Image Credit: Michael Dwyer/The Weinstein Company

Even though the MPAA has been at the center of a controversy for giving the Weinstein Company’s upcoming documentary Bully an R rating for “some language,” the organization will be sponsoring a screening and panel discussion for the film at its Washington, D.C., headquarters.

Scheduled to attend the March 15 event are MPAA chairman Sen. Chris Dodd, the Weinstein Company co-chairman Harvey Weinstein, Bully director Lee Hirsch, and a number of Washington, D.C.-area educators, parents, and students. Bully depicts the sudden rise of adolescent bullying in America, and will be released in theaters on March 30. READ FULL STORY »

Image Credit: Damian Dovarganes/AP

The battle over Bully‘s R rating rages on. Katy Butler, a 17-year-old high school student from Michigan, delivered a petition (with more than 200,000 signatures) Wednesday to the Motion Picture Association of America’s office in Sherman Oaks, Calif.

Her message: Lower the MPAA rating of the upcoming Weinstein Company documentary from R to PG-13. Bully, a look at the rise of adolescent bullying in America, was rated R for “some language” — specifically for the f-word, which is used a reported six times in the film. An R rating means that adolescents under the age of 17 — the documentary’s intended audience — cannot see the film without an adult guardian.

Butler, who came out as a lesbian in middle school and has been the victim of repeated bullying, launched the online petition on Feb. 26. Since then, she has been featured on CNN and Fox News, and was in the audience during today’s taping of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, during which DeGeneres urged her viewers to also sign the petition. READ FULL STORY »

Image Credit: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

In yet another update on the saga of the contentious documentary Bully – which lost its appeal to have its R rating changed to PG-13 and could now face a dreaded NC-17 – Rev. Jesse Jackson has released a statement supporting a PG-13 rating for the Weinstein Company film:

“Bully is a movie that depicts the nightmare that some kids face every day in schools across America.  This harsh reality must not be edited especially considering how bullying has become a horrible form of violence.  It drives individuals to suicide and even retaliation.  Children are afraid to go to school and therefore their educational productivity decreases.  It creates violent reactions in our children and they must be allowed to see the movie as it was intended to help raise awareness, increase empathy and change minds.”

Jackson joins the heated debate surrounding the documentary, which takes a brutal look at the epidemic of teen bullying in America, which has also been supported by more than 130,000 people who have signed a petition started by a bullied Michigan high school student admonishing the MPAA to reconsider its rating, as we reported yesterday. EW also caught up with Harvey Weinstein himself regarding the MPAA’s decision, which he called a “gigantic mistake” and “an injustice to a bunch of kids who’ve been beaten up and suffered a little too much at the hands of a crazy society that allows that kind of stuff.”

Read more:
‘Bully’ doc could be treated like an NC-17 movie, theater owners warn Weinstein Company
‘Bully’ doc loses ‘R’ rating appeal; Weinstein Co. threatens to leave MPAA
Harvey Weinstein responds to MPAA decision on ‘Bully’ — VIDEO

Image Credit: Lee Hirsch

Last Thursday, The Weinstein Company (TWC) lost an appeal to have the MPAA rating of its upcoming documentary Bully, about the epidemic of adolescent bullying in America, changed from R to PG-13.

But TWC has never been one to shy away from a fight, and now the studio is publicly challenging the MPAA’s decision. Its latest weapon: a Feb. 24 letter sent to TWC co-chairman Harvey Weinstein from National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) president and CEO John Fithian, who informs Weinstein that should the studio release Bully unrated, the film may be treated like an NC-17 movie by many exhibitors. READ FULL STORY »