|
|
This topic comprises 6 pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6
|
|
Author
|
Topic: Why is there such a stupid hub-bub over "Bully?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Randy Stankey
Film God
Posts: 6539
From: Erie, Pennsylvania
Registered: Jun 99
|
posted 03-27-2012 02:02 PM
You might be right.
"Last Temptation" came out when I was living in Boston. It was playing at the Cheri theater. (Now defunct, I believe.)
I saw that movie at the Cheri because of the nuns. When I went to the theater and made a comment about the protest, the person inside made a comment to the effect that they were hired.
Maybe they weren't hired. I only believed what I was told, assuming it was true. Even it it wasn't a put-on, it still could be part of a whispering campaign similar to what's going on with Bully.
No, I don't give Disney all the credit for faking movies. That's the point. Movies are widely dummied up. Even the ones that purport to be real. "White Wilderness" is just a prime example because it has become legendary. I agree that "Nanook" is another legendary example. I just didn't think of that one. The Disney movie is more in my time frame. "Nanook" was made in the 1920's.
I think it's weird how people think movies are real. All the time, when I was growing up, my parents constantly taught me that they aren't real. I learned photography and home movie making from my father. I ran the 8mm home movie projector for my Dad after he filmed them. I was in A.V. club and stage crew all through school.
It was very clear to me that movies and television are verisimiltude, not verite.
Can movies teach us lessons by example of the characters in them? Yes, but that doesn't mean we should take them as gospel. Teaching by parable is not the same as real life.
It just seems strange to me that people don't understand this.
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
Mike Blakesley
Film God
Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99
|
posted 03-27-2012 05:51 PM
quote: Robert E. Allen
In the last house I managed I told my booker "no R rated films" and did excellent business without them.
We could do just fine without R-rated films but there is a whole segment of the audience who you will see much less often if you don't show at least some of those films. And, there are scads of R-rated films that are exceptionally good quality. The Godfather. Schindler's List. Saving Private Ryan. The Passion of the Christ. Gran Torino. Pretty Woman. Beverly Hills Cop. The list can go on and on. That's just a few I can think of off the top of my head.
Just because a movie is rated R doesn't make it a bad movie. Are there some movies with too much bad language? Absolutely. But, in a lot of cases the language is there because that's how some people talk. And, anybody who thinks today's movies are "full of sex" isn't watching very many of today's movies. These days, if there's nudity at all, it's probably a guy's butt shown for comedic effect. (And probably a fat guy like Jack Black, too.)
Now having said all that, this whole thing over "Bully" is silly. Like Melanie said, the kids know bullying is real. Does this movie offer a solution to it? The whole idea of the movie is probably to get people in general to "care" about bullying more than they do now.
Will this movie have that effect? That's questionable. As a person who was bullied as a kid (although not to the violent extent you hear about today) I can tell you that the more my parents and the school got involved, the more of a social outcast I became. It took years for me to get over what I went through as a kid and in some ways I'm still not over it.
Then there is the whole non-rated = automatically-excluding-people-under-18 thing. Don't any theater owners in the world watch the movies they show? I would think that every theater owner should be able to watch the movie and make the call as to whether kids should see the movie or not. Maybe if your theater is deep in the bible belt, or a very small town, then you should probably treat it like an R movie. If your area is not that conservative, then maybe it's treated similar to a PG-13. Why do they all need Big Brother MPAA to tell them what is age appropriate? Answer: They don't. (Or they shouldn't.)
The bottom line is, this is just a big scam by the Weinsteins to get free publicity for their movie, which I think sucks. They should be able to promote it themselves without resorting to this kind of nonsense.
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
Michael Putlack
Expert Film Handler
Posts: 187
From: Fort Collins, Colorado
Registered: Sep 2011
|
posted 03-27-2012 08:04 PM
It looks like Weinstein is telling the ratings board to go fuck themselves and are skipping the rating. AND, it looks like AMC is all on board to play it with or without the rating. Good news for the filmmakers, good money for Weinstein, and smart business move for AMC.
http://collider.com/bully-unrated-documentary/155124/
quote:
WASHINGTON, DC – The Weinstein Company has announced that “Bully,” the award-winning documentary about the epidemic of school bullying in the United States, will open in theaters on March 30 as “unrated” after nearly 500,000 people signed an extraordinarily popular online petition at Change.org demanding that the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) remove the “R” rating initially given to the movie by the MPAA’s ratings board.
