‘Unplanned’ gets unexpected R rating

February 22, 2019 CNA Daily News News Briefs 0 Print

Washington D.C., Feb 22, 2019 / 05:11 pm (CNA).- The movie “Unplanned,” which tells the true story of former Planned Parenthood clinic director Abby Johnson’s conversion into a pro-life activist, has been given an R rating by the Motion Picture Association of America, a decision the directors fear could have been motivated by the pro-life message of the film.

The rating was announced Friday, Feb. 22.

“We had hoped that (the rating) would be different, but due to the political climate, and the fact that we’re in Hollywood, it doesn’t surprise us,” co-director Chuck Konzelman told CNA.

Co-director Cary Solomon agreed, adding, “we’ve made a pro-life film in a pro-choice town. We’re very aware of that.”

By giving the film an a R-rating, Konzelman said that he believes the MPAA is inadvertently supporting the belief that “anything that has to do with abortion is an act of extreme violence.”

“Ironically, that’s (also) our viewpoint,” he said.

In the United States, a film that is rated R by the MPAA is restricted to those over the age of 17 unless accompanied by a parent or another adult guardian. The MPAA said “Unplanned” earned the rating due to “some disturbing/bloody images.”

Solomon told CNA that he found it to be “absurd” that Unplanned was given an R-rating when several, far more violent, movies to be released later this year were given PG-13 ratings.

Despite the R-rating, “Unplanned”’s  directors told CNA that Christians should not worry about seeing the film alongside their children.

“For us, R means ‘recommend.’ Because the bottom line is that this is real life,” Solomon told CNA.

“It’s time for Christians to come to the reality of the fact that (abortion) is going on. If a rating is going to keep them from even looking at this subject, then shame on us,” he added.

Konzelman agreed, and told CNA that there is no nudity or profanity in the film that would merit an R-rating.

“They’re not even mentioning violence, other than the violence directly associated with the termination of an unborn human being. That’s it. That’s all that’s in there,” said Konzelman.

Unplanned is based on Johnson’s 2012 book of the same name. Johnson quit her job at Planned Parenthood in October of 2009, one year after being named employee of the year, after she had been asked to assist with a late-term abortion.

In the film, multiple scenes depicting an abortion clinic involve blood or post-abortive women. The directors told CNA that the MPAA objected in particular to a scene that depicts Johnson bleeding on a bathroom floor after taking an abortion pill.

The directors said they would not change that particular scene, or anything else in the film, as they felt it would be disrespectful to Johnson’s personal story.

“We’re not going to change it. It’s a true-life story. To change it just to appease the MPAA or a Hollywood entity is not going to happen. We told the true-life story of Abby Johnson, and these are the things that are happening,” said Konzelman.

Solomon told CNA that in real life, Johnson nearly bled to death in her bathroom after self-administering the second drug in an abortion drug protocol.

“For us to avoid that, for the sake of appeasing the MPAA, would make the story untrue,” said Solomon.

Even if the filmmakers sought to make changes to get a lower rating, it would be quite difficult as “(the MPAA) pretty much objected to everything, including black and white images of a sonogram,” said Konzelman.

To make any changes would require that the filmmakers “gut the entire movie,” which they said they did not want to do.

Johnson herself had two abortions prior to her ideological conversion. Since then, she has founded the organization “And Then There Were None,” which seeks to assist abortion industry workers with finding new jobs outside the industry. Since the group was founded, nearly 500 clinic workers have left the industry.

After Johnson left her job at Planned Parenthood, she converted to Catholicism. She and her husband are now expecting their eighth child.

“Unplanned” stars Ashley Bratcher as Abby Johnson. During filming, Bratcher discovered that her own mother had planned on having an abortion when she was pregnant with her, but changed her mind minutes before the procedure was to begin.

“Unplanned” was written and directed by Konzelman and Solomon, who also wrote “God’s Not Dead” and “God’s Not Dead 2.” The movie was partially funded by Michael Lindell, a born-again Christian and the founder of the company MyPillow.

“Unplanned” is the first-ever R-rated film distributed by PureFlix, and will be released in theaters nationwide on March 29.

