HOLLYWOOD NEWS

Sundance Film Festival, Jan 22, 2007–MPAA chairman Dan Glickman had a meeting with indie filmmakers and specialty executives today at Sundance, in which he asked them to to embrace the NC-17 rating and thus enable the release of edgier movies. He also told them that the Classification & Ratings Administration has appointed a liaison to help filmmakers with questions about the ratings process.

Glickman is trying to relieve some of that angst, saying the credibility of the ratings system is vital to the entire movie biz. His wish is to make the ratings system more transparent and user-friendly.

It's a relevant issue right now at Sundance Film Fest. On Sunday, the Weinstein Co. and Lionsgate raced to pick up “Teeth,” a dark comedy about a girl who has teeth in her vagina. Harvey Weinstein said he doesn't want to cut the movie for an R rating. Lionsgate can release an unrated movie because it's not a member of the MPAA.

Glickman stressed that the rating system itself is not being changed. The reforms being made are designed to make the process more public. Glickman will meet with various stakeholders in the ratings process to talk about the proposed changes and to get input about other possible reforms.