Cuomo to Spearhead 'R' Rating Appeal for "Fahrenheit 9/11"

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Cuomo to Spearhead 'R' Rating Appeal for "Fahrenheit 9/11": "'Michael Moore's film offers us the opportunity to debate the issue,' said Cuomo at a quickly organized news conference in Manhattan Tuesday. 'The opposition is going to try and stop the film, they don't want to make this an intelligent discussion.'

Fahrenheit 9/11" was given an 'R' rating by the MPAA after being voluntarily submitted for a rating by Lions Gate and IFC. The two companies are not MPAA signatory companies, meaning that their films are not regulated by the body but they are understood to have sought a rating to gain screening in movie theaters and advertise in newspapers that will not allow access to un-rated movies.

Governor Cuomo went on to challenge opponents of "Fahrenheit 9/11" to produce their own documentary that gives an "intelligent" counterpoint to the stinging criticisms the Cannes Palme d'Or-winning film heaps on the Bush Administration, including ties to the ruling House of Saud in Saudi Arabia and the bin Laden family as well as his intentions for going to war in the first place. "There's been a tough political effort to keep this film from being seen, that's obvious," continued Cuomo, who also mentioned he has seen the movie three times with his family.
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