According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film “Miral” will now be released to select theaters with a PG-13 rating, after the ratings appeals board overturned the R rating the movie initially received.
The film will make the second victory for the Weinstein Company, who had another ratings victory with “Blue Valentine” (the company managed to get the appeals board to overturn the NC-17 rating it originally had).
Director Julian Schnabel wanted to do the movie in order to get young people conversing about the strained relations between the Palestinians and Israelis, but an R rating would have prohibited the target audience from even seeing the film. After Schnabel and “Miral” producer Jon Kilik argued for their movie at a Los Angeles hearing Thursday morning, they got the outcome they’d hoped for.
No that the rating has been tampered down, perhaps the dialogue Schnabel wants to happen will actually ensue. But now with “Miral” being the second win for lowered ratings from the production company, one might wonder if other companies will start arguing for their extremely-rated movies as well.
“Miral” chronicles the Arab-Israeli conflict seen through the eyes of a 17-year-old Palestinian girl. The film was written by Palestinian journalist Rula Jabreal and is based on the semi-autobiographical novel of the same name.
