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MPAA Gives Oscar Fave ‘The King’s Speech’ PG-13 Rating For Removing 2 Swear Words

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Friday February 25, 2011 @ 2:36pm PSTTags: Movie Ratings, Movie Ratings Dispute, Movies, MPAA, MPAA Ratings, The King's Speech, The King's Speech Rating, The Weinstein Co

Everyone is hungry to horn in on the glitz and glamor of the 83rd Academy Awards. Even the Motion Picture Association of America which first went to the media to announce it was giving a PG-13 rating to a slightly altered version of The King’s Speech before the organization even bothered to alert the movie’s U.S. distributor The Weinstein Company. I’ve learned that the Weinstein Co was told that, if 3 of the 5 uses of the swear word “Fuck” were muted, then the pic would receive a lesser rating than its current “R”. No film footage was altered in keeping with director Tom Hooper’s insistence that the stammering king’s pivotal therapy-by-cursing scene not be cut. Deadline initially broke the news that The Weinstein Co was seeking the lower PG-13 film rating in response to educational and church groups who wanted to show the movie. Not to mention that, if this frontrunner for Best Motion Picture does win the Oscar on Sunday night, the Weinstein Co will be able to draw wider and bigger audiences into theaters and thus make more moolah. Especially because the MPAA waived any waiting period.

Here is the MPAA news release:

LOS ANGELES – The Classification and Rating Administration (CARA) has assigned a PG-13 rating to an alternate version of The King’s Speech submitted by The Weinstein Company. The original version of the film is rated R “for some language.” CARA has rated the alternate version PG-13 “for language.” Bob Pisano, President and Interim CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA) and John Fithian, President and CEO of the National Association of Theatre Owners, have also waived, upon request from The Weinstein Company, a CARA rule requiring a distributor to fully withdraw the original version of the film from theaters for 90-days before replacing it with an alternate version.

The purpose of the 90-day withdrawal period is to avoid public confusion about the rating of a film when there is more than one version introduced theatrically. However, the ratings rules allow the film’s distributor to show the MPAA and NATO that a period less than 90 days is sufficient to prevent confusion in light of circumstances related to the motion picture.

“The movie rating system has endured for more than 40 years because it was designed to evolve not only with societal values, but with the growth and evolution of the motion picture industry itself,” said Pisano. “The Weinstein Company has undertaken a commitment to ensure, through a revised advertising campaign, that it will be clear to consumers that a newly rated version of this film is coming to theaters near them. In this case a waiver is justified.”

Added Fithian, “Given The Weinstein Company’s commitment to advertise and promote the new version of The King’s Speech as a differently rated version, to remove all prints of the earlier version, and given the high profile of the movie, we believe there is little likelihood of confusion among our patrons. We are pleased that The Weinstein Company respected the rating system by creating a different version of their movie and submitting it for proper classification before making it available to a wider audience.”

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David Schwimmer Loses Ratings Appeal On ‘Trust’

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Wednesday December 22, 2010 @ 3:00pm PSTTags: David Schwimmer, David Schwimmer Trust, Millennium Entertainment, Movie Ratings, Movies, Trust R Rating
Mike Fleming

Citing “disturbing material involving the rape of a teen, language, sexual content and some violence,” the Classification and Rating Appeals Board upheld the R rating given Trust. The David Schwimmer-directed film for Millennium Entertainment is a drama about a family’s … Read More »

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Weinsteins Hire Legal Pitbulls David Boies And Bert Fields For Ratings War With MPAA

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Thursday November 18, 2010 @ 7:41am PSTTags: Alan R. Friedman, Bert Fields, Blue Valentine Rating, David Boies, Harvey Weinstein, Movie Ratings, Movie Ratings Dispute, Movies, MPAA Ratings, The King's Speech Rating, The Weinstein Co
Mike Fleming

LOS ANGELES, CA (November 18, 2010) – In response to the ratings given to two of its upcoming films, The Weinstein Company (TWC) announced today that it has engaged a formidable legal team to challenge the NC-17 rating for BLUE VALENTINE and the R rating for THE KING’S SPEECH given by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), according to TWC Co-Chair Harvey Weinstein.

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Weinstein Company To Fight ‘Blue Valentine’ NC-17 Appeal In November

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Thursday October 14, 2010 @ 6:43am PDTTags: Alan R. Friedman, Blue Valentine, Blue Valentine NC-17 Rating, Blue Valentine Oscar Buzz, David Boies, Derek Cianfrance, Harvey Weinstein, Michelle Williams, Movie Ratings, Movies, MPAA Blue Valentine, MPAA Ratings Board, Oscars, Ryan Gosling, The Weinstein Co
Mike Fleming

The Weinstein Company next month will challenge the preliminary NC-17 rating that the MPAA slapped on Blue Valentine, the Derek Cianfrance-directed drama that is a potential Oscar contender for performances by Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling. An appeal was expected since Deadline broke the news that the film was dealt a rating that places restrictions on its theatrical run and its ancillary life as well. The hearing will be held in November, and Harvey Weinstein will be represented by attorneys Alan R. Friedman of Kattin Muchin and David Boies of Boies, Schiller & Flexner. The film will be platformed in December to qualify for Oscar consideration. Read More »

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MPAA Gives Ryan Gosling-Michelle Williams Drama ‘Blue Valentine’ Dreaded NC-17

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Friday October 8, 2010 @ 7:35am PDTTags: Blue Valentine, Blue Valentine NC-17 Rating, Blue Valentine Oscar Buzz, Derek Cianfrance, Michelle Williams, Movie Ratings, Movies, MPAA, MPAA Blue Valentine, Oscar Buzz, Oscars, Ryan Gosling, The Weinstein Co, Time Warner Cable
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: In a surprising development, the MPAA ratings board has slapped an NC-17 rating on Blue Valentine, the Derek Cianfrance-directed drama that is creating Oscar buzz for the performances of Ryan Gosling and Michelle Willams. The film, about the slow corrosion of the relationship between a young couple, was acquired by The Weinstein Company after its premiere at the last Sundance Film Festival. The film also played at Cannes and Toronto. Read More »

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