target independants,
because the system is set up
to favor the studios.
And because the independant filmmaker
is independant of the studios,
I mean, what's an independant film?
What is it "independant of"?
It is "independant of
that big studio culture".
Looking for more freedom.
Looking to be able to operate
in a manner
where they can completely express
themselves.
Without restriction,
and without censorship.
There is a mystery here, though.
Who is controlling this thing,
and how are they controlling it?
Because I don't fully understand yet.
- Would you like to know?
- Oh, yeah!
We've looked at rating systems
accross different countries,
and the MPAA system is the only
movie rating system
that doesn't disclose
who its rating board members are.
I think that does rankle with
a lot of people, and rightly so.
Who are these people who're just sitting
in judgement of your movie?
I would like to know.
No one knows.
That's the whole point!
That's what's really odd
about the whole thing:
in an industry this big
and as public as this,
that there is an organisation,
supposedly accountable to the public,
that's running in such a shadowy way.
Some of the things we're doing,
is we're hiring
a private investigator.
To try to find out
who these people are on the board.
Hi, my name is Kirby d*ck,
and I was interested in
actually hiring a private investigator
for a project I'm about to begin
working on.
How hard'll it be,
and what methods'd you use to find out
who these people are
and where they live.
We'd find out where the screening is.
We'd use surveillance on the building,
get the license plates
of the vehicles.
I could get myself employed...
... at a low level position...
... I'm inside
where I could find those things out.
What about... can you go through
people's trash, stuff like that?
In the city of LA,
it's completely legal to do that.
As long as it's on the street.
You do a lot of undercover work?
I... I look like a cop!
I couldn't get away
whith any kind of undercover work.
But I know lots of people
who don't look like cops.
Being a woman, I get in places
that most people don't.
That's one advantage.
Usually, security guards open the door.
I'll smile, they open the door,
and go!
I have wigs and hats,
and things like that.
When it's necessary.
This is my hooker wig.
But if it came down to where I needed
her or her daughter,
I'd bring 'em with me.
But I definitely do everything
in my power to get in.
Okay, the MPAA
is that pinkish coloured building.
They've got it all towards
it's impossible
for you just to walk on the premises.
Here, they have an intercom.
The guardian'll come and ask
what you want.
He won't let you come in.
It's all gated in here,
locked and secure
so there's no way of going in.
Unless you're invited.
I don't think
they're gonna invite us.
So, there's absolutely no way
we're gonna get in that building.
It's lunch time.
They're gonna start coming out.
We'll take some plates
and get some information.
- All right. What are you looking at?
- That security guard, over there.
Is he gonna make it harder
to do what we have to do?
No, unless he starts looking at us.
There's one moment right back
he did look over here.
- Really? Think so?
- He just probably glanced.
Okay, Lindsey.
We have a black Honda.
Female caucasian.
XF CV
I kinda get a thrill out of knowing
I'm watching someone
and they don't know it.
There's something exciting about that.
So, um...
Lindsey, write this down:
SW F
Brand new Mercedes.
Very attractive woman whoever she is.
So, it's a slow process.
This could take six months.
And I'm not even sure
if it's possible.
This is like saying: "Go into Fort Knox
and bring out a few bricks.
"We just want to see
what color they are."
I was a full-time
motion picture rater.
I was with the MPAA
for about four and a half years.
From september of
to march of .
The starting salary at that time
for a full-time rater
was dollars.
Generally, in the morning,
you'd meet and discuss
the movies that you had seen
the previous day.
And so first,
people would kind of talk about 'em
as if there was any issue.
That... This... seemed kinda violent,
or there was too much sex, here.
People would sort of
give their opinions on...
why they thought it should be
one rating or another.
There weren't...
any clear set of standards...
in a sense you...
you were taught,
and then had to apply.
There was no kind of
rater-training process.
People were hired,
they were put in the screening room,
put in the rating chair,
and started rating films.
Sometimes they'd show us
like an edited version of the movie
after it'd been given like an X or an R,
and they want to change it.
And all the board would be very pleased
when they'd throw
that re-edited version.
"Oh! This is much better!
"The way that we told them
how to re-edit the film.
"It plays much better, now!"
And I found out that
to be very offensive.
I'm gonna say the F-word.
You know...
I believe it's a facist system.
They have just established themselves,
they have injected themselves
as a vital, necessary entity.
And it isn't.
We have to police these people.
We have to determine
that these people have
our best intentions in mind.
And if they don't,
then, we'll correct 'em.
You can't talk about the history of film
without talking about
the history of censorship.
And most people'd see Will Hays
with this sort of first
formal attempt
on the part of the industry
as a whole to institute self-regulation.
News on the march!
The Roaring Twenties choke
on the exhausted Hollywood scandal.
Chief offender: Fatty Arbuckle.
A comedian turned m*rder suspect
after a starlett dies
at his raunchy Tinseltown party.
Under fire, at "Sin City",
major studios formed a
"Motion Picture Producers
and Distributors Association",
hiring post master general Will Hays
to restore decency to the movies,
by implementing a strict
production code.
But, in the s,
you have a handful of films that...
get released, that...
... challenge the PCA.
The first is "The moon is blue".
You won't mind coming up, will you?
Well, I'm not so sure.
Would you try to seduce me?
And it was clear that for Hollywood not
to look sort of
hoplessly antiquated,
they were gonna have to figure out
a new way
to bring reality into the movies.
How about "Hump the hostess"? Uh?
How about "Hump the hostess"?
Wanna play "Hump the hostess"?
- Calm down!
- You want to wait till later
- off in the bushes.
- Hump the hostess!
Shut up, will you?
The language in "Virginia Woolf"
was really shocking and new.
And I think it's really
what inspired Jack Valenti
to come up with the MPAA rating systems.
No film can ever survive
the blaze and hiss of public scorn.
When Jack Valenti became
president of the MPAA,
back in, I guess, ,
he came from Washington,
he came from the President's office,
where he'd been Lyndon Johnson's man.
And he became the man of Lew Wasserman
and of the other owners of Hollywood.
He came to serve their interest.
He came as their lobbyist.
The fact that he did come out
of Washington,
I think was, you know...
Hollywood felt comfortable
that he could protect them
from the people that he knew back there.
Because he was a Washington insider.
And in Hollywood, when you ask
what their economic interest
had to do with ratings...
If there weren't ratings,
and there was censorship,
there would be different
censor boards.
In my opinion, the MPAA uses
the fear of government's censorship
to keep power in control in the...
motion picture industry.
If you look at the
Supreme Court decisions, key decisions,
in the s and s,
there is no real threat
of governement censorship...
... at the motion picture industry
after that time,
except for the area
of child pornography.
It'd be better
if the goverment came in.
I mean, it's wrong for the government
to come in,
but if those were the options,
you'd rather have the government in.
Because, whatever the government does,
is subject at least
to some kind of judicial review.
The current rating system
is unconstitutional.
