While McMahon declined to discuss specific films, she detailed how the raters go about determining which movies fall into which ratings category.Įxactly which rating a studio or filmmaker wants depends on the audience they're going after. She and the panel's other three public members act as liaisons with filmmakers and studios to preview scripts and help translate guidelines. "The reason we have a lot less appeals now is because we do work so closely with filmmakers," McMahon said. But there have only been two appeals in the past two years, she said. That could mean cutting a shot that raters found tipped the scale toward an R rating, or reducing the number of times a swear word is used. If they're not happy with their rating, filmmakers can challenge CARA's decisions through an appeals process, or simply re-edit their films to get a different rating. So did David Cronenberg's "Crimes of the Future," for disturbing violent content and grisly images, graphic nudity and some strong language. Universal's "The Black Phone" also earned the rating for violence, bloody images, strong language and some drug use. "Horror fans have long coveted movies that bear the stamp of an R rating," Dergarabedian said. The rating might also signal that a film is violent, gory or psychologically disturbing − all elements of a good horror movie. "It is a simple majority that rules," McMahon said. At least five raters must have seen the film for CARA to provide a rating the group tries to have an odd number of raters watch films so votes won't end in a tie. During the pandemic, the panel met virtually. "We get a lot of our guidance from surveys and talking to other parents," she said.īefore the pandemic, the raters watched movies together in an office screening room, then met to discuss the movie's contents and vote. Raters are watching for sex, nudity and language, which are consistently among parents' top concerns, McMahon said. The panel screens around three films a day, watching each movie from start to finish - including the credits. "We strive for a diverse group of raters in terms of race, gender, ethnicity, geographical upbringing, religious views, political views," she said, adding the majority of Americans parents would ideally agree with the group's ratings. Most members serve for around seven years - or until their youngest child reaches the age of 21, McMahon said. To be selected, candidates must have a child between the ages of 5 and 15. And if the word is used to signify sex, the film automatically gets an R rating.Įstablished in 1968 as a guideline for parents, the MPA panel is made up of full-time and part-time employees who don't have any other relations to the entertainment industry. But any movie with more than three F-bombs likely couldn't remain PG-13, she said. There are exceptions, usually when the word is just repeated in a short time or used as part of an emotional scene, McMahon said. But it only used the F-word once, allowing it to remain PG-13. Warner Bros.' "The Batman," for example, has a lot of profane dialogue, including the use of s-, b- and a. "Used more than once as an expletive, it gets kicked up to an R," said McMahon, chair of the Classification and Rating Administration (CARA), a Los Angeles-based division of the Motion Picture Association. One of the group's rules, for instance, says the F-bomb can be used as an expletive just once in a film rated PG-13, which means suitable for people 13 and older. Though it toils in relative obscurity, the panel's ratings for about 700 movies each year can help determine whether films are suitable for children and have a big impact on a movie's box office performance.
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