‘Cold’ Rating

Don’t look for the MPAA’s initial NC-17 rating for “Stone Cold” to stick.

The Columbia action-thriller, due out May 17, stars ex-footballer Brian Bozworth as an undercover cop infiltrating the tough biker underworld. It got the dreaded rating last week--apparently the first for an action film.

The NC-17 excludes all ticket buyers under the age of 17--a crucial audience for the genre--and has caused regional theatrical and video marketing problems for other pictures given the rating.

Executives at Stonebridge Entertainment decline to discuss specifics about how they’ll deal with the MPAA’s preliminary judgment--be it negotiation, trims or an appeal. But one executive with the company insists that the NC-17 is temporary.

“It will be an R-rated movie,” he says firmly.