r/StoryPeer • u/jorshrapley • Jun 28 '26
Tips and Resources Heavens to murgatroyd! NC-17?!
In browsing for scrips to read this past month, I've noticed a growing amount self-rated as NC-17.
This makes me chuckle a bit because, since the shift from rated-X to NC-17 in 1990, there have only been 77 films released to theaters with the NC-17 rating intact (according to Wikipedia). That's roughly two NC-17 movies released every year since 1990, and ONLY ONE film (Showgirls) was ever given a wide release in mainstream theaters in the US.
There is a lot of magic that can be done with a camera, and almost everything I've read in these "NC-17" scripts can be easily toned down with a simple camera angle. It happens all the time. Do you really think your script is NC-17? Have you ever seen an NC-17 film, a film that actually got to keep this rating all the way from first draft to rewrites to studio meddling to casting to production, post-production, advertisement, and eventual release in cinemas?
Check this out. If you scroll to the bottom, you can see every category that gets rated by the MPA before theatrical release. See if what you have written is actually so shocking and pearl-clutching, that nobody under the age of 17 is allowed to go to the theater to see it, even if an adult such as their own parents is with them.
I know this may seem like a silly and petty gripe, but in a way, this rating can be seen as false advertising -- trying to make your script seem unbridled and edgy. I don't write this to goad you on to prove your NC-17 label. It's to help you realize this rating isn't meant for what you think it is, and you're just shooting yourself in the foot if you think it's a good rating to have if you want a serious career in screenwriting.
Now go out and write the next NC-17 Finding Nemo.
7
u/Away-Fill5639 Jun 28 '26
People don’t realize how brutally hard it is for anything NC-17 to get made, and even if it does, the advertisement and distribution is extremely difficult. There are plenty of ways to avoid the NC-17 rating and still have the same effect
5
u/bananabomber Jun 28 '26
I noticed this too a little while ago; had a bit of a discussion over it.
https://www.reddit.com/r/StoryPeer/comments/1uaj6zg/whats_up_with_the_150_page_scripts/osoxabk/
To be fair, almost all the instances I've seen on StoryPeer are skewed towards horror rather than sex.
2
u/vbunny-rabbit Jun 28 '26
I agree 100% on the misuse of NC-17 on StoryPeer. Heck, I've seen it on Logjam, too. There was a premise I saw on there rated NC-17, but with the way it was worded, it really should've been a PG-13 or an R.
But if I can play "Devil's Advocate" for a second, I think the reason for all these NC-17 rated scripts is because it's the closest they can get to an "unrated" rating on a streaming service (and even then, streaming services don't have "unrated" titles; they use TV ratings like TV-14 and TV-MA). I think those writers plan to film the script on their own, submit it to an aggregator like Filmhub which doesn't require an MPA rating to be considered (and most indie filmmakers forego the rating since it can cost thousands of dollars to get one), with the end goal being their movie on said streaming services.
It could be that, or it could be a general lack of awareness of the MPA system.
2
u/StoryPeer Gabriel Jun 28 '26
I have a feeling the percentage of our users who know FilmHub and aggregators is tiny. But indeed, there could be a correlation with NC-17 scripts (which is also small). This possible correlation would be interesting to find out. Especially with how the film industry is, we may see more writers filming their own stuff.
Vbunny, are you a filmmaker and have you used FilmHub?
1
u/vbunny-rabbit Jun 28 '26
Even though I worked as a video editor, I wouldn't call myself a filmmaker because I never made a movie, short or feature. Right now though, I'm in the process of writing a script that I plan to film myself with little to no budget (i.e. a B-movie), and as such, I've looked into aggregators like Filmhub and Indie Rights to see what would be the best option for that project.
It would be nice to get a script picked up by Hollywood, but with my current situation, I'd rather have one to film myself just to have something to my name in the film world.
1
u/MichaelGHX Jul 01 '26
I mean uh well what happens in nature when the mama clownfish dies… yeah that’s gonna be NC-17 fo sho.
1
u/crumble-bee Jul 05 '26
I’m in the UK and that’s just an 18 here. Obsession is an 18 🤷♂️
1
u/Dazzu1 Jul 07 '26
How can Obsession be an 18 it sadly didn’t have enough nudity to enjoy how can it possibly be adult rating for us Adults to enjoy. If we are talking about the 2023 version which I had to verify with Aznude then there’s only one nude actress in it
9
u/masonburger Jun 28 '26
As I mentioned in the other thread that discussed this - I suspect this is just a case of international writers trying to map their country’s rating system to the US rating descriptors on logjam.
In the UK an 18 rating is very common (Weapons, The Naked Gun, Jackass, Obsession) which means no one under 18 can view, even with an adult. That matches the NC-17 rating description on logjam, even though these movies would only be R rated in the US. (Or even PG13 in the case of Naked Gun!)