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Living-Today: Issues of modern living

By United Press International
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MEDIA WATCHDOG GIVES TV IMPROVING GRADE

According to a new by a non-partisan Washington-based media watchdog group, TV has less sex and violence than it did in recent years -- but filmmakers are still laying on the sex and violence.

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The report, issued by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, looked at both cable and over-the-air TV -- including premium cable outlets, which have developed a reputation for pushing the envelope on content.

"There is evidence that television has started to clean up its act," said the report.

Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., called the report "a victory of sorts for an industry that has been criticized on this score for some time."

The center said, however, that basic cable networks actually showed more violent content, and about the same amount of sex, since the last time the center measured that sort of material.

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Researchers reported that the top 50 U.S. box-office hits of 2000 featured about the same amount of sexual and violent content as the top 50 of 1999. Mel Gibson's "The Patriot" and Russell Crowe's "Gladiator" were rated as the two most violent movies of 2000.

(Thanks to UPI Hollywood Reporter Pat Nason)


R-RATED FILMS

Since 1991, nationally syndicated radio talk show host and former PBS film critic Michael Medved has been arguing that the movie industry hurts its own profitability by churning out so many R-rated films.

Now, new data support his argument.

"Every single year of those 11 years without exception, R-rated movies have done the worst on average at the box office of any rating," Medved said by phone from his Seattle radio studio. "It's a very significant difference."

Hollywood paid little attention to Medved's logic until angry congressional hearings in September 2000 forced Jack Valenti, the head of the Motion Picture Association of America, to promise that the industry would no longer market R-rated movies to children under 17. The politicians also persuaded the theater owners to at least make an effort to prevent unaccompanied children from getting into R-rated movies.

In response, Hollywood shifted its emphasis somewhat toward PG-13 movies in 2001. The number of R-rated films declined from 528 to 490, while the number of PG-13-rated movies increased from 146 to 163. And that's up sharply from only 107 PG-13 movies in 1999.

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Despite the new restrictions, 66 percent of all movies rated by the MPAA in 2001 still earned an R rating. Yet, box office business has shifted sharply toward films with less restricted ratings. Out of 19 $100 million grossing releases in 2001, three (16 percent) were R-rated. That's down from six in 2000 and 10 in 1999.

In the 1990s, 38 percent of the $100 million movies were R-rated.

Did Congress' meddling hurt the industry's revenues in 2001, as some had feared? Hardly. Instead, Hollywood enjoyed one of its biggest boom years in 2001. According to the MPAA, "U.S. gross box office reached an all-time high of $8.4 billion -- a 9.8 percent increase over last year." That made 2001 Hollywood's fastest growth year in over a decade. In contrast, revenue in 2000 was up only 2.8 percent over 1999.

Ticket sales grew by 78 million to 1.49 billion, the highest mark since the spread of television wiped out the American habit of attending movies several times a week.

This is particularly impressive because "going to the movies" is an old-fashioned way to consume Hollywood's products. The industry's other revenue streams -- foreign, network television, cable television, VHS and now DVD (which doubled in unit sales last year) -- have become much important over the years.

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The profitability of the average movie also appeared to be higher in 2001. Overall box office revenues were up almost 10 percent, but number of movies released by the major studios was virtually unchanged. That means revenues per film averaged a tenth higher.

The quality of movies was disappointing throughout most of 2001, due to productions rushing to beat anticipated strikes by writers and actors. Fortunately, the fourth quarter saw a rush of highly satisfying films, led by three fantasy movies -- "Harry Potter" (PG) "Lord of the Rings," (PG-13) and "Monsters, Inc." (G) -- that together earned more than $850 million. Other big year-end smashes included two PG-13 movies, "Ocean's Eleven" and "A Beautiful Mind."

Before 2001, they might well have been cut to be R-rated.

Medved is far from surprised that Hollywood did better this year despite the new restrictions on R-rated movies. He sees the shift away from R-rated movies as inevitably a boon to the bottom line.

"It makes sense," Medved said. "Imagine you were trying to sell peanut butter, but the rule was that you couldn't sell that peanut butter to anybody below the age of 17. And, yes, some stores would let some 15-year-olds buy your peanut butter but other stores wouldn't. Obviously, it would hurt your product. It's much better to have a G-rated peanut butter to sell than an R-rated peanut butter. How obvious is that?"

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(Thanks to UPI National Correspondent Steve Sailer in Los Angeles)


ALTERNATIVE-FUEL CARS

A recent survey by the car-buying Web site Autobytel finds 90 percent of online auto shoppers surveyed might consider buying a hybrid, or alternative-fuel, vehicle if it was offered in the exact same model as the car or truck they currently drive or next plan to buy.

In addition, among the nine out of 10 consumers who are potential hybrid adopters, 67 percent of women and 55 percent of men would either "definitely buy" or "strongly consider" a hybrid if a comparable model was available.

But a good percentage of consumers simply don't know very much about hybrid vehicles. 44 percent of women questioned described themselves as "not very informed" or said they first heard the term "hybrid" when taking the survey, with 31 percent of men in that same category. In fact, only nine percent of women and 18 percent of men said they were "very informed." The lack of information was cited as the No.1 reason for not purchasing one.

The Senate is considering offering consumers large rebates to purchase hybrid or alternative-fuel vehicles. However, only a very small minority of respondents -- nine percent of women and 13 percent of men -- indicated that a tax credit (of $1,500 or more) would most influence them to buy a hybrid. Instead, availability of comparable hybrids to current vehicle models overwhelmingly topped online automotive shoppers' lists -- with 83 percent of respondents citing a form of vehicle parity as the biggest incentive to future hybrid buying. Specifically, 36 percent of women and 46 percent of men cite "confidence the vehicle will perform comparably to an all-gasoline vehicle" as the most important factor. And similarly, 49 percent of women and 35 percent of men say being able to get the model, styling, size and features they want in a hybrid version would be the most powerful incentive.

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The poll also found that additional cost is not necessarily a barrier to purchasing a hybrid vehicle. In fact, when consumers were asked what they would be most willing to give up for the better fuel economy of a hybrid, 45 percent indicated they'd be willing to pay $1,000 to $2,000 -- or more -- for the hybrid version.


LIFEPRINT

John Walsh of "America's Most Wanted" fame is endorsing a new campaign called LifePrint. It uses the DNA taken from children to create a file on them for parents to use if their offspring show up missing or if remains need to be identified.

Since the loss of his own son, Adam, Walsh has been a tireless crusader for the rights and safety of children. The LifePrint kit is non-invasive. Walsh's publicist tells UPI that the procedure involves rubbing the inside of the child's cheek for several seconds with a swab that is provided. The "applicator" is then inserted in a vial that is then sealed. The DNA stays viable for as long as 80 years.

Walsh is currently on a national tour with the concept. During the on-the-road demonstrations of the device, he's also handing out "child safety" information to parents who attend special sessions in the cities he visits.

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(Thanks to UPI's Dennis Daily)

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