In another one of those ‘huh?’ moments, MPAA chairman and CEO Dan Glickman extended the association’s help to those indie filmmakers at the Sundance Film Festival with news of the appointment of a liason, 19-year MPAA vet Scott Young, to help guide indie filmmakers on ratings. But that’s not the only thing. The MPAA also announced they will now accept the NC-17 rating, and furthermore encourage those same indie filmmakers to strive for it. What the f*ck?!
For the uninitiated, indie filmmakers have always had it bad when it came to the Classification and Rating Administration or CARA (operated by the MPAA and the National Association of Theatre Owners), who basically tell indie filmmakers what they can/can’t have in their films. With the liason, the filmmakers have a ‘conduit’ for information, but not necessarily an advocate.
Nonetheless, this is big news, as films like TEETH and the original cut of SAW can now remain closer to what filmmakers intended them to be. Still, there are criticisms, as the old ratings system is still in place, so stupid stuff will (and still) happen.
But hey, that’s progress. Click here for the entire story.