‘Fahrenheit’ Bid to Reduce R Rating Fails

If you’re under 17, you can’t vote in November. You also can’t see the film that fans hope will sway the presidential election, unless your parents tag along.

On Tuesday, the Motion Picture Assn. of America rejected an attempt by the distributors of Michael Moore’s “Fahrenheit 9/11” to reduce the R rating awarded the anti-Bush documentary two weeks ago.

Moore was typically defiant.

“I encourage all teenagers to come see my movie, by any means necessary,” he said after the vote by an MPAA appeals panel. “If you need me to sneak you in, let me know.”

The failure to obtain a PG-13 rating could cut the film’s box-office receipts 10% to 20%, its distributors said.

The R rating prohibits children under 17 from buying tickets unless they are accompanied by a parent or other adult.

The documentary, which became a political hot potato when Walt Disney Co. barred its subsidiary Miramax Films from releasing it, opens today in New York and will be in 868 theaters nationwide Friday.

The MPAA decision was expected given the language and violent footage in the film.

Nonetheless, the “Fahrenheit 9/11” distributors had launched a full-court press to appeal the R rating, assisted by former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo.

After the documentary was shown at Burbank’s Dolby Laboratories, Tom Ortenberg, president of Lions Gate Releasing, delivered a 20-minute argument before the appeals board.

The MPAA panel then debated behind closed doors for 15 minutes. A breakdown of the ballots cast wasn’t disclosed, but a two-thirds vote was needed to overturn the R rating “for some disturbing images and language” -- including bloody corpses, charred bodies and explicit heavy metal lyrics.

“It’s rare that an appeals board overturns a decision, so we didn’t have our hopes up,” Ortenberg said. “Though we disagree with the decision, we’ll accept it and respect it.”

Cuomo, whom Lions Gate had hired to make its case, was in New York, prohibited from participating by MPAA rules that allow only those involved in the production or distribution of a movie to contest a rating.

“We’d been negotiating for three days, and they ultimately proposed a series of fixes that could achieve a PG-13,” Cuomo said in an interview. “Moore turned it down, saying that this wasn’t entertainment but an advocacy film in which every piece had significance.

“I think there should be a new rating ... an R-13, indicating that a movie is tough stuff and shouldn’t be seen by anyone under 13.”

Talks are underway to edit a separate PG-13 version for the October home video release, according to a person familiar with the situation.

MPAA President Jack Valenti said the appeal was “a classic example of how the rating system works.”

Film tracking surveys indicate high audience awareness and interest in the film, especially among people over 25.

The winner of the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in May, “Fahrenheit 9/11” is bolstered by an $8-million print and TV ad campaign.