“This Film is Not Yet Rated” is a documentary by Kirby Dick (he also did Twist of Faith) which looks at secretive world of the MPAA’s rating board (the body that assigns rating suck as PG or R to films in the US). He made this film because of the hard time this body often gives Indie filmmakers and their movies.
Here’s the funny part… the ratings board just gave “This Film is Not Yet Rated” an NC-17 rating, which mean no one under 18 can get in to see it. This limits the demographic to which the movie can appeal to and hurts it’s chances for financial success. Ouch! Some people would call that irony.
But here’s the thing. I don’t really feel sorry for this guy, because according to the news service Reuters:
Dick, who this year was nominated for a feature documentary Oscar for “Twist of Faith,” took a calculated risk by submitting the IFC Films project for a rating because it includes several clips from NC-17 movies. Dick isn’t sure which clips inspired the rating.
“We encountered what many indie filmmakers encounter,” he said. “There are a great many inequities and inconsistencies in the rating system, in part because it is so secret. The ratings board is reluctant to be specific, which can be maddening.”
Wait a minute wait a minute. So you put clips of NC-17 rated movies in your documentary… clips that the ratings board already deemed to deserve an NC-17 rating…. and now you’re acting surprised that the board gave you an NC-17 too? Is that a joke?
I think it’s obvious that Mr. Dick intentionally got his film the NC-17 just so he could complain about it and create buzz for his project… either that or he’s the stupidest man on the planet.
