Parents Television Council rips MPAA for 'Blue Valentine' rating change

Image Credit: Davi RussoThe Parents Television Council criticized the MPAA's decision-making process that led them to downgrade the rating for The Weinstein Company's Blue Valentine from the financially-damning NC-17 to an R. In a statement, PTC president Tim Winter said, "Ostensibly because the producers of the film would not earn as much money at the box office with an accurate rating, the MPAA buckled under intense pressure and lowered the age rating of the film. The new rating may be correct or it may be incorrect. We don't know because we haven't screened the film. What we do know is this: the entire integrity and legitimacy of the MPAA ratings system has been compromised. There is no transparency; there is no consistency; and there is no accountability — unless you are a wealthy producer who can afford to hire the biggest legal guns in the nation and wage a massive PR campaign … The entire point of the film ratings system is to protect children and guide parents as they make informed choices for their families. Clearly, the motion picture industry's system has failed at that task."

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