| Photos (see all 14 | slideshow) | Videos |
| Kimberly Peirce | ... | Herself - Director of 'Boys Don't Cry' | |
| Jon Lewis | ... | Himself - Author of 'Hollywood v. Hardcore' | |
| David Ansen | ... | Himself - Film Critic at 'Newsweek' | |
| Martin Garbus | ... | Himself - First Amendment Attorney and Filmmakers Representative at Appeals | |
| Wayne Kramer | ... | Himself - Director of 'The Cooler' | |
| Paul Dergarabedian | ... | Himself - Box Office Analyst | |
| Kevin Smith | ... | Himself - Director of 'Clerks' and 'Jersey Girl' | |
| John Waters | ... | Himself - Director of 'A Dirty Shame' | |
| Matt Stone | ... | Himself - Producer of 'South Park' and 'Team America' | |
| Richard Heffner | ... | Himself - Former Rating Board Chairman | |
| Bingham Ray | ... | Himself - Co-Founder of October Films | |
| Joel Federman | ... | Himself - Author of 'Media Ratings' | |
| Kirby Dick | ... | Himself - Filmmaker and Interviewer | |
| Jay Rosenzweig | ... | Himself - Private Investigator (as Jay) | |
| Paul Huebl | ... | Himself - Private Investigator (as Paul) | |
| Clark Baker | ... | Himself - Private Investigator (as Clark) | |
| Becky Altringer | ... | Herself - Private Investigator | |
| Cheryl Howell | ... | Herself - Private Investigator | |
| Cookie Schwartz | ... | Herself - Private Investigator (as Cookie) | |
| Lindsey Howell | ... | Herself - Junior Private Investigator | |
| Jay Landers | ... | Himself - Former MPAA Rater | |
| Stephen Farber | ... | Himself - Former MPAA Rater | |
| Dottie Hamilton | ... | Herself - Author of 'Hollywood's Silent Partner (as Dottie Hamilton Phd) | |
| Maria Bello | ... | Herself - Actress in 'The Cooler' | |
| Mark Urman | ... | Himself - Head of U.S. Theatrical Thinkfilm | |
| Allison Anders | ... | Herself - Director of 'Gas - Food - Lodging' | |
| Mary Harron | ... | Herself - Director of 'American Psycho' | |
| Jamie Babbit | ... | Herself - Director of 'But I'm a Cheerleader' | |
| Joan Graves | ... | Herself - Rating Board Chairperson (voice) | |
| Joann Yatabe | ... | Herself - Senior Rating Board Member | |
| Darren Aronofsky | ... | Himself - Director of 'Requiem for a Dream' | |
| Dr. Theresa Webb | ... | Herself - Southern California Prevention Research Center at UCLA | |
| Michael Tucker | ... | Himself - Co-Director of 'Gunner Palace' | |
| David L. Robb | ... | Himself - Author of 'Operation Hollywood' | |
| Lawrence Lessig | ... | Himself - Copyright Attorney and Author | |
| Anthony 'Tony' Hey | ... | Himself - Senior Rater | |
| Barry Freeman | ... | Himself - MPAA Rater | |
| Arleen Bates | ... | Herself - MPAA Rater | |
| Matt Ioakimedes | ... | Himself - MPAA Rater | |
| Jane Worden | ... | Herself - MPAA Rater | |
| Scott Young | ... | Himself - Senior Rater | |
| Howard Fridkin | ... | Himself - MPAA Rater | |
| Atom Egoyan | ... | Himself - Director of 'Where the Truth lies' | |
| Rachel Blanchard | ... | Herself - Actress in 'Where the Truth Lies' | |
| Michael McClellan | ... | Himself - Appeals Board Member (as Michael Mcclellan) | |
| James Wall | ... | Himself - Appeals Board Clergy Member since 1968 | |
| Eddie Schmidt | ... | Himself - Interviewer (voice) | |
| Kirsten Johnson | ... | Herself - Interviewer (voice) | |
| rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| Javorn Drummond | ... | Himself - From Fayetteville N. Carolina (archive footage) (as SPC Javorn Drummond) | |
| Will H. Hays | ... | Himself (archive footage) | |
| Eric Johnston | ... | Himself - MPAA President for 1945-1963 (archive footage) | |
| Richard Nixon | ... | Himself - Member of House Un-American Activities Committee (archive footage) | |
| J. Parnell Thomas | ... | Himself - Chairman of House Un-American Activities Committee (archive footage) (as Jay Parnell Thomas) | |
| Jack Valenti | ... | Himself - Founder of MPAA Rating System (archive footage) | |
| Tom Brokaw | ... | Himself - 1978 TV Newscaster (archive footage) (uncredited) | |
| Walter Cronkite | ... | Himself - 1968 TV Newscaster (archive footage) (uncredited) | |
| Ann Curry | ... | Herself - 1999 TV Newscaster (archive footage) (uncredited) | |
| Dan Rather | ... | Himself (archive footage) (uncredited) | |
Directed by | |||
| Kirby Dick | |||
Writing credits | ||
| Kirby Dick | (writer) & | |
| Eddie Schmidt | (writer) and | |
| Matt Patterson | (writer) | |
Produced by | |||
| Alison Palmer Bourke | .... | executive producer | |
| Nick Fraser | .... | executive producer: BBC Storyville | |
| Megan Parlen | .... | associate producer | |
| Eddie Schmidt | .... | producer | |
| Evan Shapiro | .... | executive producer | |
| Jessica Wolfson | .... | supervising producer: IFC | |
Cinematography by | |||
| Shana Hagan | (director of photography) | ||
| Kirsten Johnson | (director of photography) | ||
| Amy Vincent | (director of photography) | ||
Film Editing by | |||
| Matthew Clarke | |||
Art Department | |||
| Rita Valencia | .... | illustration: Joan Graves' picture | |
Sound Department | |||
| Doug Ball | .... | production sound | |
| Nancy Barker | .... | assistant sound editor | |
| Izak Ben-Meir | .... | production sound mixer (as Izak Ben-Mier) | |
| Jason Blackburn | .... | production sound | |
| Rick Brush | .... | production sound | |
| Luciano Dias | .... | production sound | |
| Aleksandr Gruzdev | .... | sound re-recording mixer (as Alex Gruzdev) | |
| Alder Hampel | .... | sound editor (as Alder Hample) | |
| Matt Hedges | .... | sound editorial coordinator | |
| Eric Johnson | .... | production sound | |
| Jacob Riehle | .... | sound editor | |
| John Sember | .... | production sound | |
| John Slocum | .... | production sound | |
