The Best Entertainment Era

Encino, California, home of the Motion Picture Association of America, commonly known as the MPAA.

In the meeting room of the Rating Committee of the Film Association, discussions about the rating of Chain Saw are going on.

There are many scenes of extreme violence in this film.

Sitting on the side of the oval conference room, Matt Mendes said very clearly: The bloody and violent scenes are extremely detrimental to the mental health of young people and may have many negative effects.

As one of the oldest judges on the rating board, Matt Mendes' words carry a lot of weight.

Some of the other judges in the conference room were nodding, and some were lost in thought.

According to MPAA regulations, the judges of the rating committee must be the parents of children aged 5 to 17, and the term of office shall not exceed seven years, but Matt Mendes has served on the rating committee for nine years, and the children have already passed the legal age of majority .

His place at the MPAA remains secure because he is the face of Walt Disney on the jury.

As a matter of fact, many judges, like Matt Mendes, have long failed to comply with the MPAA's regulations. Some even have no children, but still serve as judges.

Because the rating committee is a secret organization that does not disclose the identities of the judges, it is the voice of the six members of the film association committee in the rating committee.

Clement, the most junior of the Big Six's surrogates, joined the ratings board after his predecessor retired and agreed with Sony Columbia Pictures.

Matt makes a lot of sense. Lindelof said at this time: Extremely violent, not suitable for teenagers to watch.

Clement smiled slightly, and Universal Pictures stood up.

Then, standing behind Twentieth Century Fox's Fairman said: This is the most violent movie I have seen this year. It must be limited.

The agent of Paramount Pictures stood up directly and said: This Chain Saw has exceeded the limit of the R rating.

Warner Bros. agent Quattro said directly: I suggest, NC-17 classification.

Clement glanced at him. It is said that Warner Bros. has a close cooperation with Relativity Entertainment. It seems that while cooperating,

When it's time to press, it won't be soft.

They didn't have any discussion beforehand, but there was a tacit understanding.

This kind of tacit understanding actually existed last year, but it has not found a suitable opportunity to use it. The rating committee can indeed be used as a weapon, but many standards and rules are clearly laid out. Even the Big Six cannot go too far, otherwise it will cause trouble. To a lot of unnecessary trouble.

For some films, rashly upgrading the rating by one level, such as NC-17 in full compliance with the R-level standard, the authority and credibility of the MPAA and the rating committee may be damaged.

The rules of the MPAA have been in operation for decades, and many actions can only be played on the sidelines.

They waited for a long time for these ratings, and finally waited for an extremely violent Chain Saw, the tacit understanding of the six majors did not require prior communication at all.

Although it can be revised and re-graded, the time and energy lost may disrupt the deployment and rhythm of the film company.

What about you? someone asked, What do you think?

Clement smiled and said directly: I think NC-17 is suitable.

Second! Someone echoed.

All judges unanimously passed the NC-17 rating.

Matt Mendes said formulaically: Saw, NC-17 rating, unanimously passed.

According to the prescribed procedure, the second day after the classification was determined, the MPAA notified Shahai Entertainment, and the news was quickly fed back to Ronan.

George Clint, who got the news, immediately brought director James Wen to Relativity Entertainment.

Sorry, Mr. Anderson. James Wen was a little panicked: I didn't do a good job.

Ronan shook his head: This matter has nothing to do with you, there is no need to do this, James. I am sure of the final completed version, and I have taken it lightly.

In the past two years, Relativity Entertainment has developed smoothly, DreamWorks is still at the top, and Ronan is more or less relaxed.

This is human nature, and it is impossible for a certain thread in the head to be taut all the time.

George Clint was a little angry: We submitted the film to the rating committee very early, but they delayed until the end of the time limit to agree on the rating of Chain Saw. Mildly violent, there are many R-rated films under the six banners that are more violent than Saw, but they don't have any opinions!

Ronan smiled: George, this shows that we are a very powerful company.

Uh... George Clint froze for a moment, then understood what Ronan meant, and said, That's true.

Ronan sighed and said, This situation may happen again in the future, so prepare some preparations.

George Clint scratched his head: The Big Six are really the same as before, using the same old methods.

This is not the 1960s and 1970s. Ronan said: The six majors themselves have competition, and it is impossible to truly unite. They all use methods within the rules of the game, but we can't underestimate those fallen movies. Companies are learning from the past.”