If somebody wanted to mount a
constitutional
case against it...
It's an agreement.
An industry agreement.
Now, the industry's never been
competitive. It's always been collusive.
Really from the very beginning,
the studios were vertically
integrated monopolies.
They controlled development,
production, post-production,
distribution and exhibition.
There were two big strikes.
There was the Disney strike,
in which labour won
sort of a fairly clear victory.
And then, you had the
Warner Brothers strike,
in which you had the battle
between the two big industry unions.
And you had the studios hiring scabs,
and you had high-powered water hoses
used on picketers.
And one way of dealing with
these increasingly powerful unions,
was to make
participation membership
in a union dangerous.
Calling the House Un-American
Activities Committee to order,
chairman Jay Parnell Thomas,
of New Jersey, opens an inquiry
into a possible communist penetration
of the Hollywood film industry.
So, during the "Black list",
the two questions that were asked
routinely at the hearings were:
Are you a member of the communist party?
And have you ever held any position
in the screenwriters guild?
First of all,
asking the questions together
suggests there's a connection
between the two.
And asking the second question
makes saying "yes"
a very dangerous act.
So, to confess seems the wrong word,
but to confess membership in the union
would be tantamount to accepting
a life sentence of "Black list".
People generally
associate this with McCarthyism
but it had nothing to do with McCarthy.
Once the MPAA got on board
the MPAA did it all themselves.
And the "Black list" was implemented by
the very body
that controlled the industry.
There is no subversive propaganda
on the american screen,
and there isn't going to be.
Communists hate our films.
Because they show a way of life
that they hate.
A life where free men work
and play in the ways of freedom.
The MPAA's always been about
public relations,
making sure everybody in America
is happy with the movie industry.
Movie industry appears
socially responsible,
the movie industry appears to care about
everyday americans.
Well, the MPAA is composed of
the seven largest producers of
of film and television in the world,
the old great studio names.
And I've been the head of it
for years.
My greatest achievement
as head of the MPAA is:
I survived.
He's got the whole world in his hands.
He's got the whole world in his hands.
When I left the board,
it was brought to my attention I was,
expected to be... remain
completely silent about
any of my experiences
on the rating board.
I suddendly was offered,
a large increase in my salary.
"But here, sign this",
and lo and behold, there was another
"You may not, ever,
"say anything, write anything etc,
"without Jack Valenti's permission."
One thing that I've learned in my long,
and some would say checkered career,
is that in Hollywood and Washington,
there are no secrets.
If somebody thinks there is a secret,
there isn't!
"You shall not, during the term
of your employment, or thereafter
"disclose to any other person,
firm or corporation,
"nor use in any way
confidential information
"related to the MPAA,
"which may cause
or be calculated to cause
"injury or loss to any
of the above mentionned."
When I asked Joan Graves
that they could put in writing
what specific forms of information
they considered confidential,
they refused to do that.
- Really?
- Yeah. And they said:
"We deliberately leave the...
what's in writing fuzzy
"so that in any time, we can use
our discretion as far as...
"suing former employees who disclose
"what we consider to be
too much information.
And they indicated that they would not
hesitate to sue
if they felt that...
there was injury to their interest.
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I thought we would get
more matches on this.
Here is Mary Ann Constanza,
ratings department,
I'm either on another line, or away
If you need immediate assistance,
please dial for the operator. Thanks.
The ratings!
This is what I think is a rater.
- That's a camera, right?
- Yeah.
It's just something
I could put on my shirt?
Could you walk into a restaurant,
with it?
What's your range? Your wide range?
- It looks like this.
- That's good.
We'll take this one,
and *
- Okay?
- Yeah.
So now, today, you wanna...
You wanna come in,
or you wanna *.
- Are you very cold?
- Yes, she is.
But she is gonna be wearing...
It looks like a button
if you're not really...
Show it!
- Look at this.
- That's the camera but
- it looks like a little button.
- It looks like a button on a scarf.
We did it last night.
You wouldn't believe what we were doing.
Let's see the back.
We just had the wire to go in here,
and the reason why I wanted to do it
in a scarf is because
if the camera is high or too low,
you just pull the scarf up or down.
Everything is hooked up
to that camera, inside.
Okay, sounds cool.
Okay, it is : , so...
they're gonna come out before : .
Becky, look !
Oh, okay.
We got a car, here.
This is a Honda... .
Okay, we got another one. We got
someone coming out of the alleyway.
That's Mary Ann Constanza, right there.
*They go through that light.
Shit!
They're way ahead of me, now.
Now, I think we lost her.
So I think I'm gonna turn around and
go back and try to catch someone else.
A couple of people... DON
Oh, lot of peo...
lot of women.
We need to go for this one.
There's four women.
Which is even better.
Now, they may not be raters,
but I have a good instinct,
and I feel good about it.
Watch them, Lindsey.
Keep an eye on 'em.
Can you see 'em?
Right there, at the corner.
They're going to Highlands.
They're parking at the meter.
These are raters.
I can feel it.
You're okay, Lindsey?
Okay, we're gonna let them go in
before us.
Hold on.
You gotta fix your scarf, Lindsey.
Can you see them behind me?
No, I can't see any one of them.
Maybe you can get a better shot
if you move over.
No, I still can't see them.
Maybe you can get them later.
They were talking about
editing one of the films.
That they should edit a certain part.
- That's all I could get.
- Right.
I was lucky I got that much.
- Did we get the license plates?
- Yes, we got that.
So... But we don't know who they are.
It's the problem.
No, but you know what?
They're so casual.
They were talking... loud.
Like... normal!
And then, when they sarted talking
about all of that, they got very quiet.
Lindsey, did you get a shot
of 'em as you were coming out?
Yeah, I did. You want to take a look?
Here, I'll show you.
Oh, good.
This is a good thing.
Only thing is
all we're gonna know, is the name
- of the driver.
- Right.
But then, they were all like:
"They had to get back!"
I heard one of them wondering about
what they're gonna see.
How'd you like
to "birdie" that hole, huh?
You say the word, she's yours any time.
I'll keep a running tab for you.
Nah!
What? She is not your type?
Are you kidding me?
I was just going to a meeting,
and I got a phone call.
It was the producer of the film saying:
"Guess what,
we got an NC- from the MPAA."
Oh, sh... And I said:
"Was it for that first scene?"
"No, it was because of the glimpse
of Mary's pubic hair in the nd scene."
I was like: "What?"
Just a couple of months before,
I had gone
to see a horror film
that was rated R.
It was a "funny" horror film.
And in the first ten minutes,
a woman gets her fake breast cut out.
And there's blood everywhere...
and that's what made me so furious.
To wanna go in and fight
for my pubic hair.
I was like:
"Don't tell me! I'm a mother.
Why should that movie get an R,
"and why for seeing my pubic hair
do we get an NC- ?
"When it was this... a beautiful moment
"between two people
that had a lot to do with love?"