| Frank Smathers | .... | supervising sound editor | |
| James Morioka | .... | dialogue editor (uncredited) | |
Visual Effects by | |||
| Allen Kelly | .... | visual effects (uncredited) | |
Camera and Electrical Department | |||
| Ulli Bonnekamp | .... | interview camera | |
| Kirby Dick | .... | additional Verite camera | |
| Bruce Dorfman | .... | interview camera | |
| Volker Gläser | .... | interview camera (as Volker Glaser) | |
| Stephen Hudnell | .... | interview camera | |
| Gil Kofman | .... | additional Verite camera | |
| Amanda Micheli | .... | interview camera | |
| Matthew Mylander | .... | additional Verite camera | |
| Allan Palmer | .... | additional director of photography | |
| Megan Parlen | .... | additional Verite camera | |
| Michael Parry | .... | interview camera | |
| Eddie Schmidt | .... | Verite camera | |
| Ben Wolf | .... | interview camera | |
Animation Department | |||
| Bil White | .... | animator: Ka-Chew! | |
Editorial Department | |||
| Robert Benedict | .... | assistant editor (as Bob Benedict) | |
| Stephanie Hernstadt | .... | assistant editor | |
| Allen Kelly | .... | colorist: Filmlook | |
| Christine Khalafian | .... | associate editor | |
| Mike Roey | .... | editorial project supervisor: Keep Me Posted | |
| Simon Veredon | .... | high definition on-line editor: Keep Me Posted | |
| Tricia Chiarenza | .... | color timer (uncredited) | |
| Matthew Mylander | .... | assistant editor (uncredited) | |
Music Department | |||
| Dondi Bastone | .... | music supervisor | |
| Zigmund Gron | .... | music editor (as Zig Gron) | |
Other crew | |||
| Steven C. Beer | .... | additional legal (as Steven Beer) | |
| Lisa Callif | .... | production legal | |
| Josh Coonrod | .... | production assistant | |
| Cassie Destino | .... | additional production assistant | |
| Michael Donaldson | .... | production legal | |
| Joanne Dorn | .... | production accountant | |
| D.W. Ferranti | .... | technical coordinator (as Don Ferranti) | |
| Mark Ferranti | .... | field production assistant | |
| Jon-Peter Garzone | .... | field production assistant (as JP Garzone) | |
| Barbara Gregson | .... | clip clearances: Miller-Gregson Productions | |
| Kevin Hoyer | .... | field production assistant | |
| Valerie Jaquith | .... | technical consultant | |
| Tara Milch | .... | production intern | |
| Nathalie Renard | .... | project supervisor: Ka-Chew! | |
| Mike Sobo | .... | field production assistant | |
| Marcella Swenson | .... | additional production assistant | |
| Donny Tran | .... | additional production assistant | |
| Kathryn West | .... | office production assistant | |
| Bil White | .... | titles | |
Thanks | |||
| Susan Allenback | .... | the producers wish to thank (as Susan Allenbach) | |
| Sarah Allen | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Becky Altringer | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Allison Anders | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| David Ansen | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Gregg Araki | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Roger Arar | .... | thanks: IFC | |
| Darren Aronofsky | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Jamie Babbit | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Clark Baker | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Doug Baldwin | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Randy Barbato | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Steven Beeman | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Maria Bello | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Tom Bernard | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Andy Biench | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Rachel Blanchard | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Dr. Brad Bushman | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Greg Cantwell | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Brad Carlson | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Jennifer Caserta | .... | thanks: IFC | |
| Hugh Clarke | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Meredith Clarke | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Cathleen Colvin | .... | thanks: IFC | |
| Meredith Cooper | .... | thanks: IFC | |
| Anna Cordova | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Michael Cuesta | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Greg Curtner | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Dane A. Davis | .... | the producers wish to thank (as Dane Davis) | |
| Sharon Davis | .... | thanks: IFC | |
| Angela Delabastide | .... | thanks: IFC | |
| Dianne Dieli | .... | thanks: IFC | |
| Michael Donaldson | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Christina Donatelli | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Dody Dorn | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Lori Keith Douglas | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Cristina Dowdell | .... | thanks: IFC | |
| Atom Egoyan | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Sophie Evans | .... | thanks: IFC | |
| Robert Faber | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Stephen Farber | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Joel Federman | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Jane FitzGerald | .... | the producers wish to thank (as Jane Fitzgerald) | |
| Evan Fleischer | .... | thanks: IFC | |
| Glen Freyer | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Chad Gabriel | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Sheila Galante | .... | thanks: IFC | |
