jack valenti Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Happy 25th Birthday, PG-13 Rating!
Filed under: Exhibition », Steven Spielberg »
For elderly people like me, in our 30s, it's sobering to realize that on any given Friday night, the majority of people in an average American movie theater do not remember a time when the PG-13 rating did not exist. Yes, it was 25 years ago this summer that the Motion Picture Association of America added PG-13 to its roster of ratings, joining G, PG, R, and X (which in 1990 was replaced by NC-17). Perhaps you already know some of the trivia involved. 'Tis no urban legend: Gremlins and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom really were the catalysts that brought about the new rating, and Steven Spielberg -- who produced one and directed the other -- was the mastermind."I created the problem and I also supplied the solution," Spielberg told the Associated Press in 2004. "I invented the rating." Temple of Doom was released May 23, 1984, and horrified parents immediately began complaining that the PG rating was too lax, citing the heart-ripping-out scene in particular. (I'd have cited Kate Capshaw's performance, but I guess that's more "irritating" than "horrifying.") Gremlins, with its microwaved monsters and general bloody mayhem, opened two weeks later, and the uproar grew louder. I remember my aunt, who took my cousin and me to see it (we were 9), saying she thought Stripe's melting at the end was too gross for a PG movie. We just thought it was awesome.
To parents, both films seemed too graphic to be rated PG. Logically, that meant they should have been rated R instead, as that was the only other choice. But they'd be kind of tame compared to other R-rated movies, especially considering the content was aimed at teenagers. Somehow neither rating seemed right.
10 of the Silliest MPAA Ratings Reasons
Filed under: Exhibition », Home Entertainment », Lists »
Over at Offsprung.com (who snagged the list from allmovie.com), there's a humorous collection of ten of the most ridiculous reasons the MPAA has ever given for film ratings. You know, the list of offenses they put underneath a "PG" or an "R," to give parents a better idea of what exactly their child will be subjected to. (And then the parent can say, "Hmm, 'extreme pervasive graphic violence, including shootings, stabbings, beheadings, disembowlings, and castrations?' Oh well, as long as my son won't see a boob!"). I personally love it when the MPAA has to go all out with their rating descriptions, when it's clear that they just find a movie wrong on every level. When I see a full paragraph under that "R" rating, I know that it's probably a film I need to see. Take Grindhouse, for example. Rated R for "strong graphic bloody violence and gore, pervasive language, some sexuality, nudity and drug use." A grand slam!
My favorite MPAA reason on the allmovie list is probably the one for Twister, which was Rated PG-13 back in 1996 for "intense depiction of very bad weather!" The 1994 Jamie Lee Curtis thriller Mother's Boys was Rated R for "language and a mother's sociopathic behavior." Number one on their list is the Nick Nolte snoozer Jefferson in Paris, which was rated PG-13 in 1995 for "mature themes, some images of violence, and" -- get this -- "a bawdy puppet show!" That's fine and good, but while we're on the subject of hardcore marionette action, I prefer the reason given for Team America: World Police's R Rating -- "graphic crude and sexual humor, violent images and strong language - all involving puppets." The allmovie list is a solid one, although I'm fairly certain I've seen even funnier rating descriptions elsewhere. If you guys know of any, please share in the comments.
RIP: Reel Important People -- April 30, 2007
Filed under: Obits »
- Svatopluk Benes (1918-2007) - Czech actor who appears in Zelary, Tomorrow I'll Wake Up and Scald Myself with Tea and I Killed Einstein, Gentlemen. He died April 30. (Radio Praha)
- Erica Cassetti (1971-2007) - Computer animator who worked on Disney's Atlantis: The Lost Empire, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules and Tarzan and Dreamworks' Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas. She also worked on the original Coca Cola polar bear commercial. She died April 21, in Chandler, Arizona. (AZ Central)
- Yanis Chimaras (1955-2007) - Venezuelan soap actor who appears in Amaneció de Golpe and El Caracazo. He was stabbed to death by a robber April 25, in Caracas. (Backstage)
- Paul Erdman (c.1933-2007) - Economist and author whose book The Silver Bears was adapted as Silver Bears (aka Fool's Gold) with Michael Caine starring. He died April 24 in Sonoma County, California. (CBS)
- David Halberstam (1934-2007) - Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author whose book The Amateurs was adapted as Rowing Through. He also appears in the Oscar-nominated documentary In the Year of the Pig. He was killed in a car crash April 23, in Menlo Park, California. (Variety)
- Kirill Lavrov (1925-2007) - Russian actor who appears in Tchaikovsky, Taming of the Fire and The Brothers Karamazov, which he co-directed. He died April 27, in St. Petersburg. (RIA Novosti)
Jack Valenti, Former MPAA Head, Dead at 85
Filed under: Obits »
Variety has just announced that Jack Valenti, former president of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), died today. He'd been in the hospital after suffering a stroke about a month ago -- I remember because he was scheduled to receive an award at the AFI Dallas Film Festival, but had to cancel shortly beforehand. Valenti was released from the hospital yesterday, but died from complications related to his stroke. Hollywood Reporter's obituary includes a PDF of a statement from current MPAA President Dan Glickman, who called him "a giant who loomed large over two of the world's most glittering stages -- Washington and Hollywood."The Variety article linked above includes a good bio of Valenti, which I'd definitely recommend reading. Despite the fact that I have not often agreed with Valenti's viewpoints on the U.S. movie ratings system and on copyright protection, I would have enjoyed the chance to hear him speak in Dallas. Valenti helped create and shape the ratings system that is currently used in U.S. theaters, as a way of keeping government-regulated censorship and ratings of films at bay. He was head of the MPAA from 1966 to 2004; before that time, the native Texan worked in the White House press offices during the John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson administrations. Before his stroke, Valenti was working on a book that was scheduled to be released in June: This Time, This Place: My Life in War, the White House, and Hollywood.
Eastwood to Get Humanitarian Award
Filed under: Awards », Newsstand »
The Motion Picture Association of America has chosen to inaugurate its Jack Valenti Humanitarian Award by giving it to Clint Eastwood, according to a recent news report. The actor/director will receive his award at a banquet on Tuesday. MPAA Chairman Dan Glickman, praised Eastwood's "decency and goodness of spirit in his moviemaking," citing the recent Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima as two examples. "These films exemplify the true power of movies to tell human stories and inspire national conversation," Glickman added. One could certainly add his two Oscar winners, Unforgiven (1992) and Million Dollar Baby (2004) to that list as well as films like Bird (1988) and Mystic River (2003).Now, I bow to no one in my adoration and appreciation for Eastwood, and I was there with love for films like A Perfect World and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil when no one else was. But did anyone consider all those people he killed as Dirty Harry or "Blondie" in his early films? Or what about all the atrocities he commits in High Plains Drifter (1973), a film in which he essentially plays the Devil? No matter. I like to think Eastwood has learned from his mistakes. He received bad marks ten years ago for his negative portrayal of an Asian stereotype in Absolute Power and now, with Letters from Iwo Jima, he has made up for it, and then some. But there's one small thing: I paid good money to see City Heat (1984), and I still can't forgive him for that.
Jeremy Renner Wants To Be An Avenger
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Indie Roundup: 'Sweetgrass,' 'Clarkworld,' 'Broken Embraces'
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Watch: Famous 'Matrix' Scene Re-Created with LEGOs
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