'A Birder's Guide to Everything' wins rating appeal

By Mark Olsen

Dec. 3, 2013 12 AM PT

The Motion Picture Assn. of America says its Classification and Ratings Appeal Board has overturned the R rating given to the film “A Birder’s Guide to Everything” for “some language and crude references.”

The film is now rated PG-13 for “langauge, sex and drug references, and partial brief nudity.”

The film has been playing festivals since its premiere in April at the Tribeca Film Festival and, according to its website, will be in theaters and video on demand this spring.

PHOTOS: Holiday movie sneaks 2013

Directed and co-written by Rob Meyer, the film is a young adult story starring Ben Kingsley, James Le Gros, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Katie Chang following a search for a rare duck. A review in Variety declared the film “a gentle coming-of-age road movie” and an “amiable teen laffer, remarkably free of snark.”

Meyer and co-writer Luke Matheny represented the film in the appeal. The announcement of the change was made Tuesday.

The Weinstein Company has had a number of public battles with the MPAA over ratings. Its current release “Philomena” was initially rated R and then, after a campaign that included public statements by star Judi Dench, it was changed to a PG-13. The company’s documentary “Bully” also was reclassified from R to PG-13.

Actress Evan Rachel Wood recently took to Twitter to decry cuts made to the film “Charlie Countryman” to secure an R rating instead of an NC-17. Her series of messages included the statement “I would like to share my disappointment with the MPAA, who thought it was necessary to censor a woman’s sexuality once again.”

ALSO:

Evan Rachel Wood blasts MPAA over “Charlie Countryman”

Judi Dench, as Bond’s M, takes onMPAA over ‘Philomena’ rating

Weinstein Co. wins MPAA apeal to overturn R-rating for ‘Philomena’

Follow Mark Olsen on Twitter: @IndieFocus