The analysis comes from NATO’s John Fithian after he was asked at a press meeting why Hollywood produces so many R-rated films — despite the evidence he presented this morning showing that family friendly films typically fare better at the box office.
“It’s cool to be Quentin Tarrentino,” he says.
While lauding the the First Amendment, giving filmmakers the right to produce what they will, he says that there’s “often a little bit of a difference between the movie making philosophy and the exhibition philosophy” about what sells.
MPAA’s Chris Dodd says that they aren’t that far apart.
For the major studios he represents “less than 50% of our product is R-rated.” Still, he noted that the cost of producing a G-rated film “can be higher than an R-rated movie.”
But he didn’t bite when asked whether films are too violent. "Our job isn’t to be movie critics,” he says.
The execs added that they didn’t think that Hollywood has become too focused on making movies for overseas markets vs domestic. “Movies that are made overseas work domestically too,” Fithian says. “Our companies operate across national lines” notably since China’s Wanda Group bought AMC Entertainment and Cinemark has become a major exhibitor in Latin America.
Dodd noted that Fox’s Life of Pi is from “a Canadian author, a Taiwanese director, and Indian actors supported by an American studio.”
In response to another question, he said that he has not spoken to Chinese officials about their recent decisions to yank showings of Tarrantino’s Django Unchained.
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