L.A. Daily News: Theaters hike security for Moore's documentary

L.A. Daily News: "Theater chains have stepped up security to enforce the R rating imposed on Michael Moore's 'Fahrenheit 9/11' by the Motion Picture Association of America, but one independent chain in Northern California is openly flouting the restriction.
'We will not enforce the R Rating for 'Fahrenheit 9/11,'' states the marquee at the Grand Lake Theater in Oakland, which had sold-out shows all weekend.
'We've gotten a lot of support and a few e-mails from people who say they will never go into my theater again,' said Allen Michaan, owner of the theater and three others in the Bay Area. 'We felt very strongly that the film did not warrant an R rating and that the audience that is being excluded, the young people 14-16 years old, it's their future that is at the most stake of anyone's.'

Then this week, the MPAA banned a quote by film critic Richard Roeper from the movie's advertising materials in which he stated that: "Everyone in the country should see this film!" According to the MPAA, calling for "everyone" to see the film is in violation of the movie's R-rating.

Michaan said his stance on the "Fahrenheit" rating is an isolated incident and does not reflect regular policy at his theaters.

"Typically my theaters are the most stringent in enforcing the R-rating in our area so it's ironic," he said. "We don't let kids go into see R-rated films, but if they go to the multiplex around us, it's easy for them to get into whatever R-rated movie they want to see."
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By Greg Hernandez
L.A. Daily News