Is the MPAA off its rocker?

[Plain Old Tele]

4 minutes ago, cannastop said:

Well, this isn't going to happen anyways, but...

 

It could be done in any given city, as it wouldn't require anything more sophisticated than what Cinemascore does.

 

Sure, we're just spit-balling a concept. The difference between this and Cinemascope would be piracy and security. Movies are rated weeks or sometimes months before release, so you'd have to give the theaters a rock-solid secure way to screen without the possibility of leaks (whether a digital rip or just information about the details of the movie). I'm not quite sure how to do that in a way that the studios would feel comfortable enough allowing it to happen. Maybe with a hard-core set of NDAs?

[cannastop]

1 minute ago, Nutella of Arabia said:

 

Sure, we're just spit-balling a concept. The difference between this and Cinemascope would be piracy and security. Movies are rated weeks or sometimes months before release, so you'd have to give the theaters a rock-solid secure way to screen without the possibility of leaks (whether a digital rip or just information about the details of the movie). I'm not quite sure how to do that in a way that the studios would feel comfortable enough allowing it to happen. Maybe with a hard-core set of NDAs?

Considering the amount of advance public screenings that many movies have, I didn't see leaks as an issue.

[Jason]

11 minutes ago, Nutella of Arabia said:

There aren't many PG live-action movies anymore either -- that's now almost exclusively directed at animated family movies. And, of course, no studio makes an NC-17 movie. So for all intents and purposes, there are only two ratings for the vast majority of movies, and the line between them is hazy. It's not a very good system at the moment.

 

So on further inspection, it seems like "G" in Canada is the de facto rating for animated family movies, I actually can't find a live-action example currently in theatres. Our "R" is the equivalent NC-17, and pretty much never happens as well. So live-action films here are split between "PG", 14A, and 18A (equivalent of R), with PG-13 films in the US generally being "PG" here but occasionally 14A, and R films being split between 14A and 18A.

 

I think that's a little better? But then again, different country, maybe parents in the US would freak out over some R films being rated 14A instead.

[Plain Old Tele]

6 minutes ago, cannastop said:

Considering the amount of advance public screenings that many movies have, I didn't see leaks as an issue.

 

But information about them leaks all over the place, especially the more general screenings that happen a week or two before release. Why would the studios willingly allow that to happen much farther out? In many cases the movies aren't finished yet, so any would-be leaks could be extremely damaging. Studios do do small, more secretive test screenings far earlier, of course, but leaks happen sometimes there as well. And the process of making it more secret kinda goes against the thrust of your suggestion to begin with: to open it up to a wider audience.

[Lordmandeep]

I think it should be taken away.

 

 Only in theaters is this rule applied and most people watch movies at home now.

 

I let my 11-12 year old cousins watch 21 Jump Street, it was my choice...

Edited September 27, 2016 by Lordmandeep

[cannastop]

29 minutes ago, Nutella of Arabia said:

The studios have decided that G turns audiences off, so they don't bother making live-action G-rated movies. (Occasionally, when a movie gets slapped with a G they add in a cuss word or beg to be re-categorized as a PG). There aren't many PG live-action movies anymore either -- that's now almost exclusively directed at animated family movies. And, of course, no studio makes an NC-17 movie. So for all intents and purposes, there are only two ratings for the vast majority of movies, and the line between them is hazy. It's not a very good system at the moment.

Well, there are a few animated features that still go with G. Kind of rare, though.

 

I don't think it's the MPAA's fault that nearly all movies are either PG-13 or R. You're going to have to blame consumers and advertisers for that one.

[cannastop]

14 minutes ago, Jason said:

 

So on further inspection, it seems like "G" in Canada is the de facto rating for animated family movies, I actually can't find a live-action example currently in theatres. Our "R" is the equivalent NC-17, and pretty much never happens as well. So live-action films here are split between "PG", 14A, and 18A (equivalent of R), with PG-13 films in the US generally being "PG" here but occasionally 14A, and R films being split between 14A and 18A.

 

I think that's a little better? But then again, different country, maybe parents in the US would freak out over some R films being rated 14A instead.

More like 99% of the US doesn't know WTF 14A is.

