Weinstein Annoyed At MPAA over Bully’s Rating

Now I think we all have our issues with the MPAA. One of my favorite documentaries This Film Is Not Yet Rated digs into the very confusing process of how a movie is rated. It’s not new to hear about filmmakers looking to get a film’s rating over-turned. The newest challenge has come from the Weinstein Company. This is not the first time that the Weinsteins have had to battle the MPAA over a rating but more than any other film, I think these guys have a point.

Weinstein Co want to release a documentary called Bully about the bullying issue in American High Schools.  The Weinstein’s believe (and quite correctly) that a film like this should be able to be seen by kids of all ages, specifically the ones dealing with Bullying. However, the MPAA has continually given it an R rating. After Harvey Weinstein and Alex Libby (one of the kids bullied in the documentary) failed to get the rating over turned Harvey offered the following statement.

“As of today, The Weinstein Company is considering a leave of absence from the MPAA for the foreseeable future. We respect the MPAA and their process but feel this time it has just been a bridge too far.

I have been through many of these appeals, but this one vote loss is a huge blow to me personally. Alex Libby gave an impassioned plea and eloquently defended the need for kids to be able to see this movie on their own, not with their parents, because that is the only way to truly make a change.

With school-age children of my own, I know this is a crucial issue and school districts across the U.S. have responded in kind. The Cincinnati school district signed on to bus 40,000 of their students to the movie — but because the appeals board retained the R rating, the school district will have to cancel those plans.

I personally am going to ask celebrities and personalities worldwide, from Lady Gaga (who has a foundation of her own) to the Duchess of Cambridge (who was a victim of bullying and donated wedding proceeds) to First Lady Michelle Obama (whose foundation has reached out to us as well), to take a stand with me in eradicating bullying and getting the youth into see this movie without restriction.”

I can’t speak for all of Geekscape but I stand behind the Weinsteins on this one.