By the time we get to the scene
they found offensive...
These people are
committed to each other!
It's a real love story.
It's not promoting promiscuity.
It's about the intimacy
of that situation.
And the power of just a camera being
on your face, is what I think, caused
the MPAA to give that scene an NC- .
That because they couldn't reach inside
themselves and realize
why it felt so real,
I think the next thing they saw
was a glimpse of Mary's pubic hair,
and they got:
"Oh! That must be it!"
And I don't feel anybody who saw
the uncut version of that film
would've gotten home
and wanted to r*pe the next woman
on the street.
Or feel like they were brain-damaged
from seeing a woman's pubic hair.
I just don't know what the big deal is.
Everybody sees everybody naked
in the world.
We are not showing 'em
something never seen before!
That's what it looks like?
I guess.
What does yours look like?
- Not like that!
- Yeah? Let me see.
All right.
They gave us an R on "Jersey Girl".
And it was based on a conversation
that Ben's character and Liv's character
have in a diner, about masturbation.
If it makes you feel any better,
I mean, I do it, like, twice a day.
Good God!
What can I tell ya?
I get bored easily...
You're gonna get
carpal tunnel syndrome!
Don't get all judgmental with me.
You're no slouch yourself!
For some reason,
I guess it was because
watching the movie, the MPAA
was sitting, and going:
"Liv Tyler masturbating
on a regular basis? Arwen, the elf?
"Can't have it!"
And they gave it an R.
And I actually spoke to Joan Graves,
who's the current head of the MPAA
Where are we going?
To your place.
We're gonna have some sex!
And she was saying: "It would just
make me uncomfortable thinking about
"my sixteen year old daughter sitting
in a movie theater watching that scene."
To which I was like so...
"But, Joan.
Do you think your yo daughter
"hasn't masturbated already?
"Do you really think there's anything
in that scene
"she hasn't already tried,
when the lights go out at night
"or in the bathroom, the tub,
or with the showerhead...?
"I'm telling you, I'm not teaching
this broad anything new."
Well, first of all, all teenagers,
because of the Internet, have seen
more hardocre pornography
than their parents have seen.
They've seen the most hideous things
you can find on the Internet.
Believe me!
What else do you think they're doing?
Do you think they're doing
their homework upstairs?
Come on, all kids have searched
and gone deep
into web porn sites.
Who wouldn't, as a teenager?
Pretending that it's so damaging
and harmful
to their growing psyches,
that we have to stamp something
with a rating
that prevents them from seeing it,
even with a f*cking parent.
We take pools every year by the
"Opinion Research Corporation".
people interviewed nation-wide.
And for the last years,
parents,
at about % or more,
of children under ,
find this rating system
very useful to fairly useful
in helping them guide
their children's viewing.
And they have these bullshit statistics
that they bring up: " % of parents
"say they find the ratings very useful."
And I've always felt that because
they're the only game in town,
I mean, as compared to nothing at all,
they probably are useful.
But it's like that Tide commercial
we have.
The sock that's white,
and then, the whiter one!
I've always wondered:
"Look at their parents!
"There could be a real ratings board.
"Where if you are unhappy with it,
there could be
"real transparency, real accountability.
If people wouldn't like that more."
Sometimes, it seems quite variable.
You could swear to yourself that
you've seen films that were rated R
that had things that were far more...
problematic
than what you're asking for an R.
And the irony of it is
if it's presented
in a sort of shoulder up sort of way,
it tends to be an R.
And if the camera is further away,
where the perspiration doesn't show,
where...
... it's not like
right in there with them in the bed...
But if you see a touch of hip...
It's that pelvic thrusting!
Oh, I think there is definitely
like a thrust number.
You really could *hear out
the people counting the amount...
- The amount of...
- Of actual thrustings.
I've always been such a fan of the
European filmmakers in the way
that they deal with sexuality,
which is real people, and real bodies.
And it's just a part of life
and a part of human nature.
And I find...
... in this country,
we have kind of "desexualized" sex.
We've taken it out of...
the realm of a day-to-day function,
and... something that is...
... implicit in just being
a human being.
Because we're so afraid of it!
Well, the Europeans have always found
America very odd.
Sexual manners...
They've always found us
strangely puritanical.
And I remember Stanley Kubrick's
"Eyes Wide Shut".
In its R version,
they digitally superimposed
certain bodies or shadows
to cover offending body parts.
But it just seemed
so much ado about nothing.
Frankly, in , you saw
probably more sexual explicitness in a
lot of movies than you'd be seeing now.
You know, there's a movie that's been
playing on TV quite a bit lately.
It's "Coming Home",
the Hal Ashby movie.
And the most amazing scene
in the movie is
Jon Voight going down on Jane Fonda.
I mean, here's a guy
that's in a wheelchair,
who's getting this woman off.
And she finally experiences
what might have been
her first orgasm ever.
I mean, we start to think
that it might be the first time
she's ever had an orgasm.
And it does spend a lot of time.
I mean, it's a long scene.
This orgasm lasts a long time, okay?
It's like kind of amazing.
You know,
when I see it, I'm kind of like:
"Wow! How did they get by with that
in the seventies?"
So, I do think
that it's a really good point.
That there is a...
A denial of female pleasure.
A denial of...
A denial of pleasure, period!
Male pleasure too.
I mean, you can't see...
You know, you can barely see anything
of a male body,
on the screen.
So... I think that
nobody gets to come, basically.
I think that it's what it is!
There was always a fear
that sex, in some ways,
would dissolve the social bonds.
Sex more than v*olence.
Un... Unleashed sex,
would take the society apart.
Of course, that focus's * now at
unleashed gay sex
would take the society apart.
"But I'm a Cheerleader"
was a movie about
gay kids who go to
a h*m* rehabilitation camp.
It's a comedy, it's a teen movie...
It's all the things
I thought kids would like.
And I really wanted teens to see it,
and I feel like the most important teens
to see it are in high school.
In Wyoming or wherever.
You know... that are just feeling
like they're the only ones.
You know... Especially these kids
that are sent to these
h*m* rehabilitation camps.
Those camps are very real.
So, I got a call from
the ratings board,
and they said:
"You got an NC- ."
And I was really angry,
and really devastated.
And I didn't understand why.
Because there is no nudity in the
sex scene, and they're fully clothed.
It was ridiculous.
But, the really offensive thing...
At the time that I submitted it
to the ratings board,
"American Pie" had just come out.
I had seen the trailer a million times
of Jason Biggs masturbating
in an apple pie, in the trailer!
So, the ratings board then tells me
that in order to get an R,
I have to cut one of my girls
masturbating over her underwear,
fully clothed.
And you don't see anything.
Basically,
you can tell she's masturbating.
Ratings board is populated by
parents, normal human beings,
neither gods, nor fools,
who make errors of judgement
from time to time.
What's really offensive about that
is for a rater to say:
"We're just gonna rate this film
like an average american parent."
