Bully (Dokumentation... plus Petition!)

[StS]

MPAA Rating: R (for some language)
Official Website: www.Bully-movie.net

Directed by Sundance and Emmy-award winning filmmaker, Lee Hirsch, "Bully" is a beautifully cinematic, character-driven documentary. At its heart are those with huge stakes in this issue whose stories each represent a different facet of America's bullying crisis.

"Bully" follows five kids and families over the course of a school year.

Stories include two families who have lost children to suicide and a mother awaiting the fate of her 14-year-old daughter who has been incarcerated after bringing a gun on her school bus. With an intimate glimpse into homes, classrooms, cafeterias and principals' offices, the film offers insight into the often cruel world of the lives of bullied children.

As teachers, administrators, kids and parents struggle to find answers, "Bully" examines the dire consequences of bullying through the testimony of strong and courageous youth. Through the power of their stories, the film aims to be a catalyst for change in the way we deal with bullying as parents, teachers, children and society as a whole.

Trailer:
http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=87297

In den USA hat die Doku von der MPAA ein R-Rating aufgrund von "Language" erhalten, was leider verhindert, dass das Werk (seines Zeichens eins mit einem derart wichtigen und brisanten Inhalt) an amerikanischen Schulen gezeigt werden darf - also genau dort nicht, so es eigentlich den größten Sinn machen würde! Aus diesem Grund wurde eine Online-Petition ins Leben gerufen, um die MPAA eventuell doch noch umzustimmen, ein PG-13-Rating zu vergeben. Angeblich fiel die Entscheidung zugungsten eines R-Ratings auch nur mit einer einzigen Stimme Mehrheit...

Dear MPAA:

Your decision, by one vote, to issue an “R” rating for the film “Bully” is wrong. It will prevent millions of teenagers from seeing a film that documents the epidemic of bullying in American schools.

This film has the potential to change the world and change the culture of violence in many schools. But your decision to give this movie an R means that the people who need to see this movie the most -- teenagers who are either bullying their peers or suffering from violence and torment at the hands of bullies -- won’t get to see this film. Nor will this film be allowed to be shown at middle schools and high schools in this country.

Please reconsider your decision to give Bully an R and give it a PG-13 instead.

Thank you.

Wer interesse hat, sich daran zu beteiligen - obgleich wir hierzulande ja im Grunde nichts damit "am Hut" haben - kann das auf folgender Seite tun. Bislang wurden bereits mehr als 137.600 "Signatures" erfasst - eine davon (entsprechend) meine...

http://www.change.org/petitions/mpaa-do ... n-r-rating

[StS]

Das eigentliche Ziel von 150.000 Sigs wurde schnell erreicht - nun sind 200.000 angepeilt.
Aktueller Stand: 153.623

[StS]

Congress Joins Weinstein's 'Bully' Rating Fight With MPAA as 20 Members Sign Teen's Petition

A teen's petition to the ratings board gets support from a bipartisan coalition.

A powerful force has waded into what is becoming an ugly Hollywood brawl. The advocacy tools website Change.org announced on Monday that 20 members of Congress have signed on to a petition asking the MPAA to lower the R rating it gave to director Lee Hirsch's documentary Bully.

“We are writing to express our sincere disappointment in the MPAA’s decision to issue an ‘R’ rating for the soon-to-be-released documentary Bully," the bipartisan group, led by Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA) wrote in a letter accompanying the press announcement. "This important project shows the real life anguish of many teenagers in this country who are tormented, harassed, and bullied by their peers. This truth should be shared with as wide an audience as is appropriate and possible. We believe an R-rating excludes the very audience for whom this film is desperately important.”

The petition, started by high school student Katy Butler, has garnered over 275,000 signatures, helped by public support from Ellen Degeneres and New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees. Its uplifting grassroots message has worked in tandem with a harder approach from the film's executive producer, Harvey Weinstein, who has threatened to pull out from the ratings board over the matter.

The film has been given a PG rating in Canada, but the MPAA has held firm, while the National Association of Theater Owners have threatened to treat Weinstein's future releases as it would NC-17 films if he leaves the ratings board.

Monday's announcement comes days ahead of what will be a short ceasefire in the battle, when Weinstein and the MPAA co-host a showing of the film for Washington DC-area principals and educators. After the screening, Weinstein and MPAA Chairman Chris Dodd will participte alongside educators and childhood health advocates on a panel about the film's message.

hollywoodreporter.com

[freeman]

Na mal schauen, was da nun bei rumkommt. Der andere, eher fiktionale mit der Harry Potter Dame ist ja nun auch noch von seinem fast NC-17 oder R (weiß net mehr so genau) auf PG gekommen.

In diesem Sinne:
freeman

[StS]

Weinstein Co. will release 'Bully' unrated, refusing MPAA's R rating

Bully, the controversial documentary that was handcuffed with an R rating by the MPAA, will be released in theaters as an unrated film, The Weinstein Company announced today. “The small amount of language in the film that’s responsible for the R rating is there because it’s real,” said director Lee Hirsch. “It’s what the children who are victims of bullying face on most days. All of our supporters see that, and we’re grateful for the support we’ve received across the board. I know the kids will come, so it’s up to the theaters to let them in.”

TWC had mounted an aggressive effort to persuade the MPAA to reverse its initial ratings verdict. Nearly half a million people signed a petition from Katy Butler, Michigan high school student and former bullying victim, on Change.org to urge the MPAA to lower the rating. “The kids and families in this film are true heroes, and we believe theater owners everywhere will step up and do what’s right for the benefit of all of the children out there who have been bullied or may have otherwise become bullies themselves,” said TWC president of marketing Stephen Bruno. “We’re working to do everything we can to make this film available to as many parents, teachers and students across the country.”

(ew.com)

[StS]

MPAA Grants PG-13 To "Bully" Without Cut of Crucial Scene
Quelle: Indiewire

After weeks of controversy surrounding its initial decision, MPAA has lowered the rating for Lee Hirsch's doc "Bully" from an "R" to a "PG-13," The Weinstein Company has announced. The decision came after three uses of the "f-word" were removed from the film. However, the scene that has been at the forefront of the battle with the MPAA, the intense scene in the film that shows teen Alex Libby being bullied and harassed on a bus, has been left fully intact and unedited. The MPAA is also allowing the film to be released with the new rating before 90 days, which is the length of time their policy states a film must wait to be in theaters after a rating change to avoid confusion or inconvenience for moviegoers.