LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Wes Anderson’s ‘Asteroid City’ is receiving all the accolades from critics and fans alike. The American filmmaker is back, just two years after releasing another critically-acclaimed film named ‘The French Dispatch’. With ‘Asteroid City,’ Anderson has made inroads into the science fiction genre by narrating a story of a fictional desert town of the 1950s set in the American mid-west. The film premiered at the 2023 Cannes film festival boasting a huge ensemble of Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Ed Norton, Adrien Brody, Liev Schreiber, Hope Davis, Stephen Park, Rupert Friend, Maya Hawke, Steve Carell, Matt Dillon, Hong Chau, Willem Dafoe and others. Despite a standing ovation at Cannes, the film faced a little hiccup before its release in the US.
The Motion Pictures Association of America (MPAA) which hands out ratings to movies before their theatrical release gave an ‘R’ rating to Wes Anderson’s ‘Asteroid City.’ The ‘R’ rating mean no children under 17 are allowed to watch the film without parents or adult guardians). ‘Asteroid City’ was rated R "for brief graphic nudity”. After the rating was released, Focus Features confirmed that Anderson would appeal against the decision of the MPAA to the Classification and Ratings Administration (CARA) Appeals Board, which was specifically created for scenarios like this. As it turns out, Anderson did emerge victorious and got the rating changed to PG-13.
What does a PG-13 rating mean for ‘Asteroid City’?
A report published in 2018 from the MPAA claimed that only 1.4% of movies have been through the appeals process in the entire history of the organization. Out of the few movies that have appealed their rating, about 38% have had them overturned. An “R” rating which is given for brief graphic nudity didn’t sit well with Wes Anderson. Hence, Anderson appealed and after a successful appeal, the MPA granted a PG-13 rating which signifies that "some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. Parents are urged to be cautious. Some material may be inappropriate for pre-teenagers.”
This means that teenagers below the age of 17 can watch ‘Asteroid City’ which wasn’t the case with an “R” rating. Anderson’s movies may deal with diverse issues of family relationships and beyond but the filmmaker showcases these issues with delicacy and weaves vibrant worlds where these absurd stories can thrive without being offensive or unsuitable for a certain set of audiences.
When is ‘Asteroid City' releasing?
After a successful premiere at Cannes, Wes Anderson’s 11th feature film will have a limited theatrical opening on June 16, 2023, with a wider opening following on June 23, 2023, in the US.