Who is that?
I'm an american parent.
I'm a lesbian, I live in Los Angeles,
I'm a filmmaker,
I have a daughter, I'm a parent.
I pay taxes.
Is there anyone on the ratings board
who is a parent like me?
I highly doubt it.
Were there any gays or lesbians
on the board during your tenure?
Well, you know, to my knowledge...
There weren't any...
... that were
self-proclaimed h*m*
on the board while I was there. No.
You know, if it's the same gender sex,
they seem to often have a bigger problem
than they do if it's a man and a woman.
But, if you are of the majority,
then, it's a lot easier
to get the good rating
and throw your movie
in the theater.
This whole house is just my savior.
I make my living here,
I have my best friend here...
I have all my peace here,
and I feel safe.
And you live, you both right here?
- Yeah.
- That's nice...
We both got divorced at the same time.
My son was five,
her daughter was five.
And we just moved in together,
we've been there ever since.
So I always call her daughter
my daughter, 'cause I feel like she is.
I raised her when she was five, so...
When I was growing up,
the word "lesbian" and "gay" was bad.
It was a sin, it was something
you just didn't do.
I always seemed to be more attracted
towards women, and...
... girls.
Yes, it was girls, then...
VXE
CHE
And then, one day, may aunt said
she thought I was a lesbian.
And that just freaked me out.
And that was not gonna be acceptable.
I was like: "Oh, my God!"
So, I met Ross a few months later,
and just felt I needed to get married
and do whatever everybody
wanted me to do.
And after about years
of marriage,
I met a woman on a military base,
and just brought out feelings in me
I had never felt in my life.
And, one day, I'm just like:
"How could something that makes me feel
so good be wrong?"
And I was just telling Lindsey
I love Cheryl
more than I could ever imagine
loving anyone in my life.
She is everything to me.
She is my best friend.
I just could never imagine
being with anybody else.
And if someone told me: "You have to be
with a guy. You can't do this."
Then I would rather just be alone
than to...
... not have that complete fulfilment.
GNCH
Oh, my God,
This one matches up. That one.
- Joan Graves?
- Yeah. Joan Graves.
I felt that it's somewhat
detrimental to have
a manager who holds
hiring and firing power
to be sitting there in judgement
of people's rating decisions.
So, yeah, he could be very
kind of unyielding and intolerant
and really... tried to intimidate us
into sort of going along with
what the majority point of view was.
Sometimes, people really inclined
to try to pull rank
and that sort of thing is problematic.
How would they pull rank?
Well, just the attitude.
In the attitudes.
You know, say:
"That's out of line
"with the way that film
should be rated."
Sort of categorically,
you need to get with the group think.
If there was a tie, though,
- which I think it could be
because sometimes, we had people,
so it could be - -
and then, the chairman of the board
could really...
kind of make...
Arbitrarily, he makes the decision!
And usually, when I was on the board,
he was gonna make the decision for the
more restrictive rating,
the more conservative rating.
- But, he voted? Didn't he...
- Yes, yes!
So, he was one of the votes,
and there was no kind of
other method
for any kind of tie-breaking.
It was just sort of...
He had the right to do what he wanted,
in that case.
And frankly, he had the right
to do what he wanted even.
'Cause I was amazed,
in one case, that...
it'd been voted
like a five to three in favor of the R
and then, we found out that
the movie was being cut!
So I was like puzzled.
I said: "I don't understand that!
"If it already got an R,
why is this happening?"
So, one of the board members said:
"Well,
"we don't object to cuts
to make it a better R."
It's just two puppets
in sexual positions.
The whole joke is that.
What kids have done for years.
Take your GI Joe, and your Barbie and...
The first thing that came back
to Paramount was:
"You can have the missionary,
and her on top. That's it."
We were just like:
"That's not a joke. That's nothing!
That's positions.
You can't make a scene out of it.
But we purposely left in
stuff you don't even want in the scene.
'Cause you have to give 'em
something to cut so they
feel like they pissed on it, somewhat.
So, we left the sex scene...
We put in *
every second of footage we cut.
Four minute like sex scene.
It's just ridiculous.
It's not the way it should've been cut.
It was bad.
Wasn't even good for the movie.
We ended up sh**ting extra sh*ts
we didn't even want to put in there.
But we did.
"If you push the line way back so maybe
they'll only cut to here" kinda thing.
I also had heard on "A dirty shame",
and I have no proof of this,
that there were doctors involved,
and that some of the kinkier terms
like "felching" and stuff,
*this explained to the MPAA
what "Felching" meant.
Now, I would like to have heard that,
because,
"felching",
no one has ever done "felching".
"Felching" is when you...
f*ck someone and suck your own cum
out of the very assh*le.
I know a lot of perverts,
and I don't know anyone that's done it.
And I said that, at my appeal.
No, I didn't say what "Felching" was,
but they supposedly had been told.
And I was gonna say, if they'd come up
with what they'd heard about it:
"No that's farting in the bathtub
and biting the bubble."
Who can approve what this really is?
So, my contract said
it had to be an R rating.
And I said: "Oh, come on!
It's a non-explicit american comedy.
"It's a Tracy Ullman, for God's sake!
"This is not a real dirty movie."
So, I sent it. I was a little nervous,
I got the call,
and they said: "NC- ."
And I said:
"I'm kinda really surprised."
The man answered:
"You are surprised?"
And I said:
"What can I cut?"
And they said: "Honnestly,
we stopped taking notes.
That's when my blood turned to ice,
because that's what you fear the most.
When they say: "From overall,
that's the reason, which means..."
And they said: "There is a thousand
brush strokes in this,
"you can't cut ten."
And, I was very...
I think fair about sexuality.
I was responsible.
I made safe sex.
It might be perverted,
but it's safe: you can't get pregnant,
or get AIDS, what's the matter?
I think,
from what I've * read now,
in th grade, girls give blowjobs
routinely.
If I was a parent, I hope they were
"sploshing" instead of giving blowjobs.
"Sploshing" is the erotic urge
to dump food in your private area.
I think you ought to hope
your children
are doing perverted sex acts
with food.
Now, right when
"A dirty shame" was rated, about
a week or two before the Iraq pictures
had been released, from the prison,
nobody was in a great mood about making
jokes about weird sexuality.
I think that had something to do with
it. It could have been *a weird one.
But I think what they'd said to me
this time this rating was:
"Not only can't you make a movie
where you'd show sex all over,
"you can't even talk about sex
all through it."
That's new to me, it seems.
I've been running background checks
on the photo prints for possible raters.
And I don't think they are raters.
I think they're probably working
advertising or anti-piracy.
Is the guard gone?
He's using their time
to chat on the phone.
Oh, my gosh, there is extensions
hanging on the wall.
- What? In his booth?
- Are you serious, Becky?
- Yes! You see it?
- No.
Okay, you see the phone
hanging in the window?