“I am happy ‘Bully’ will maintain its authenticity and will bully-documentarybe an accurate portrayal of what thousands of kids experience every day,” said Katy Butler, a bullied high school student from Michigan who was outraged that the MPAA gave “Bully” an “R” rating by just one vote because of brief language. Butler, who had her finger broken by bullies in middle school, urged the MPAA to remove the “R” rating from “Bully” so that middle school and high school students would have a chance to see a movie that could potentially save their lives.
“The MPAA might not recognize the reality that thousands of bullied kids face each day in school, but nearly 500,000 people around the country, from celebrities to politicians to bullied kids themselves, stepped up to speak out about bullying by signing my petition,” said Butler. “The brief use of explicit language in this film reflects what so many kids hear each day in school when they’re being bullied. The MPAA said they wouldn’t drop the ‘R’ rating unless this language was removed, but nothing can remove it from the halls and playgrounds of schools where bullied students hear it each day, except education and exposure.”
Lee Hirsch, director of “Bully,” said that the “unrated” designation for the film will allow the film to portray the real trauma and torment that bullied students experience each day in school.
“The small amount of language in the film that’s responsible for the ‘R’ rating is there because it’s real. It’s what the children who are victims of bullying face on most days,” Hirsch said in a statement put out by The Weinstein Company announcing the “unrated” designation. “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.”
Gerry Lopez, the CEO of AMC Theaters, one of the largest movie theater chains in the world, signed Katy Butler’s Change.org petition. He said previously in a statement that he will make sure “Bully” plays at AMC Theaters even with an “unrated” rating.
“AMC will show this movie, and we invite our guests to engage in the dialogue its relevant message will inevitably provoke,” Lopez said.
Lopez is just one of several high profile individuals who signed Butler’s campaign on Change.org. Ellen DeGeneres signed the petition, inviting Butler to appear on her show and urging her viewers to support the petition, and Anderson Cooper, Kelly Ripa, Justin Bieber, Johnny Depp, Meryl Streep, Michael Jordan, Demi Lovato, Randy Jackson, and Drew Brees all encouraged their fans to show support to “Bully,” objecting to the “R” rating it received.
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Monte L Fullmer
Film God
Posts: 8367
From: Nampa, Idaho, USA
Registered: Nov 2004
|
posted 03-28-2012 03:18 AM
I know quite a few locations -both sub and first run - that refuse to run "R" rated movies and true, they're still doing great guns without them - "R" rated movies are simply not needed in some of these venues.
The major thing with NOT having "R" rated movies is the fetching "babysitting" the patrons by staff and management with, carding them at the boxoffice window, chasing the underage out of the houses when they are caught crossing over, having to answer to parents that we let their kid in an "R" rated movie, et.al.
Also, having "R" rated movies, the grosses really drop off per engagement since these movies really filter out the moviegoing crowd with the severe age restriction. It's to the point that "R" rated movies are more of a liability to the business than an asset.
quote:
whatever, people ... sugarcoat life, sanitize and censor things, ...et.al
A little "ballsy" to make that statement!
Do you think that you're better than those who may live in those so-called "bubbles" just because they won't step down to your level of life..and you're not mature enough to accept their level of life?
(Not to flame, but this one got me a bit here...)
C'on, let's be a little fair with this since these people are being fair with you in your decision of what you want to do with your life....by leaving you alone. So, show a little fairness and leave them alone.
I saw the previews on this film on front of "The Artist" and wish that this film was presented a lot sooner .. for I was a victim of being harrassed by "bullies" since I was small, timid, "nerdy", and too scared to tell my parents and to fight back ... and it was real bad back then were kids were deathly afraid to go to school. It does look good though and a lot of parents really need to see this film no matter what kind of content is in there....
-Monte
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
All times are Central (GMT -6:00)
|
This topic comprises 6 pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6
|
Powered by Infopop Corporation
UBB.classicTM
6.3.1.2
The Film-Tech Forums are designed for various members related to the cinema industry to express their opinions, viewpoints and testimonials on various products, services and events based upon speculation, personal knowledge and factual information through use, therefore all views represented here allow no liability upon the publishers of this web site and the owners of said views assume no liability for any ill will resulting from these postings. The posts made here are for educational as well as entertainment purposes and as such anyone viewing this portion of the website must accept these views as statements of the author of that opinion
and agrees to release the authors from any and all liability.
|
Home
![[evil]](graemlins/evil.gif)
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
Printer-friendly view of this topic