The Weinstein Company (TWC) announced
Thursday that it would appeal the Motion Picture Association of
America's (MPAA) decision to give an R rating to its upcoming film 3
Generations, which stars Elle Fanning as a transgender youth.
The film, which is set for a May 5th
limited release, was previously titled About Ray.
In 3 Generations, 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.
The MPAA cited language including some
sexual references for the R rating.
Harvey Weinstein said in a statement
that he's challenging the board's decision because an R rating “would
prevent high school students from seeing this film.”
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.
“The MPAA and I were able to come to
an agreement on Bully and I am confident that we will be able
to do so again,” Weinstein said.
Susan Surandon also criticized the
MPAA's decision. “It's ridiculous to have an R rating which would
prevent this audience from seeing the film.”