MPAA News

The 15:17 To Paris is a 2018 USA drama by Clint Eastwood.
Starring Jenna Fischer, Judy Greer and Jaleel White.

American soldiers discover a terrorist plot on a Paris-bound train.

The Warner Bros film was originally submitted to the MPAA in December 2017 and was rated R for a sequence of violence and bloody images.

The distributors successfully appealed to the CARA Appeals Board, and got the rating changed to PG-13 for bloody images, violence, some suggestive material, drug references and language.

Boo 2! A Madea Halloween is a 2017 USA comedy horror by Tyler Perry.
Starring Tyler Perry, Patrice Lovely and Brock O'Hurn.

Madea, Bam, and Hattie venture to a haunted campground and the group must run for their lives when monsters, goblins, and the boogeyman are unleashed.

The film was cut in the US for an MPAA PG-13 rating for sexual references, drug content, language and some horror images.

Director Tyler Perry said that an earlier submission had resulted in an R rating. He attributed this to Madea's pot-smoking brother, Joe, and his foul language. Perry elaborated:

Just language. Joe. Out of control. His language was just really really rough and in PG you could only really say... they only give you so many curse words if you are going to stay PG-13. That was it, just language.

Charles Rivkin took over from Chris Dodd as CEO of the MPAA on 5th of September 2017.

Charles Rivkin was the former assistant Secretary of State for economic and business affairs under President Barack Obama. Before his stint at the State Department Rivkin served as U.S. Ambassador to France and Monaco. Before that, he spent nearly 20 years in Hollywood as president and CEO of the Jim Henson Co. and then as CEO of Wildbrain.

Rivkin said in a blog post:

The MPAA's member companies are investing in a variety of new platforms and channels for content. There are now more than 130 lawful online platforms for film and television content in the United States, and more than 480 around the world, allowing global audiences to access creative entertainment where, when, and on any device they want.

Our members are building partnerships with creators around the world, including investing in a growing number of co-productions with studios in international markets, while supporting diverse storytelling through programs with multicultural organizations.

This work is vital to our future. Together, our industry must advance creativity and protect content from new forms of piracy. We must continue to drive innovation both in how we tell stories and reach audiences. And we must expand the global market for films and television programming in our effort to create high quality American jobs.

Blood Feast is a 2016 Germany / USA horror by Marcel Walz.
Starring Robert Rusler, Caroline Williams and Sophie Monk.

Fuad Ramses and his family have moved from the United States to France, where they run an American diner. Since business is not going too well, Fuad also works night shifts in a museum of ancient Egyptian culture. During these long, lonely nights he is repeatedly drawn to a statue representing the seductive ancient goddess ISHTAR. He becomes more and more allured by the goddess as she speaks to him in visions.

The Blood Feast remake is struggling to get an R rating from the MPAA. The producers have now submitted the film 3 times presumably with ever increasing cuts but the MPAA is still refusing an R rating. 

Director Marcel Walz told DreadCentral:

Big, big mess at the MPAA... for the third time Blood Feast didn't pass the MPAA screening. It's horrible. I think the horror fans need to know what's going on. We need an MPAA rating to make Blood Feast available to all main markets in North America. A friend made a petition , and any support will be appreciated.

Update: MPAA R rated

8th September 2017 See  article from bloody-disgusting.com

Presumably on the 4th submission, Blood Feast is now officially Rated R for strong sadistic violence and gore, language including sexual references, nudity and some drug content.

Blood Feast is a 2016 Germany / USA horror remake by Marcel Walz.
Starring Robert Rusler, Caroline Williams and Sophie Monk.

Fuad Ramses and his family have moved from the United States to France, where they run an American diner. Since business is not going too well, Fuad also works night shifts in a museum of ancient Egyptian culture. During these long, lonely nights he is repeatedly drawn to a statue representing the seductive ancient goddess ISHTAR. He becomes more and more allured by the goddess as she speaks to him in visions.

The films producers have just announced that the film has been cut for am MPAA R rating. Hannover House CEO Eric Parkinson explained:

Some markets are unable to screen an unrated film. The decision to seek the MPAA rating for Blood Feast was tailored after a similar development impacted the release of Saw a few years back. So the film has been very modestly edited to conform to the film ratings standard that should make it accessible to a larger audience.

Previously the film has been shown, presumably uncut, on the film festival circuit, notably at London's FightFest.

The film will be released to US theatres on July 28th and the censorship publicity has help enable a wide distribution.

3 Generations is a 2015 USA drama by Gaby Dellal.
Starring Naomi Watts, Elle Fanning and Susan Sarandon.

Family living under one roof in New York must deal with a life-changing transformation by one that ultimately affects them all. Ray is a teenager who has come to the realization that he isn't meant to be a girl and has decided to transition from female to male. His single mother, Maggie, must track down Ray's biological father to get his legal consent to allow Ray's transition. Dolly, Ray's lesbian grandmother, is having a hard time accepting that she now has a grandson. They must each confront their own identities and learn to embrace change and their strength as a family in order to ultimately find acceptance and understanding.

The Weinstein Company and the MPAA have come to an agreement on the rating for upcoming trans film 3 Generations , settling on a PG-13 rating.

The film was originally slapped with an R-rating, which was challenged by TWC with support from GLAAD. According to a release from the studio, it made some cuts to the film as a compromise to ensure the PG-13 rating.

The film's new PG-13 rating is for mature thematic content, some sexual references and language. Its previous, stricter R-rating was for profanity and sexual references.

A change.org petition protesting the MPAA's original R rating garnered nearly 35,000 signatures since its launch last week.

3 Generations opens in New York and Los Angeles on May 5 and goes on general release a week later.

The Lost City of Z is a 2016 USA action historical biography by James Gray.
Starring Charlie Hunnam, Tom Holland and Robert Pattinson.

Rated PG-13 for violence, disturbing images, brief strong language and some nudity.

The MPAA commented: NOTE: RE-RATE. FILM EDITED. PREVIOUS "R" RATING, BULLETIN NO. 2450 (11/9/16) VOIDED. ONLY THIS EDITED VERSION IS RATED.

The film was previously rated MPAA R for brief violence in November 2016. The producers appealed the decision but presumably lost as the movie was then cut for a PG-13 rating

Summary Notes

The Lost City of Z tells the incredible true story of British explorer Percy Fawcett, who journeys into the Amazon at the dawn of the 20th century and discovers evidence of a previously unknown, advanced civilization that may have once inhabited the region. Despite being ridiculed by the scientific establishment who regard indigenous populations as "savages," the determined Fawcett - supported by his devoted wife, son and aide de camp returns time and again to his beloved jungle in an attempt to prove his case, culminating in his mysterious disappearance in 1925.