After making cuts, The Weinstein Co.’s drama 3 Generations will receive a PG-13 rating.
Earlier this month, the company had said it would challenge the MPAA’s decision to assign an R rating to the transgender drama starring Elle Fanning, Naomi Watts and Susan Sarandon and had enlisted attorney David Boies in the effort. It is unclear if TWC ever filed an appeal.
But on Thursday, TWC said it had reached an agreement with MPAA after tweaking the Gaby Dellal-helmed film that will ensure a PG-13 rating for “mature thematic content, some sexual references and language.” A source said the cuts made were mainly for language.
GLAAD has been a vocal supporter of TWC’s efforts to challenge the MPAA’s rating. Earlier this month GLAAD president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis wrote an open letter in support of the protest, highlighting the significance of portraying trans youth in a mainstream media and what it can do for younger audiences. The LGBTQ rights organization also launched a change.org petition sponsored by Blair Durkee, a trans woman, student and activist. The petition garnered nearly 35,000 signatures since its launch last week.
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According to TWC, Ellis spoke with Joan Graves, head of the Classification and Rating Administration for the MPAA as well as Harvey Weinstein in an effort to mediate a solution. Still, that had no influence on the new rating, and the MPAA pushed back on the idea that any kind of agreement was reached.
“This film has gone through all of the regular procedures outlined in CARA’s Rules. While we cannot discuss the process for a particular film due to a confidentiality agreement, we can confirm that TWC has accepted the PG-13 rating for the last version of 3 Generations screened by CARA,” MPAA spokesperson Chris Ortman said. “While we regularly meet with a wide range of organizations to discuss the rating system, no outside groups have any influence on the rating process. Each film is rated by a team of raters, who are themselves parents, in order to serve CARA’s purpose of providing information to parents about viewing choices for their children.”
Instead, TWC took GLAAD and Ellis’ recommendations and made the necessary edits so that the film would reach the intended youth audience.
“3 Generations is a film that all families should be able to see,” said Ellis. “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. 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.”
Added Weinstein: “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. 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.”
3 Generations follows Ray (Fanning), a teenager who has struggled with the body assigned to him at birth and is determined to start transitioning. His single mother, Maggie (Watts), must track down Ray’s biological father (Tate Donovan) to get his legal consent to allow the transition. Dolly (Sarandon), Ray’s lesbian grandmother, is having a hard time accepting that she now has a grandson. The film follows the family’s journey as each confronts identity and learns to embrace change while ultimately finding acceptance and understanding.
3 Generations opens in New York and Los Angeles on Friday, May 5 and expands on May 12.
