Hollywood super-producer Harvey Weinstein has come to an agreement with the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) to win a PG-13 rating for his studio’s upcoming transgender drama 3 Generations after lobbying the organization to change the film’s initial R rating.
The film, which stars Naomi Watts, Elle Fanning, and Susan Sarandon, was originally given an R rating due to its thematic material, which Weinstein and LBGT advocacy organization GLAAD had vehemently opposed.
“It’s organizations such as GLAAD, the ones that don’t shy away from the difficult conversations, that are the reason we are able to move this country forward and really shift the cultural conversations,” Weinstein said in a statement.” I spoke with Joan Graves at MPAA extensively on this, and I am thrilled that we came to a solution that maintains the integrity of this crucial film while making it accessible to its intended audience.”
GLAAD president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said “3 Generations is a film that all families should be able to see.”
“When audiences around the world meet transgender teen Ray and see the love that his family shows him, it will not only send a powerful message to LGBTQ youth, but to families of all types,” Ellis’s statement continued. “The MPAA made the right decision and once again The Weinstein Company dared to tell culture-changing LGBTQ stories that Hollywood too often shies away from.”
The film stars Fanning as Ray, a teenager who comes out as transgender and decides to transition from female to male. Watts plays Ray’s mother while Sarandon plays Ray’s grandmother, each of whom must come to terms with Ray’s decision as her mother attempts to track down the teen’s father to obtain his legal consent.
The Parents Television Council had lobbied for an R rating for the film over its profanity and sexual content.
The film’s new PG-13 rating is for “mature thematic content, some sexual references and language,” Deadline reports, adding that the studio agreed to make some edits to the film as a compromise with the MPAA.
The ratings battle pushed the Gaby Dellal-directed drama’s domestic release date back for several months.
3 Generations opens in New York and Los Angeles on May 5 and expands for wider release on May 12.
Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter: @jeromeehudson
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