Kirby Dick on This Film is Not Yet Rated and the MPAA Ratings Board

At one time public awareness of the MPAA was limited to the ratings for movies in theaters and on DVD. More recently, the MPAA has become the nemesis of anyone who wants to make a personal copy of a DVD or download a copy of a show they missed from one of the many channels in a $100 per month cable subscription. While the major picture studios are all members of the MPAA, little is known about what goes on behind closed doors in making ratings decisions regarding the films we see. Documentary filmmaker Kirby Dick recently took it upon himself to find out how the ratings process works, what makes an R or NC-17 rated film, and most importantly, who the secret ratings board members actually are. The resulting film, This Film is Not Yet Rated, offers a revealing look at how movies get rated. Jake’s been talking to a number of directors at the Seattle International Film Festival and was lucky enough to catch a few minutes with Kirby Dick to talk about This Film is Not Yet Rated, the MPAA ratings board and how fair use is helping documentary filmmakers get access to resources they might otherwise be denied.