The Motion Picture Association of
America (MPAA) and The Weinstein Company (TWC) have agreed on a PG-13
rating for TWC's upcoming transgender teen drama 3 Generations.
The film, which is set for a May 5th
limited release, was previously titled About Ray.
In 3 Generations, Elle Fanning,
18, plays Ray, a teenager transitioning from female to male. Also
appearing in the film are Susan Sarandon as Ray's lesbian grandmother
and Naomi Watts as the mother.
Citing language including some sexual
references, MPAA gave the film an R rating.
TWC protested the rating. GLAAD backed
the effort, saying in an open letter that it was important for
younger audiences to watch the film.
Harvey Weinstein, who chairs TWC with
his brother Bob Weinstein, said in a statement that he challenged the
board's decision because an R rating “would prevent high school
students from seeing this film.”
According to Deadline
Hollywood, TWC made some edits to the film to lower the
rating to PG-13.
Weinstein thanked GLAAD for standing
with him on the issue.
“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.”
In 2012, TWC successfully challenged
the MPAA, lowering the rating from R to PG-13 on Bully, which
looks at the lives of several victims of bullies, including some LGBT
teens, though TWC was forced to edit out three expletives.