Citing extreme sexual content, the MPAA ratings board has declined Sony Pictures Classics bid to appeal the NC-17 rating given to Scottish highlands thriller "Young Adam". This comes in the wake of the similar situation a month ago with Bernardo Bertolucci's sexually charged film "The Dreamers". In regards to 'Adam', the board raised an issue about two characters engaging in an intense fully clothed lovemaking scene. This further stirs the debate about what classifies as an NC-17 rating and the stigma that often goes along with it.
Tom Bernard, co-president of Sony Pictures Classics says "We really think the ratings board has got to get with the program and get with the future. What's needed is a hard R rating to distinguish the quality films like 'Young Adam' and 'The Dreamers' from 'Debbie Does Dallas' or any other porn movie. Basically, what you're doing is giving signals to the audience and the MPAA is giving a negative signal right now. The way it stands, how can an audience distinguish what's art from what's hardcore smut? Audiences avoid the picture because of this rating."
This is the second NC-17 film that Sony Pictures Classics has distributed, following the 1997 release of the foreign import "Broken English". At the time, writer/director Gregor Nicholas had a similar response to the MPAA's NC-17 designation for his film, stating that "there is something wrong with the system which tells us that exposure to acts of violence will leave young audiences untainted while exposure to acts of love will somehow corrupt them".
Thanks to 'Alex'.