| Eddie Gamarra | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Liz Garbus | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Martin Garbus | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Anne Garefino | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Marcy Gerstein | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Dawn Girocco | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Ryan Gooden | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Elektra Gray | .... | thanks: IFC | |
| Jennifer Grega | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Jill Haag | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Dotty Hamilton | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Andrew Hanges | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Mary Harron | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Dan Hassid | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Kevin Hearst | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Richard Heffner | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| David Heilbroner | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Susan Heimbeinder | .... | the producers wish to thank (as Susan Heimbinder) | |
| Marjorie Heins | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Nancy Hennings | .... | thanks: IFC | |
| Kathryn Himoff | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Nancy Hirsch | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Jed Horowitz | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Cheryl Howell | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Jennifer Howell | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Lindsey Howell | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Dawn Hudson | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Paul Huebl | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Dr. Rowell Huesmann | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Marcus Hu | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Rachel Kamerman | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Tim Kelly | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Robert Kessel | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Albert Khalafian | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Mimi Khalafian | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Yvette Khalafian | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Sam Kitt | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Jeremy Klavens | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Wayne Kramer | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Kara Krupnick | .... | thanks: IFC | |
| Jay Landers | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| David Laub | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Ron Leone | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Lawrence Lessig | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Jon Lewis | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Blake Leyh | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Jeff Lipsky | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| M.J. Loheed | .... | the producers wish to thank (as MJ Loheed) | |
| Craig Lucas | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Jennifer MacLean | .... | the producers wish to thank (as Jennifer Maclean) | |
| Doug Mankoff | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Charles Mastropietro | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Bud Mcdonough | .... | thanks: IFC | |
| Michael Mclellan | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Charlotte Mickie | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Julie Miller | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Karen Mock | .... | thanks: IFC | |
| Claudine Mulard | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Bob Myman | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| David Newman | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Tom Ortenberg | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Craig Parks | .... | thanks: IFC | |
| Lainy Parlen | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Matt Patterson | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Kimberly Peirce | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Lisa Penha | .... | thanks: IFC | |
| John Petersen | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Margaret Petersen | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Janet Pierson | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Mark Pogachefski | .... | the producers wish to thank (as Mark Pogachefsky) | |
| Gina Prince-Bythewood | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Bingham Ray | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Kent Rees | .... | thanks: IFC | |
| David L. Robb | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Andy Robbins | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Steve Rodhe | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Howard A. Rodman | .... | the producers wish to thank (as Howard Rodman) | |
| Bob Rosen | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Jay Rosenzweig | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Amanda Rykoff | .... | thanks: IFC | |
| Kevin Sandler | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Lauren Schalin | .... | thanks: IFC | |
| Leon Schmidt | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Cookie Schwartz | .... | the producers wish to thank (as MJ Loheed) | |
| Jonathan Sehring | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Anthony Seyler | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Terilyn A. Shropshire | .... | the producers wish to thank (as Terilyn Shropshire) | |
