Weinstein Company to Battle "R" Rating for Transgender Film

According to Variety:

"The Weinstein Company is taking on the ratings board over “3 Generations.”

The drama about a transgender teenager earned an R-rating from the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) for profanity and for sexual references. That means that moviegoers under the age of 17 can’t buy a ticket without a parent or guardian. The Weinstein Company is objecting, arguing that the film needs to be seen by high schoolers because it has a message of acceptance and inclusion that’s relevant at a time when transgender rights are being hotly debated. Transgender teens also have a higher suicide rates — 40% of transgender adults attempted to kill themselves, with 92% of those attempts coming before the age of 25."

“3 Generations” follows Ray (Elle Fanning), a teenager who has struggled with the body assigned to him at birth and is determined to start transitioning. First, however, he must find his biological father in order to get permission for the medical procedure."

Naomi Watts, who stars in the film as Ray’s mother Maggie, said: “This film is a beautiful and touching story about family and identity. It is important for teenagers to see it and the ‘R’ rating doesn’t reflect today’s society. ‘3 Generations’ doesn’t have a bad bone in its body, it’s an expression of love, acceptance, strength, and honesty — values that could not be more necessary right now.”

"In a separate statement, Susan Sarandon, who stars in the film as Ray’s grandmother commented, “‘3 Generations’ is an important movie for everyone to see, especially transgender youth who are feeling isolated or fearful and their families. It’s ridiculous to have an R rating which would prevent this audience from seeing the film.”

Did You Hear?

From Variety :  “Law & Order: SVU” has always looked to the headlines, and the upcoming 17th season is already planning to highlight a hot topic issue: the transgender community, which was recently brought to the spotlight in Bruce Jenner’s “20/20″ interview.

“We’ve already started our season 17 storylines. We’re doing a story about a transgender teenager,” showrunner Warren Leight told Variety Tuesday, the first day the “SVU” team began prepping the first episode of the upcoming 2015-16 season — which also happens to be the same day the cast was shooting the finale episode for season 16, which airs May 20. “The world keeps evolving, and there are a lot of dark areas that we need to look at,” Leight added."

If I am reading this right, Law & Order SVU doing a "dark" show on a transgender teen, means they "might" address trans bullying and violence. But, maybe Jenner is getting too much credit here. The show producers may had been noticing the real dark sides of life transgender youth face.

Discovered?

If you follow "reality television" at all, you have witnessed the "reality" of several networks presenting no programming related to their original names.  The A&E Network  comes to mind as one of the biggest farces of all as the "Arts and Entertainment's" highest rated program was the "Duck Dynasty" show.

Now, according to "Variety" the Discovery Life Channel has ordered a docu-series this spring centered around the lives of  four pairs of trans couples and friends as they navigate the hurdles of transitioning as transgender. Discovery Life will debut on Jan. 15 as a makeover of the channel that is now Discovery Fit and Health. “Those Girls” is scheduled to debut in March.

It takes place in Kansas City which begs the question, "Dorothy,  are we in Kansas after all? "