USA: "Bully" documentary's unrated release doesn't deter cast from believing the film will be a catalyst for social change

Record ID: 220778

  • Title: USA: "Bully" documentary's unrated release doesn't deter cast from believing the film will be a catalyst for social change
  • Date: 27th March 2012
  • Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (MARCH 26, 2012) (REUTERS) WIDE OF "BULLY" POSTER AND RED CARPET ACTORS SPEAKING TO REPORTERS ON RED CARPET E! HOST JOEL MCHALE SPEAKING TO REPORTERS ON RED CARPET "BULLY" CO-STAR KELBY JOHNSON SPEAKING TO REPORTERS ON RED CARPET (SOUNDBITE) (English), KELBY JOHNSON, "BULLY" CO-STAR, SAYING: "Well I'm transgender and I came out in about 7th grade, although people always knew. And the town immediately turned against us, the churches turned against us, the teachers bullied me. I was run over. There were billions of things that happened to me on a daily basis, but then we got the call from Lee and it was an opportunity to make some change and to take a jump into this action. It's been amazing." "BULLY" STAR ALEX LIBBY WITH PARENTS (SOUNDBITE) (English), KELBY JOHNSON, "BULLY" CO-STAR, SAYING: "My goal is basically to spread the message around to stop bullying and have kids stand up for people who are bullied, speak up, and help us out to end bullying around the world." (SOUNDBITE) (English), JACKIE LIBBY, MOTHER OF "BULLY" STAR ALEX LIBBY, SAYING: "A lot of families who have gone through this are still dealing with it. There are a lot of frustrated people in the school district who want it addressed but get closed doors just like parents and children. Mostly I would say it's been very positive, there's a lot of people behind us. It's important. When children start dying, it's important." "BULLY" DIRECTOR LEE HIRSCH AND PRODUCER CYNTHIA LOWEN POSING FOR PHOTOS (SOUNDBITE) (English), LEE HIRSCH, "BULLY" DIRECTOR, SAYING: "This rating was really a battle for us; we didn't want to accept it. 500,000 people told us to fight it, we fought it. We're not going to take that R; we're going to go out unrated. Thanks to Harvey Weinstein, thanks to AMC, thanks to lots of folks who are saying we've seen this film, we've made our own assessment, we're going to support it, we're going to show it, and I still have hope that the MPAA will reverse this decision. Anything's possible." PARENTS TINA LONG AND DAVID LONG OF "BULLY" (SOUNDBITE) (English), TINA LONG, MOTHER FROM "BULLY" CAST WHOSE SON COMMITTED SUICIDE, SAYING: "I think it's going to open a lot of eyes, and I think it's going to help create a climate and an atmosphere in our schools where maybe it's going to be cool for students to stand up for kids that are being bullied, and that's what we need to do." (SOUNDBITE) (English), DAVID LONG, FATHER FROM "BULLY" CAST WHOSE SON COMMITTED SUICIDE, SAYING: "And I think kids that are bystanders who witness bullying, once they see the film, they can see the impact of just being bystanders, they're going to take more action and that's what we hope comes out of the film." CLOSE UP OF ANTI BULLY PIN ACTOR JASON ISAACS TALKING WITH REPORTERS "BULLY" STAR ALEX LIBBY TAKING PHOTOS WITH GUESTS
  • Embargoed: 11th April 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa, Uruguay
  • City:
  • Country: Usa Uruguay
  • Reuters ID: LVACWS5YXAAUNR010GTM8HK0XMD1
  • Story Text: The Weinstein Co. has decided to release its documentary "Bully" without a U.S. film rating after failing, by one vote, to persuade the Motion Picture Association of America to change to one that is less restrictive. "Bully" director Lee Hirsch said he still hoped the MPAA would change its mind at the documentary's red carpet premiere in Los Angeles on Monday (March 26).
    "This rating was really a battle for us, we didn't want to accept it," Hirsch said. "500,000 people told us to fight it, we fought it. We're not going to take that R; we're going to go out unrated. Thanks to Harvey Weinstein, thanks to AMC, thanks to lots of folks who are saying we've seen this film, we've made our own assessment, we're going to support it, we're going to show it, and I still have hope that the MPAA will reverse this decision. Anything's possible."
    "Bully," set for release on March 30, has drawn controversy over the MPAA's "R" rating that means people under age 17 must be accompanied by an adult to see it. The group gave it the rating due to strong language used by kids in the film.
    Releasing "Bully" unrated means anyone will be admitted where it is screened, but in the past many major theater chains have spurned films without an MPAA rating. As a result, distributors such as The Weinstein Co. seek the ranking.
    Tina Long, a mother from Georgia whose son Tyler Long hanged himself in 2009 at age 17 after years of being bullied, said the film will still "open a lot of eyes."
    "It's going to help create a climate and an atmosphere in our schools where maybe it's going to be cool for students to stand up for kids that are being bullied, and that's what we need to do," Long said.
    But Jackie Libby, mother of one of the bullied children whose experiences are documented in the movie, said a lot still needs to be done.
    "A lot of families who have gone through this are still dealing with it," she said. "There are a lot of frustrated people in the school district who want it addressed but get closed doors just like parents and children. Mostly I would say it's been very positive, there's a lot of people behind us. It's important. When children start dying, it's important."
    Weinstein Co. had appealed the "R" earlier this year and sought a PG-13 rating, but the MPAA refused to budge. Director Lee Hirsch was given the option to edit out expletives, but chose not to since the documentary's language is essential to the story.
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