| Kevin Smith | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Nathan Smith | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Todd Solondz | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Andrea Sperling | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Gail Stanley | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Alexandra Stone | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Matt Stone | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Paul Sturtz | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Joe Swanberg | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Kris Swanberg | .... | the producers wish to thank (as Kris Williams) | |
| Fredda Tourin | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Shannon Treusch | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Michael Tucker | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Mark Urman | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Rita Valencia | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| George VanBuskirk | .... | the producers wish to thank (as George Van Buskirk) | |
| Fred von Lohmann | .... | the producers wish to thank (as Fred Von Lohmann) | |
| James Wall | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| John Waters | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Dr. Theresa Webb | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| William Wheeler | .... | thanks: IFC | |
| Nancy Willen | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Lindsay Williams | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Laura Wittern-Keller | .... | the producers wish to thank (as Laura Wittern-Keller Phd) | |
| Rebecca Yeldham | .... | the producers wish to thank | |
| Amy Ziering | .... | the producers wish to thank (as Amy Ziering Kofman) | |
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| Untitled Clean Flicks Documentary | Hollywood Uncensored | Schlock! The Secret History of American Movies | Spin | Sex and Buttered Popcorn |
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| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
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Ever been curious about the American film rating system? Then Kirby Dick's This Film Is Not Yet Rated is perfect. It does to US censorship what Michael Moore has done to others: it makes everyone look like jackasses, mainly because that's what they really are.
The film explains pretty early on, through South Park-style animation, what kind of rating a movie can get in the USA: G, PG, PG-13, R or NC-17. The last certificate is the most unpleasant one, as a film with that classification won't get a proper distribution. And it's that particular rating that Dick wants to dissect.
This documentary is divided into three sections: the largest one sees various filmmakers (Kimberly Pierce, John Waters, Kevin Smith) revealing the problems they've experienced because of the American ratings board, the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America). The second section features the director's efforts to uncover the identities of the film raters. You see, the MPAA is supposedly composed of average American parents, doing a fair job. Then how come no one knows who these people are? As the investigation continues, we learn that one board member doesn't even have kids, while several others' offspring are already adults. So what's really going on?
The last part of This Film Is Not Yet Rated focuses on Dick's own censorship trouble, a really interesting version of the movie-within-a-movie gimmick: he sent a rough cut of the documentary to the MPAA, receiving the dreaded NC-17 (since there's some footage coming from other NC-rated films), and so we get to see his frustration as he tries to appeal the controversial decision.
The best part of the film is the first one I mentioned, mainly because we get to know the rules of the game a bit better. Apparently, any kind of "weird sex" is not welcome: oral sex (Boys Don't Cry), threesomes(The Dreamers, American Psycho), gay stuff (Mysterious Skin, Where The Truth Lies), female masturbation (Jersey Girl, a PG-13 movie, almost got an R just because Liv Tyler talks about it)... the list is quite long. Of course, you're better off if your film is endorsed by a major studio. That's why a glimpse of Maria Bello's pubic hair got independent film The Cooler an NC-17, while Sharon Stone doing much more in the audience-baiting Basic Instinct was "appropriate" enough to receive an R. No wonder most filmmakers hate the MPAA! Hell, we even find out that Trey Parker and Matt Stone deliberately put distasteful material in Team America just to make fun of the ratings board.
Another "funny" thing is, the NC-17 is only used against sex. No one ever says anything about on-screen violence. In fact, any movie can have the highest body count ever, and be rated R. If there's no blood, it might even get a PG-13. As people point out, all other countries have the exact opposite attitude, condemning violence rather than sex (I know, from personal experience, that most films rated NC-17 in the US are usually classified "15" or "16" in Europe, while excessive violence tends to lead to an "18").
As someone wisely says in this hilarious, poignant opus, ratings don't really matter. If it's a film a lot of people want to see, no rating in the world can damage it. If it's a film few people want to see, then no rating in the world will save it. That might be true (although I don't necessarily agree: the huge success of The Passion of the Christ was largely due to the rating controversies), but this movie also made me realize that I would definitely not want to be a member of the MPAA. Their criteria are too weird for normal people to understand.