European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 16, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse Paramount the recently released milk Money starring de Harris and Melanie Griffith got off with a pg-13rating. Mind set behind ratings deserves a z for Zero by Donald la Badie Memphis commercial Appeal the time is overdue for consenting adults to rebel. For too Long we be timidly accepted the fact that our movie entertain ment arrives at local Heaters somewhat the worse for having been filleted. By now Many of us realize that most movies Only get to the screen after company marketing depart ments working with test audiences have had their Way with it. Gone Are the pieces that did t Tele graph to the mass consumer just what the picture was about. More mysterious Are the slices removed in and Vance by the ratings Board of the motion picture association of America. We just take it for granted that a movie is rated r or pm or the feared nc-17. But who says so. " a when i discovered just who lays Down the ratings Law i Felt a bit like Dorothy when the screen col lapsed and she found that the wizard of of hiding behind it was a Little old Man As weak As a Kitten. Actually the Paa keeps the identity of Board members confidential. We Are allowed to know that they Range in number from eight to 10 and that they Are All parents. And that s slightly terrifying. The ratings Board is supposed to have come into being to provide guide lines about a film s suitability for in fact in indicating what they deem to be kid stuff these faceless figures also control what adults can see. If consenting viewers Haven t started a revolution some movie makers have begun to Roar. Since the Spring the Paa has been barraged with protests against the ratings system. There have been rumours that Jack Valenti the Paa chairman is on his Way out. Valenti has been. In place since the 1960s, so it s not a question of if hell retire but when. In late june Richard Mosk a civil Law attorney was named head of the Paa s classification and ratings administration. Mosk s supporters say any influence he might have won t be Felt until he has been around a Little longer. They insist he was t involved in giving an r rating to the excessively violent natural bom killers. Oliver Stone made a number of cuts to avoid an nc-17 rating. Nonetheless Many critics believe the version now on View to the Public should have been rated nc-17. The new Paa ratings head has also been get Ting brickbats from the makers and distributors of in dependent films. Bitter feelings have been expressed about the number of frames that had to be snipped from their movies to avoid the dreaded nc-17. The Mosk contingent however contends that its Man played no Active role in the nc-17 ratings initially imposed on among other movies the advocate clerks and Jacob s Lyric. In any event Paa personnel changes Are Likely to be cosmetic. Hollywood is a conservative town and it would take a Genius to bring about meaningful rat Ings Reform. -. / ". " europeans frequently express Shock at the puritanism implicit in the find a double Stan Dard to wit Hollywood movies Are allowed to Over flow with violence while the Normal sexuality expressed in foreign and Independent movies can be clubbed out of existence. Consider Jacob s Lyric a Low budget film de scribed by Gramercy films As an african american Romeo and in mid August Gramercy and Doug Mchenry the director producer went Public with charges against the Paa. In a 60-second radio spot they damned the organization s ratings for denying the film an r rating unless certain sexual Content was excised. Mchenry said during the spot in this country you can kill 50,000 people in a film but you can t have a tasteful romantic love scene. If you have two Black people making love somehow that s Steamer than other people,." for sure there Are hypocrisy and error in the Paa s claim that it protects the morality of Amer ican youth. A few contradictions a film like the French Bue can be innocent in spirit and yet be judged on the basis of a tame bed room scene and whacked with an r. A movie like milk Money can be lascivious in spirit but because it toes the literal line can be let off with a pg-13. Elements that Are certain to be shackled with an nc-17 in a movie like the Low budget Jason s Lyric 50 to 60 frames deleted will get by with fewer cuts in an expensive big studio film with stars say Basic instinct at any hour Young people can hear language and see images on television that would be branded nc-17 in a movie exhibited in a theater and who says that children under 17 Don t see a rated films the plex form in which a number of auditoriums exist under a single roof has Long dominated the architecture of . Movie houses. The films shown Are rated gig pg-13 and r. Try an Experiment some afternoon. Sit in the lobby of your local theater and watch the kids Rushing out of the pm movie to the theoretically off limits r flick. Also note the under-20 Ages of the theater employees who Are the equally theoretical guardians. Just Ponder the fact that your film fun is being partially controlled by a tiny group of unknown peo ple some of whom you might not want to care for your dog overnight. Scripps Howard news service step up and be counted As 3 talk show guest by Kim Franke Folstad Naples Fla daily news Ith the continuing proliferation of daytime talk shows at least a dozen currently air each weekday Between 9 . And 6 . In Florida it s Possi ble that like me you Are beginning to feel a. Little left out of the action. Thanks to an extraordinary ability to remain perfectly Ordinary to hold a Job raise children and sleep through the night without maiming anyone we Are at certain risk of missing out on our 15 min utes of Fame. What s that you say you be never lusted after your neighbor s cat never slept with your sister s Boyfriend while she was in the bathroom giving her self a permanent wave never purposely ballooned up to 300 pounds so that you could Model lingerie for a Chunky woman s Catalon Don t sweat it. The following step by step plan is sure to get the attention of daytime s lower Echelon a Ricki Lake or Montel Williams perhaps. Make a splash there and soon you too will be pontificating on . S Geraldo discussing world affairs while schmoozing with Donahue and rating male strippers along with Sally. Step 1 become addicted to something. Any thing. Remember the More outrageous the More Likely you Are to be noticed so think big. Do you spend All of your spare time watching old Mork and Andy episodes Good. Do you enjoy sucking the last drop of moisture from your hic drink Box to the Point that your eyes permanently bulge better. Do you crave the Aroma of raid s country fresh ant and Roach killer to the extreme that you use it As a car Deodorizer and hair Spray excellent. Now can you get your spouse to scream at you about any of these things on television in front of millions of people you re in step 2 develop an allergy that makes you crazy. This May not be easy and could involve having to produce Large red bumps on demand. But if you can actually prove that listening to the eagles desperado caused you to shoot your second Cousin s goldfish Jenny Jones has a seat with your name on it. Step 3 sue someone. Anyone. Blame the fact that you were late for work every Day for a month on your faulty alarm clock and sue for lost wages. Blame your bunion on the shoe store that sold you the size 5 pumps when everyone knew you really wore an .8. Blame your addiction to ant and Roach killer on raid for developing a country fresh scent. Step 4 make an infomercial. This in t As hard As you might think. First if you re a woman shave All of your hair off if you re a Man grow your hair until you can pull it Back into a Ponytail so tight your face hurts next scream until you re hoarse and then scream some More. And remember if you drink enough Coffee you la Bounce right off those sound stage Walls and onto Donahue s Lap. Don t worry about not having a product to sell you re Selling yourself. Once you be starred in your own commercial you la qualify not Only As a talk show guest but also a panellist. Step 5 run for office. If none of these other things gets you noticed trying to get elected certainly will. If you think you re too Normal leave it to your opponent to find otherwise. You la be on Oprah before you can say but she Only baby sat for me that one night.". Meet you at Maury Howard news service Page 20 sunday 16. 1994