- In his booth?
- Yeah, look at the window.
- Okay.
- Can you see the phone?
Right above, there is a list.
And it's got names of extensions.
I wonder if I can get it
with my camera.
Look, the security guard's leaving.
What are the chances of that?
Let's go, Lindsey.
While I'm filming, you watch for me.
Make sure nobody's coming.
Check it out. Nobody is here.
- Becky, you got that?
- Yes, but not enough.
There are all kinds of stuff, in there.
They have memos,
and office extensions.
- But what was on the list?
- Everybody's names and extensions.
But I don't know how *get *.
Hi, good morning.
I'm trying to reach Joann Yatabe, and
and I keep getting her voicemail.
Is she in a screening, right now?
What time do you think they'll be out?
: .
Okay, and they come out for a break?
Thank you, bye bye.
It's like a puzzle.
You just start with one piece,
and you gradually just slowly
put it together
until you come up with the full picture.
- What time is it, now?
- : .
: ? They must have a
a long movie that they're watching.
- Yeah.
- Here's somebody.
She has a Jag... There she is!
- Yatabe?
- Yeah.
Look at the plates,
just to make sure.
I'm sure it's her. She's the only one
who has a pink Jag.
I don't wanna get too close to her,
but I don't wanna lose her, either.
I need to put on
my safety belt.
- She turned.
- *.
- Maybe.
- This is weird.
Maybe she's driving in
to see if we're following her.
Did she seem like she knew
she is being followed?
No.
- We should get outta here.
- Yeah, but I don't wanna lose her.
I just wanna make sure
there's no other way out.
- There she is.
- She picked someone up.
She's right there.
Okay, I'm gonna have to stop here.
They went into the "Chicken place".
Well, we're going in,
to sit by them,
eat some little, to see what
they're talking about.
- And get a shot?
- And get a shot.
Hello?
Becky's camera isn't working.
I've gotta get that shot.
Kirby, you almost got us caught.
- You serious?
- Oh, my God!
- Did you see me go talk to 'em?
- What happened?
Because they were going:
"Look at that man!
"What's this weirdo? What is he doing?
Is he filming us?"
I was like:
"My God, what am I gonna do?"
So, I jumped out and go:
"Do you know him?
And they're all: "No, do you?"
I go: "No!"
And they go: "Only in LA
you can find someone that weird."
Is that a gram?
New card.
What do you think?
Oh, very nice.
Look at that!
Picked them up from the printer's,
yesterday.
- Good coloring.
- That's bone.
And the lettering is something called
"Silian Rail".
It's very cool, Bateman.
But that's nothing.
Look at this!
So, we finished the film,
we presented it
and we had a call back that
the board objected.
And they wanted to give it an NC-
as they objected to
the entire tone of the film.
We started to laugh, 'cause, you know,
how do you change the tone of a movie?
And then... there was, you know...
The ratings board is not a monolith.
There are differing shades of opinion.
There was a lot of back and forth
at the discussion.
And then, it came down
to really a few things.
Chainsaw scene, which I thought
would be an issue,
the axe m*rder, you know...
That was fine.
It was basically just sex.
It was the three-way sex scene.
It was particularly the rear entry sex.
Any unusual forms of sex I think
are a problem for the ratings board.
Why do you think they had a problem
with these scenes?
I think maybe because
porn is very clear.
You absolutely know where you are
with porn.
It's a straight, you know...
graphic depiction of sex for a purpose.
And then, you know where you are with
entertainment, because it's kind of...
escapist and romanticized.
It takes you into another dream world.
And then, art movies tend to
rub your face in things, they tend
to more challenge you or disturb you.
The fact is that this whole controversy
is whether or not you can
make a dozen more adult pictures
a year...
I don't think many parents
are gonna fret because their children
can't see a sex orgy on a screen.
What strikes you immediately
about the MPAA,
and I'm sure I am like
the th person to say this,
is how much more they seem
to be concerned about sex
than they are about v*olence.
Whereas the movie rating systems
in Europe
have the exact opposite view.
Much more open about sexual depiction,
much more restrictive about
violent depiction than the MPAA.
If you see a movie like "Sin City",
which is R rated and...
it's just full of dismemberments,
decapitations,
the most grisly kind of v*olence.
But that gets an R.
And yet, you see
a film like "The dreamers",
which is sex among three young people
and not even explicit hardcore sex.
And that still is rated NC- !
The fact is it's not true.
Most pictures that get
an NC- rating, the adult rating,
have to do with v*olence.
But it just seems backwards that...
to show human sexuality
in pretty much any form...
... is getting to art territory.
While you can sh**t as many bodies
as long as there is no blood.
And it's PG- . I mean, what are we
training our kids for?
You're not showing the result
of what happens when you fire a g*n.
So I think it should be flipped.
If you show v*olence without blood,
it's like fantasy,
and the only people that can
handle that, intellectually
are adults.
But if you show v*olence with blood,
it should be a PG- ,
so that people can actually realize
the result of what it actually does.
If I were to create a rating
system, I'd put...
I wouldn't even put m*rder
right at the top of the chief offences.
I'd put r*pe
at the top of chief offences.
And as*ault against women.
Because it's so
insanely overused and insulting.
How much it's overused in movies
as a plot device:
a woman in peril.
That, to me, is offensive.
That's shit cakes.
We studied of the
top grossing films
from , for this particular study
on the ratings system.
And what we discovered was that
they aren't doing a very good job
at discriminating for v*olence.
The film industry is engaged
in producing a product
and for very fundamental reasons,
v*olence sells.
Especially to their target demographic.
But... it's not coincidental that
that target demographic
is also the most at risks
for v*olence in american society.
You remember Columbine?
As soon as Columbine occured,
Jack and the others
circled the wagons,
and defended the industry.
And Jack said:
"Nobody knows
"what the impact of
"media v*olence is."
And it's true.
Nobody knows, point by point,
what the relationship is between
this act of v*olence
on the screen,
and this act of v*olence in real life.
Nobody knows cause and effect.
But you can, over a period of time,
get the judgements
of the people who deal with the kids
and others who commit v*olence.
And their judgement, from the first
surgeon generals report on
has been almost unanimously
that it's a negative input.
So we think it's not too much to ask
of a group of people who have
embraced the responsability of informing
parents what's going on in films,
to inform themselves about
what's going on in the research
regarding this connection.
I'd rather have
the person who went to medical school
tell me something
about a medical problem.
This person who studied psychiatry
to tell me what the psychiatrists
know about
the impact upon children
of v*olence, or sexuality or anything.
So, I do want to bring in
expert opinion.
Do you want two or three bags?
- Three?
- Okay.
It's like a motion sensor, right there.
- Do you want more?
- No, that's good.
This usually is the fun thing.
Interesting, a current rating.
Let me see...
This is from Macy's, okay?
What's this?
I don't know what it is.
It's a kind of a summary.
Name of film.
