Revisit NC-17 rating, MPAA chief asks

PARK CITY, Utah, Jan. 23 (UPI) -- MPAA chairman Dan Glickman asked independent movie executives at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah to embrace the NC-17 movie rating for edgier fare.

The Motion Picture Association of America chief told the group that the Classification & Ratings Administration had appointed a liaison to help filmmakers with questions about the ratings process, Variety said. Independent filmmakers have expressed frustration with the Hollywood rating system, saying it is veiled in mystery.

Glickman's meeting Monday officially kicked off his campaign to make the MPAA ratings system more transparent and user-friendly.

Ratings have already come up during Sundance. The Weinstein Co. and Lionsgate picked 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 since it's not a member studio of MPAA.

The NC-17 rating was created to take the stigma out of the X rating, but never caught on.

"We are going to talk about this with the Directors Guild of America and (National Association of Theatre Owners)," Glickman said. "It's one of our ratings, and I'd like to see it used more."