Many companies can’t survive just by means that conform to the rules of the game. For example, DreamWorks, the Big Six have never used any methods outside the rules of the game. It still fell apart, and there was no chance to challenge the top players in Hollywood.

DreamWorks itself has a lot of problems, of course, is also a key factor.

Because even if the six major companies have a tacit understanding, they are competitors themselves, and it is impossible to truly unite.

James Wen is still a pure director, a bit enlightened.

What should we do? he asked.

Ronan quickly made a decision: James, you should re-edit as soon as possible, and the scale should be appropriately reduced.

James Wen always felt that his work was not done well, saying: Give me three days.

George Clint answered: When the re-editing is completed, I will immediately submit it to the rating committee for re-evaluation!

Ronan nodded: That's all for now.

As soon as he said it, James Wen didn't waste a minute, left immediately, and called people to the post-production studio of Warner Studios to re-edit Saw.

In the office, George Clint said: When I was notified, I stopped copying and printing. At least 1,000 copies were unusable, wasting more than 1 million dollars.

Ronan was also a little angry, but no matter how angry he was, there was nothing he could do for the time being, unless he didn't go to the MPAA for grading.

According to the current laws in the United States, no one forces producers to submit their films to MPAA for ratings, but most producers and distributors still submit their films for ratings, because when a film is rated, it is equal to the A kind of certification of a film is equivalent to the mark affixed after being evaluated by the MPAA Association.

Most of the media require that the film must obtain a grade before allowing the film to be advertised on the media, otherwise it will be protested by other advertisers or public groups.

And if there is no classification, Chain Saw will be released in hundreds of theaters at most.

Even, it may be boycotted by the Teachers and Parents Association.

These non-governmental organizations do not pretend to be good-looking mascots, and their influence cannot be underestimated.

Ronan shook his head and said, This is the only way for the time being. George, pay attention to this matter and formulate corresponding countermeasures. The MPAA rating committee is not something we can solve in the short term.

Relativity Entertainment entered this industry too late, and the power cake of top players has already been divided up.

In fact, the MPAA grading system is generally very reliable, but the judges may not be reliable.

Some media once said that the rating committee of the MPAA is the only secret committee in the United States other than the CIA.

Because the identities of the judges are all kept secret, even the rating process is also kept secret.

The MPAA clearly stipulates that no group or individual can influence the rating process.

How many people will completely believe in this rule?

Since MGM lost its qualification, the MPAA now has only six members left, that is, the six major Hollywood companies. It is not an impossible task for a new company to join the MPAA, but it has no chance.

For example, DreamWorks tried several times, but all were rejected.

The members of the MPAA have already reached an agreement that important decisions such as the admission of new members must be unanimously agreed by the six major members.

In other words, similar to the Security Council, any company in the Big Six has a veto power.

It is possible to persuade one, two, or even three or four of them, but the six majors nodded unanimously...

It is conceivable that if a competitor comes to discuss with you and wants to share the interests and power in your hands, what choice will you make?

Six is ​​not the Virgin.

It is not that there are no films from the Big Six that have been upgraded, but after the rating is completed, the rating committee directly tells the producers belonging to the Big Six which shots need to be deleted, so that they can be downgraded when re-evaluated; The end result is that it only tells you the rating of the movie, and you need to change it if you want to get the corresponding level, without specifying where to modify it.

If the final rating is one level higher, such as PG-13 becomes R, and R becomes NC-17, a higher level means millions or even tens of millions of dollars in losses.

It's okay for a company as powerful as Relativity Entertainment, but for independent films, this basically means the end.

This incident also made Ronan realize that Relativity Entertainment may have entered the sights of the six major companies, crossed the psychological bottom line called no threat, and was regarded as a powerful competitor.

Ronan also knew that he might have to deal with some troubles from the Sixth Congress at any time in the future.

But no amount of trouble can hinder the development of Theory of Relativity entertainment.

This time Chain Saw encountered trouble, but it did not become an obstacle to the release within the rules of the game. After James Wen re-edited, George Clint submitted a rating reconsideration. He did not give the rating committee a chance to criticize and successfully got the R rating. rating.

The film was also successfully released!

The success of Chain Saw is the best response!