MPAA's Glickman Urges Support for NC-17 Rating

by | January 23, 2007 | Comments

In a move perhaps prompted by the success of, and publicity surrounding, last year’s "This Film is Not Yet Rated," Variety reports that MPAA chairman-CEO Dan Glickman met with filmmakers and studio executives in Sundance (check out our coverage) on Monday, both to express support for the board’s rarely-used NC-17 rating, and to announce the appointment of a liaison to help answer questions and add transparency to the ratings process.

The timing was appropriate, given that the day before, The Weinstein Company and Lionsgate purchased the rights to "Teeth," which the article describes as "a dark comedy about a girl who has teeth in her vagina."

At a press briefing after the meeting, Glickman told reporters:

"We are going to talk about this with the Directors Guild of America and the National Association of Theater Owners … It’s one of our ratings, and I’d like to see it used more."

The NC-17 rating, which was intended to help the commercial prospects of films too graphic to obtain an R, has largely failed to escape the stigma associated with the X rating.