Oh, this is... Wow!
This is...
- This is a... is...
- Is that what they write up?
Looks like it. It looks like
a blank form, or something. Let's see.
Here we go.
This is "Memoirs of a Geisha".
From this, it gets a PG- .
Sex and art nudity, okay.
"Chiyo peeks in on Hatsumoto
"having sex with boyfriend in her room.
"He's on top, gyrating around
and stops when he spots Chiyo.
"Mrs. Nitta sticks her hand
into Hatsumoto's robe
"and inserts her fingers
into her vag*na."?
- And that got a PG?
- That got a PG- !
"She removes her hand and shows her wet
fingers to prove she's just had sex."
Oh, my God!
OK, and then,
look we have "Get Rich or Die Tryin".
That's coming out, I think next week.
Who's making that?
This is R for strong v*olence, language,
some sexuality and nudity.
Okay, sex and art nudity. "Marcus
gets up from bed between two women.
"One woman is topless, breasts exposed.
"Inside prison shower, nude prisoners,
"penis and ass cheeks exposed."
- And they rated it what?
- R.
- Look at that: language.
- Wait...
"Fucks", +,
"m*therf*ckers", +.
So, what I don't understand is
who's counted the "fucks"?
It's a substantial loss for society
when you think that there are people
who can be censors of anything.
And the MPAA is one of the last vestiges
of a censorship system.
After you watched this,
you're gonna go get your pop-corn
out of the microwave,
and talk about what I say.
You'll forget me by the end of this.
When we first started sh**ting
"Gunner Palace",
in Baghdad,
the soldiers in the palace,
all that they asked
was that I tell it like it is.
You know,
"tell the people what our life is like".
Uncensored, unfiltered.
This is their day-to-day,
this is their life.
After we finished editing
"Gunner Palace",
we submitted it for a rating
from the MPAA.
And I think about weeks later,
the rating came back and it was an R.
It was for language, and drug use.
I'm gonna f*ck those m*therf*ckers up,
man.
That m*therf*cker almost hit me.
These are soldiers in a w*r zone!
What do you expect?
They're gonna say: "Oh, darn!
A mortar almost landed on me!"?
This is not fiction.
This is reality.
These are real soldiers.
They're living in a w*r zone.
The language is not gratuitous.
We're not instructing people
to bleed off.
These obscenities,
this is just their life.
And it's also not scripted.
And Joan Graves' take on this was:
"Rules are rules.
"There's no way
you're gonna get a PG- .
"Gentlemen, you're simply...
You know... You're wasting our time."
She also pointed out that
if they did rate a film
like ours PG- ,
that they'd hear from pressure groups.
They would start getting calls,
letters...
And I found this really revealing.
It didn't seem so much that
it's about...
representing the majority opinion
of America.
It seems more about...
kind of bowing to pressure.
The worst thing that could happen...
Well, if you had diarrhoea right now,
that would probably
suck pretty f*cking bad.
This is the language that's spoken.
Yeah, it's horrible.
Yes, we may not agree with it.
We might even be disgusted by it.
But, when the Americans liberated
Buchenwald,
and they saw these images,
and these heaps of people...
Is that PG, is that PG- , is that R?
People need to see that.
When the little girl's running down
the road,
in South Vietnam,
burnt by napalm, and she's naked...
Is that PG? Is that PG- ?
Is that R?
You can't rate reality.
And if you can't deal with that,
then, don't send people to w*r.
The military and the film studios
have colluded for more than years.
Anytime filmmakers want
military assets,
- ships, or tanks, or planes -
they have to give the Pentagon
five copies of their script.
And if there's anything negative
in the script,
the Pentagon wants them to take it out.
And so, they negotiate, and take out...
any w*r crimes,
or foul language, or drinking.
Anything that would make the military
look bad.
And then, after the agreement is made,
the military send a minder on to
the set when the film is being shot
to make sure it's shot
the way they agreed.
And then, once the film is completed,
it has to be shown to the Pentagon,
admirals and generals
before it's shown to the public.
Dozens of films haven't been made
because they couldn't get
military assistance.
So, people have no idea
what they're not seeing.
Jack Valenti knew what was going on.
He was complicit, he was part of it.
It's just a subtle form of brainwashing.
I believe that years
of the constant drumbeat of
"military's good", "american soldiers
are heroic and valiant",
I think has made
the american people more w*r-like
over the last years.
I think we need to step back
for a second and wonder
sort of what all this means
that or companies
completely control the information
in our country.
And when we think about censorship,
what's being censored
are scenes in movies,
which mean nothing
to these people.
And of course,
what's not being regulated
is the ways in which these corporations
control the flow of information.
In the recording industry, the film
industry, TV industry, radio,
press, everything.
And by the time it's completed,
we have three, maybe...
maybe two
companies that essentially own
access to our culture.
It'll be impossible to break up.
Because the political power
of those companies
will be so massive,
and they'll be willing to spend
extraordinary amounts to protect
their cartel position,
that no government'll be strong enough
to stand up to 'em.
I want to pay particular gratitude
to the members of Congress
who're here today.
It pleases me greately that you've come
and it pleases me even more
that you've come from
both sides of the aisle.
I was struck with Ted Stevens,
I'd never heard that before.
But I'd like to claim
that Ted when he said he...
has friends on both sides of the aisle,
but he doesn't know about an aisle.
I... I like that.
There is no doubt
there is a problem with piracy.
But we've got to make sure
that we don't spray DDT to k*ll a gnat.
And I think it's happening.
We're not thinking about the cultural
environmental consequences
from this extraordinary w*r.
A w*r which Jack Valenti calls
his own "t*rror1st w*r",
against the "pirates".
t*rror1st w*r? Who are the t*rrorists,
here? Our children!
We're talking about them
as t*rrorists!
The people who... who are...
pirates, at least in the american
imaginary, are like year-old boys,
who are clever enough
to figure out a way to do it.
They're also Hollywood's best customers.
Still! So, even though
they're pirating information,
they're still going to a whole
lot of movies,
buying a whole lot of DVDs,
soundtracks...
So,
a part of me doesn't feel
tremendously sorry for huge corporations
that make ridiculous profits,
maybe losing a little bit of profits
to this sort of network that actually
ultimately may end up helping 'em.
'Cause it just creates this sort of
constant exchange
about their movies
that didn't exist before.
The MPAA has a very powerful
hold on the culture
and the licensing system,
that they have,
the appeals board, the ratings,
it's just part of it!
I mean, they are a... group
that ought to have its power
withered down.
You are dealing with a very powerful
cultural censorship group,
that doesn't wanna be disempowered.
And if you made those names public,
you might disempower them.
Is there any other review group,
that you can think of, in this country,
in any industry, besides the CIA
that is secret,
that operates in secrecy?
No! No...
If you're gonna take on
that type of a public policy role,
for american culture,
then, I don't think
that you should be hiding
in a veil of secrecy.
