The Judi Dench and Steve Coogan starrer initially rated R will now be released with a more family-friendly PG-13 rating.
- Nov 14, 2013
AceShowbiz - The Weinstein Co.'s campaign to get the Motion Picture Association of America to change their mind regarding the R rating slapped on "Philomena" paid off. The British drama starring Judi Dench and Steve Coogan is now rated PG-13 after previously falling into restricted category due to using F-word twice.
"We owe this victory to Barbara Broccoli, producer of the James Bond series, Daniel Craig and Sam Mendes who because of their relationship with Judi Dench gave permission to spoof the ratings system using the M character," Harvey Weinstein says referring to the Funny Or Die video they made ahead of the rating appeal. "We know that went a long way into shedding light on the themes of the movie and the fact that the PG-13 rating was correct."
"We are glad the MPAA has a good sense of humor and with the cooperation of Barbara and her team it was proven once again no one does it better than James Bond. And my sincerest congratulations to Steve Coogan, who went to the MPAA and defended the case personally," the movie mogul adds in a statement.
The MPAA's decision to change "Philomena" rating from R to PG-13 also came on the heels of a revelation that many films with R rating are actually less violent than those with PG-13. A study published on the December issue of scientific journal Pediatrics shows that the level of gun violence in the top selling movies with a lenient PG-13 has dramatically tripled, and now exceeds that of more restrictive films.
"Philomena" will be released in limited theaters November 22 before going nationwide in the U.S. on November 27. It follows journalist Martin (Coogan) and Philomena (Dench) on a search across the country to find the son she gave up for adoption years ago.
