Documentary 'Bully' will have no rating rather than R after local teen's petition
An Ann Arbor teen has apparently won a victory of sorts in her efforts to get the national movie ratings agency to reclassify the documentary "Bully," the Los Angeles Times reports.
An online petition drive with nearly a half-million signatures and counting supports Katy Butler's effort to win the movie a PG-13 rating so that more teenagers would be able to see it. The MPAA has rated the movie as R because of profanity.
But Monday, the Weintstein Co., which produced the movie, said it will release the movie with no rating at all rather than live with the R, the LA Times reports. The risk in doing that is that some theaters may be unwilling to show an unrated movie.
Read the full report from the LA Times here.
Find more coverage of Katy Butler's efforts here.
"Bully" opens in limited release this week and is expected to expand in the coming weeks.
Comments
jns131
Wed, Mar 28, 2012 : 2:14 p.m.
I think the Michigan Theater will air this one since it likes to air movies of questionable value. I for one can't wait to see this piece. Congrats on the win. MPAA does not like pressure so they gave in and gave Katy what she wanted.
Long Time No See
Tue, Mar 27, 2012 : 7:45 p.m.
The ratings system is ridiculous, esp. when it comes to comparing violence to language and nudity (or other "morality" issues). I recommend checking out "This Film Is Not Yet Rated", which I think provides an interesting perspective on this kind of ratings issue. (Definitely *not* a film for kids, though.)
justaposter
Tue, Mar 27, 2012 : 6:02 p.m.
Congratulations Katy! This is a great step. Hunger Games where kids kill kids (yes I know it's fiction) is PG-13, but our teens delicate ears can't hear a few swear words? Excellent news and I hope Bully is a huge success.
say it plain
Tue, Mar 27, 2012 : 5:08 p.m.
I think it's great that the distributors were willing to take this risk rather than let it stand as an R movie. I hope theaters do not shy away from showing it, because it needs to be seen. The whole idea that language in the film-- probably (I haven't seen it yet, so I can't know) used by children to try to hurt other children-- would keep the horrible problem of bullying from being SEEN and addressed by more people due to its being "offensive".... is rather offensive to me. Leaving it unrated seems a reasonable solution.