I know the MPAA said they're afraid that
these people would be under pressure.
But there are many people that
have important judgements about things,
that are under pressure, influence.
Judges or prosecutors, school officials.
But they all operate
in the public sphere,
and I think these people should as well.
Hi, my name is Becky and I'm calling
to confirm some names with you.
'cause we're gonna be sending
a package off to the ratings department.
Yeah, I have Joan, Mary Ann, Cheryl
Joann, Anthony
Mary, Scott
Alex, Howard, Barry, Mathew
Arleen, John and Dannielle.
Is there anyone I'm missing?
Kori Jones?
Okay, great. Thank you so much.
Bye bye.
She was so sweet she went to get
the list to make sure I had everybody.
Ready, Lindsey?
Wait, she's getting in the .
She's going at least !
- This one, get him!
- I got him!
- He doesn't look happy.
- No, he doesn't!
Got a rater!
He looked right at us.
Here we go, Arleen.
She's attractive.
Here he is.
Get the best shot, Eddie!
Time to go!
She's walking with the white...
Right there!
She looks different in person
than in her car.
We have two raters, here.
Here he is.
Right there, in front of us.
- Yoga class?
- He did?
Yes!
Okay, here he comes.
He looks like George Lucas.
Oh, it's Howard!
We finally get to see him!
He got a mustache, and a beard
He's cute!
Hi, is this the MPAA?
Could I have
the film ratings department?
Yes, yes. I'd like to submit
my film for a rating.
It's a documentary.
It's about the film business.
This is for the ratings board.
- Is it gonna go up right now?
- Yes.
- OK, what's your name?
- George.
George, OK, right. Thanks a lot.
How are you feeling?
It's strange, because you're so small,
and this organisation is so big.
You are sort of... at the mercy of fate,
I guess.
Hello?
Hi, how you doing?
That's great.
Do you mind if I just ask you...
Would you mind if we record
this conversation?
Okay, good, fine.
Thank you very much.
So, was everybody able to see the film?
Yeah. I have a rating for you.
It's NC-
for some graphic sexual content.
Okay, so, it's NC- ,
- for graphic sexual content.
- "Some" graphic sexual content.
For "some" graphic sexual content.
Okay...
Now, because I'm very interested
in this being as accurate as possible,
were there any
glaring inaccuracies in it
that you might let me know about?
Or...
You know,
I'm not gonna comment on the film
in any other aspect
than the rating aspect of it.
- Hi.
- Hi, how you doing?
You're not taping this conversation,
are you?
No, I'm not taping the conversation.
- Are you a parent?
- I am a parent.
Do you feel there is material
in your film
you wouldn't want your children to see?
It's really all depending on the child,
and the context in which they see it,
actually.
I don't think you'd be
a very good rater!
You don't think I'm gonna be
a good rater myself?
No.
- Do you ever do interviews at all?
- No.
But why... I don't understand why
the names are anonymous, because...
Their names are kept secret
so they can come to work every day
and not feel pressure.
But it seems like the raters
you're trying to protect from influence
actually are in direct contact with
the people who can influence them.
The senior raters, especially.
They're strong people,
and I trust them.
Why can't you have an entire board
of those kind of people
and not worry about it,
and have it public?
Now that the public will know
their names,
will the same raters continue to rate
the films?
- I haven't thought about that.
- Well, let me ask you this:
- What was the vote of the raters?
- We don't disclose that.
Can you tell me if it was close,
or not close, anything like that?
It wasn't close.
Could you send out the notes
that people take
or whatever ratings
that the individuals...
- ... raters do?
- No.
Okay. And how many people saw it?
We don't give out that information.
And if I re-submit to try to get
an R rating,
and I take out some footage,
how do I know that I won't take out
something I didn't need to take out?
I guess you can't know,
but if less graphic material is there,
we could help you.
Okay. So, I formally accept the NC-
and I think I should probably at this
point move to the appeal stage.
In your opinion and your experience,
do you think I have a chance
to overturn the appeal?
No, I don't think so.
But you are welcome to try.
I said: "OK, we're gonna do the appeal."
Before I call,
we ask how it works,
and they explained the rules
and a woman, who's not the head woman
said:
"We serve cookies.
Please do not get crumbs on the floor."
Of course, when we lost,
I wanted to crush
the crumbs into the rug.
But I didn't.
But it's a weird situation,
'cause they don't let you just speak.
They say to you
you can not stand up there, and say:
"You know what, in "Basic Instinct",
"Sharon Stone opened her legs,
we saw everything, and you gave it an R.
"Never mind, just pubic hair."
And then... It's not like
a legal proceeding where you can quote
precedent.
They won't allow you to do that.
That's what I told them:
"What other guidelines do I have?"
"I've seen every...
I go to the movies all the time,
"with audiences, in Baltimore.
Which is real America."
And I think I know, I thought I know
what is allowed in an R rated movie.
I've seen some of these teen comedies,
which I'm fine with,
but are really rude!
And what anti-women in my movies,
I think?
So, if you can not use your own history
with the MPAA,
what can...
What are the guidelines?
I only can see everything that comes out
and see what you've rated it recently.
And then, there was a quick...
tallying of the votes
which... I don't know quite how
they tallied the votes.
But then, they said:
"You did a great job.
"But we're sorry to say you lost.
"But you just lost by a margin."
I was so devastated,
because I had bought in to
the fact that this was a system
whereby I could win.
It's kinda like the pat on the back.
You know: "Nice try."
And suddendly, the curtain opens,
an assistant comes in, and she says:
"It's nine to three."
You could kind of hear
the sense of relief,
you know, the sigh of relief
from Joan Graves, like...
And the assistant was like:
"It's to . It's overturned."
And I think what's interesting
about our case,
was that it was really a shock to her.
It was like: "Number one, how dare you
come in and challenge it?
"And number two, how dare you win?"
Is this su1c1de doing this?
I don't know, because
there is only one.
I gotta go back to 'em, next time.
Are you concerned
that if they see you in the film,
that they'll look differently
at your next film?
Yeah, I don't know...
I don't know what
commenting on the very board
that has the power to give you a rating
to get out of the culture
is gonna do...
How *rigid they'll be on my next film.
I guess I would hope... not!
Hello, this is Kirby.
I want to make sure you're aware
of the things that we don't allow.
First, you can't compare scenes
in your film
to similar scenes in other films.
Well, let me ask you about that:
can I compare films, as a whole, then?
Compare my film to another film?
No.
Referring to any other film
is never allowed.
Can I go ahead and do that?
Will anything happen?
I will cut you off.
- You're gonna cut me off?
- Yes, I will.
To restrict me in that way is sort of...
I mean, you are part of the MPAA.
They are the people that I'm...
It's their organisation that I'm...
sort of up against, here...
And then, you're restricting
my opportunity to speak...
It's like I'm going kind of into
a stat situation here, in a way.
At least... I'm actually very surprised
to hear that I...
couldn't actually...