 

Just giving different names to the ratings doesn't change anything. It's a cultural thing.

Edited September 27, 2016 by cannastop

[Jason]

9 minutes ago, cannastop said:

More like 99% of the US doesn't know WTF 14A is.

 

Just giving different names to the ratings doesn't change anything. It's a cultural thing.

 

Well, 14A doesn't exist in the US. So what I meant is that if some R films were to instead admit teenagers 14+ (regardless of what that new rating was called), that might bother parents in the US even though it's almost always a non-issue here for films rated 14A.

Edited September 27, 2016 by Jason

[cannastop]

7 minutes ago, Jason said:

 

Well, 14A doesn't exist in the US. So what I meant is that if some R films were to instead admit teenagers 14+ (regardless of what that new rating was called), that might bother parents in the US even though it's almost always a non-issue here for films rated 14A.

Most R rated movies don't appeal to young moviegoers anyways, with some exceptions like Deadpool.

 

I also get the feeling that no one cares about movies anymore, and most parents don't give a rip what their teenagers see in cinemas.

Edited September 27, 2016 by cannastop

[Plain Old Tele]

23 minutes ago, cannastop said:

I don't think it's the MPAA's fault that nearly all movies are either PG-13 or R. You're going to have to blame consumers and advertisers for that one.

 

No, it isn't, I agree with you.

[YM!]

The G rating is kind of useless and outdated now, some movies shouldn't be rated PG or PG-13 but To be honest, in the end of the day, it's the parents decide on what's okay for their kids, and how mature said kid is. For example, my 6 year old cousin and I play CoD, but that doesn't mean he can watch something like 50 shades of gray.

Edited September 27, 2016 by YourMother

[That One Girl]

1 hour ago, Blankments said:

Yes because movie ratings are as important as our criminal justice system

 

I wasn't saying it was, I was saying it could sort of be done like that.

[That One Girl]

MPAA ratings updates are coming in within an hour btw

[SchumacherFTW]

US would just adopt our British system. Makes much more sense 

[Kalo]

On 9/25/2016 at 8:56 PM, I Am A Walking Curse said:

 

G and PG are completely interchangeable at this point IMO.  I'd say take away PG and just make it G, basically meaning "family movie."  

 

Yeah but they will never do that becuase they want to protect thier butts from lawsuits, that's why the PG rating has gotten so strict the last couple of years, certain people are raised to be babies and get offended over every little thing. Movies like, The Little Mermaid, The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast would all be rated PG if they were released today.  

 

 

[cannastop]

24 minutes ago, Kalo said:

 

Yeah but they will never do that becuase they want to protect thier butts from lawsuits, that's why the PG rating has gotten so strict the last couple of years, certain people are raised to be babies and get offended over every little thing. Movies like, The Little Mermaid, The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast would all be rated PG if they were released today.  

 

 

I don't think lawsuits have anything to do with it. The Shrek movies were PG and fucking huge, so why not rate everything PG?

[Kalo]

3 hours ago, cannastop said:

I don't think lawsuits have anything to do with it. The Shrek movies were PG and fucking huge, so why not rate everything PG?

 

Um.. well almost all animated films are PG now. in fact that's probably part of the reason. 

[Jonwo]

6 hours ago, SchumacherFTW said:

US would just adopt our British system. Makes much more sense 

 

The BBFC isn't perfect but I think the rating system is better than the MPAA which allow parents to bring kids into totally unsuitable films. 

 

[Webslinger]

Meh, the MPAA has been so nonsensical for so long that anything they do seems normal as long as we're not talking about something really crazy like three or more f-bombs or sexual nudity in a PG-13, or a woman enjoying sex in an R. 

 

That said, The Magnificent Seven has to be one of the more cynical recent cases of an R-rated film being presented just cleanly enough to snag a PG-13.

[Alpha]

On September 27, 2016 at 4:08 PM, cannastop said:

It's not like the MPAA isn't some bureaucratic nightmare either. If anything having it be like jury duty would simplify things.

 

The MPAA should really just have a panel of child behavioral experts and independent filmmakers to decide their ratings, and then actually give out their names. They've become too bureaucratic and their process is too secretive.