LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Filmmaker Michael Moore and distributors of his
anti-Iraq War do***entary "Fahrenheit 9/11" are contesting the restrictive
rating it received from the Motion Picture Association of America because
of
its strong language and violence.
The MPAA, which represents major studios and administers its
classification
system, gave the film an R rating due to "violent and disturbing images
and
for language," a spokesman for the Wa****ngton-based organization said on
Monday.
An "R" rating prohibits anyone under 17 years of age from seeing the film
unless accompanied by a parent or adult guardian.
Moore's film, a scathing critique of President Bush's foreign policy and
the
U.S. war in Iraq, is slated for U.S. commercial release on June 25 in 500
to
1,000 theaters, making it one of the biggest openings ever for a
do***entary.
The film's distributors, Lions Gate Films and IFC Films, argue that an R
rating will unfairly limit the movie's exposure to younger moviegoers.
"I think that the R rating is wrong and inappropriate, and we're going to
do
everything we can do to get it overturned and make it a PG-13 rating so we
can bring 'Fahrenheit 9/11' to the widest possible audience," Lions Gate
Films Releasing president Tom Ortenberg told Reuters.
'RIGHT TO SEE WHAT IS GOING ON IN IRAQ'
"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 in a
weekend statement. "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 prize at last month's Cannes film festival.
But it sparked a furor in May after the Walt Disney Co. refused to allow
its
Miramax Films unit to release the movie, claiming it was too politically
charged.
Miramax co-chairmen Bob and Harvey Weinstein subsequently bought the film
from Disney and struck a distribution deal with independent distributors
Lions Gate and IFC.
IFC Entertainment President Jonathan Sehring speculated that the R rating
stemmed in part from graphic images of war causalities in the film. But
Ortenberg added: "There's nothing in this film that is any more disturbing
than what people see on the nightly news."
MPAA spokesman Rich Taylor declined to specify how the 12-member board
formed its judgment other than to say its "sole function" is to review
films
and assign ratings that enable "parents to make informed decisions."
An appeal review has been set for June 22 in Los Angeles. Ortenberg said
Moore alone would to decide whether to edit the film to achieve a PG-13
rating if the appeal fails. Otherwise, the movie will be released with an
R
rating, he said.
Although do***entaries are routinely shown without ratings, and neither
Lions Gate nor IFC Films belongs to the MPAA, Ortenberg said "Fahrenheit
9/11" is going through the ratings process because of its wide release.
"We certainly don't want to give theaters any reason not to play this
picture," he said, noting that a newly formed organization opposed to the
film was lobbying exhibitors to boycott it.
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