I could actually get cut off!
- I can't even make my point...
- It's not like we forbade you to speak,
... but every system has its rules,
and you have to follow them.
But, do I like... Do I introduce myself
individually to each person,
and they say: "Hi, I'm such or such,
from such..."?
No, I'm afraid we don't do that.
Can I have a list of the people that
that are there, so I know who those
people are, who made the decision?
No. Absolutely not!
I can't even have a list of the people
who made a decision about my film?
No, you don't need to know those names.
Wait a minute...
That doesn't seem right, because...
I mean, this is not a secret board.
The ratings board is secret,
but this isn't secret.
So why can't I, at least, have
a list of those names?
That doesn't...
That seems like a sort of a...
a Star Chamber, or something.
They're gone!
Hello?
- Hello? Where'd you go?
- I'm here!
- We were just looking at the rules.
- I see...
But, nonetheless... Why can't
I have that list of those names?
Kirby, we choose not to make
those names public.
But it's not a secret board, is it?
I'm not going to tell you their names!
From the very beginning,
when we got our NC- rating,
there was an undue emphasis
put on the fact
that it was not to do
with the h*m* content.
And that was repeated, and it made me
actually come to understand
that it probably was to do with that.
f*ck, Vince!
We are buddies, we are pals,
we are partners, we are a duo!
We love each other, but we don't...
f*ck!
The lady who was there
from the MPAA told me:
"You're so close. If only you could
make that scene a bit fuzzier..."
Then, she stopped and said:
"But I'm not an artist,
I don't know how you compose that."
And I said: "No, that's brilliant,
what you are saying! Keep going!
"Would you like to edit my next film?
You're a visionnary!"
This is Denis,
from "Screen International".
I can only say I gave it our best shot.
We really did!
And, what they were asking us to do...
at this point, would've been
completely unacceptable.
So, the film'll go out
as it was originally intended.
There is nothing to do.
You can't re-appeal.
We re-submitted it
in two different versions
and this was the final stage.
In this particular case, it means that
people won't be able to see the film...
Theatrically, in many provinces
of the country.
Yes, it was very surprising,
I must say.
Our FUM today said there were members
of the clergy in the room.
They are specifically
from two denominations.
Episcopalian and Catholic.
And there is no rotating basis.
It's always going to be
Episcopalian and Catholic.
They do not vote, but they are part
of the secret discussion
which you are not previewed to.
Who is the person who's usually there
from *?
It is usually Joan Graves.
But I mean a different person
the MPAA actually... runs.
Usually, one of their attorneys.
I see. Do you know their names?
I probably shouldn't... divulge.
Even the chair...
That's also secret?
Well, yes. It's probably better
if we don't mention names.
These two members of the clergy
are there too, right?
- As observers.
- Do they ever ask any question?
- No.
- No?
They are not permitted,
according to the rules.
So they actually are totally mum,
they don't speak at all.
So, what do they do,
when they're there?
They behave the same way as all of us.
They watch the movie, possibly
participate in discussion, they vote.
- They do cast a vote?
- Yes!
And there always has been clergy, since
the time that you've been there?
What did you think about that?
Since they were only observers, I really
didn't give it a second thought.
What is this kind of rationnal...
behind having clergy on the board?
I have no idea.
I guess they feel maybe they're...
they have a horse in the race, and
they should be titled to an opinion.
But I don't know, obviously.
Why are they there?
Frankly, I really haven't thought
about that, because I don't
consider them part of the process.
They are just there so...
it's sort of the...
... part of the wallpaper.
I'm already divulging a lot here that
I probably shouldn't be divulging.
At some point, I think I have to draw
a line, and be careful.
This is something that
we need you to look into.
This is a really important thing
we found out.
We found out that there are two members
of the clergy
on the appeals board.
A catholic priest
and episcopalian priest.
* and they don't tell
anybody about this.
- Is that something you can do?
- Absolutely. I'm just curious.
How'd you go about doing that, though?
One, they would be associated
with a church.
- OK.
- If I run their names,
and if they are ministers,
the church is gonna come out.
- Oh, I see. Cool!
- OK.
I have been asked by the
National Council of Churches
to represent them, protestants.
And join forces if you will
with the Catholic office,
and they have representatives
in common.
And our role,
is to...
... attend the hearings for appeals.
The relationship between church groups
and censorship
is apparent, palpable.
It always has been.
Whether be Lenny Bruce,
or whether be Comstock...
Valenti, wisely I think, felt
that this should be
a transparent process.
But it couldn't be broadcast
to the public.
So, he reached the conclusion that
religious representatives in the room...
That would at least indicate
to the religious bodies,
and to the public, if they ask
that this is an above board process.
There is a whole moralistic tone
to the room.
These are moral censors.
These are people
who're making judgements
about other people's morality.
There aren't that many places in the US
where you get that.
How is the vote taken?
It's...
What d'you mean, "how is it taken"?
How are the votes cast
in the appeal?
Ask *
Everybody know he comes to the meetings.
But I don't think that's a question
I should answer.
What is your relationship like
with Joan Graves?
We're friends, and...
I respect her film knowledge,
and I respect the tough job
that she has.
She has the delicate role of trying
to make the filmmaker realize...
"Make your picture, make it work!
"But realize that if you go down
this road too far,
"you're cutting off a certain audience.
And that's your choice."
We don't want to restrict
the film artist.
We want to give the artists the freedom
to make the films they want to make.
But we do not want to make it
totally free.
December st, ,
was the day of my appeal.
No cameras or press were permitted
inside the building.
And there was no written record
of the proceedings.
The chair was Greg Goeckner,
the attorney for the MPAA.
Everyone was given a badge,
with only a number on it.
My number was twenty-two.
After introducing myself,
I asked for the names of the people
on the appeals board.
The chair refused my request.
I then asked for the name
of the member of clergy present.
That name was also refused.
When I turned to the board and asked
if anyone of them'd identify themselves,
there was complete silence.
The chair suggested that
if I had a problem with the system,
I should send a letter to the MPAA.
I countered that it was the basic right
of any appellant
to know the people deciding
his appeal.
A board member yelled out
that I was confused about the rules.
Another shouted that I was wasting
their time.
The NC- rating was upheld
by a ten to zero vote.
I later learned the MPAA was
so afraid of exposing the names
of the appeals board members
that Joan Graves made a special
arrangement for them
to meet first, and then,
she transported them all
in and out of the building,
in a black van, with tinted windows.
But what they didn't know
is that months earlier,
on the date of another appeal,
Becky was outside of that same building.
Okay, Lindsey.
VAP
Yeah, this is really good.
CA
I dunno what's gonna be on my tombstone,
Harry, but I'd like to write it,
and say that the modest legacy
Jack Valenti
left the movie industry was:
"He freed the screen from
all artificial barrier."
This Film Is Not Yet Rated (2006)
Moderator: Maskath3