Sources Claim New ‘Bully’ Re-Cut Will Be PG-13

The MPAA still won't grant Bully anything less than an "R" rating, and in the face of its obstinacy the Weinstein Co. now suggests it might re-cut the film, sans profanity, to secure a rating of "PG 13." This is from "two people familiar with the company’s plans who were not authorized to speak about them publicly," according to the Los Angeles Times. Officially, however, the Weinstein Co. still plans to release the film in mid-April with no rating at all. From the Times:

The Weinstein Co. denied that changes were being made now but allowed for the possibility in the coming weeks. “At this time, there are no plans to change the film for a PG-13,” Stephen Bruno, the company’s head of marketing, told 24 Frames on Friday. “We are in constant conversation with the MPAA and hope a compromise can be reached.” The MPAA has been steadfast that the existing cut wll not be given anything lower than an R.

The Times explains a weird quirk of the MPAA rating system: That merely bleeping profanity isn't enough to lower a film's rating, presumably because even impressionable kids are sufficiently worldly to know what ugly noises are being made beneath the beeps. Which makes one wonder why they need to be protected from profanity in the first place, but never mind.

Removing all profanity from Bully will pose difficulties for Weinstein Co., because one of Bully's most important scenes is full of the stuff:

The scene that earned the film an R features one teen threatening another as the two sit side-by-side on the bus, with profanities interwoven throughout the scene … Weinstein and filmmaker Lee Hirsch have been adamant that the scene remain in the film as is to show the full force of what bullied kids face.