 

If you value the news and views Catholic World Report provides, please consider donating to support our efforts. Your contribution will help us continue to make CWR available to all readers worldwide for free, without a subscription. Thank you for your generosity!

Click here for more information on donating to CWR. Click here to sign up for our newsletter.

Related Articles

No Picture
News Briefs

Pittsburgh procession will ask for divine protection from coronavirus

March 17, 2020 CNA Daily News 1

Pittsburgh, Pa., Mar 17, 2020 / 03:55 pm (CNA).- Fr. Nick Vaskov wanted to do something. He wanted to invoke God’s protection against the pandemic of the coronavirus, and call for the protection of the saints. He wanted to give witness to faith. So he decided to have a procession.

The procession was to take place after a Mass in Pittsburgh, where Vaskov is diocesan director of shrines. Both procession and Mass would call for divine protection from plagues, epidemics, and contagious diseases. And there would be a lot of relics.

The priest scheduled everything for March 22. And then on March 16, the diocese suspended public Masses, in response to the guidance of public health officials. And gatherings of more than just a few people were discouraged.

So Fr. Vaskov’s plans had to change.

The Mass will still take place on March 22nd, but now it will be livestreamed, and Catholics encouraged to watch online.

The procession will still take place too. Catholics are invited to stand on the sidewalk along the procession route, keeping a safe distance from each other. Pittsburgh priests will carry the Blessed Sacrament, along with relics from the True Cross, St. Rocco, and St. Rosalia, through a Pittsburgh neighborhood. They’ll pray, and invite onlookers to do the same.

“The celebration of Holy Mass, obviously it’s a participation in the liturgy of heaven. So whether we are present or not, as the body of Christ, it has a powerful effect for the intentions that we bring there – that we want to be transformed and made new and healed, certainly in a time of a health crisis for people’s health and protection,” Vaskov told CNA.

“[The] procession … [is] bringing God into the world and bringing people hope and faith and trust. We have a great opportunity to do that,” he told CNA.

Vaskov said the idea for the Mass and procession started with the large collection of relics at St. Anthony’s Chapel in Pittsburgh.  Among the collection are relics from intercessors against contagious diseases, like Saints Rocco and Rosalia. Those saints will be important intercessors during the time of the coronavirus pandemic, the priest said.

“We have that opportunity here since we have the relics of many saints that are invoked in times of plague and epidemic … We just have a great opportunity on our hands to be able to do something, show people that we do trust in God in moments like this to heal and to protect,” he told CNA.

The coronavirus, COVID-19, has infected nearly 190,000 people worldwide, and killed almost 8,000. Pennsylvania’s Department of Health reported that there have been 76 cases of the viruses in the state.

As many dioceses have closed their churches in response to the pandemic, Vaskov said there is need to be creative ways to involve people in prayer and spiritual practices, even if those are digital opportunities.

The priest told a story about Saint Charles Borromeo who, during a plague in 1500s Italy, would set up Mass on the street corners and people would pray through the windows of their apartments.

“That was a creative way to allow people to draw near to the Lord. We look now to digital ways to do that, and maybe other ways,” he said.

“Just because the church is closed doesn’t mean that we’re sitting here doing nothing, we’re going to do all the more.

“If nothing [else], this is going to be our own prayer for our people during this time. So praying with and for each other is going to be such an important part of this.”

Vaskov said the Mass for protection, streamed online, will not replace the reception of the Eucharist, but it will still be a powerful experience of prayer and unity. He told CNA he hopes the event will bring peace to people who feel stress or anxiety over the virus.

“It doesn’t replace for them what it means to go to Mass and to receive the Eucharist, but it certainly is a help, during challenging days, for so many people with anxiety and worry,” he said.

“[This event is a way] to have interactions with people digitally or opportunities for people to ask questions. People are worried and anxious and they look to the Church, they look to saints,” he said.

 

[…]

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

All comments posted at Catholic World Report are moderated. While vigorous debate is welcome and encouraged, please note that in the interest of maintaining a civilized and helpful level of discussion, comments containing obscene language or personal attacks—or those that are deemed by the editors to be needlessly combative or inflammatory—will not be published. Thank you.


*