Newly Outspoken Seth Rogen Tackles the Film Ratings System

Seth Rogen has become quite the firebrand. A couple of months ago, he was speaking before Congress to raise awareness about the fight against Alzheimer's disease. And he made sure to let everyone know he thought it was terrible that most of the Congressional panel decided to skip the hearing. Then he responded pointedly to The Washington Post's Ann Hornaday when she wrote a story that suggested Rogen's movie Neighbors could have had anything to do with the murderous rampage committed by Elliot Rodger in Isla Vista, CA. (Judd Apatow jumped in on this fight also.) Now Rogen is taking on the movie ratings system. Rogen appeared at the Produced By conference over the weekend and railed against a ratings system that he called "stupid" and "weird." "There's nothing more frustrating than being on set and coming up with a joke and being told you can't do it because it's a PG movie," he said. "It's like boxing with your hands tied behind your back … because of some weird ratings structure." He was referring specifically to The Green Hornet, a $200 million movie that ultimately wasn't one of his most successful. "Once it's R-rated, you can pretty much do anything you want except penetration," he added. "Once it's R-rated, you're pretty much left alone contract-wise." That's one way to put it. Of course, Rogen isn't the only actor to have issues with the ratings system. For example, Ryan Gosling became even more of a hottie when he took issue with a "patriarchy-dominant society" that would rate his film Blue Valentine NC-17 because it depicts consensual oral sex performed on a woman while violent scenes against women are pretty much OK. But that an actor who makes comedies, like Rogen, speaks out on serious issues, it raises an eyebrow. I mean, here's a guy who made a video with Snoop Lion (nee Snoop Dogg) while smoking pot. But he's charming, clever, and speaks definitively and reasonably about things he cares about. Rogen has a mainstream following (probably more so than Ryan Gosling) that will pay attention to what he says, amplifying his message and spreading it across social media and other channels. He's a powerful mouthpiece for the causes he believes in. This doesn't mean that the ratings systems will necessarily change. But if he's saying he won't make certain films because of the constraints of the ratings system, or continues to speak out on Alzheimer's and other issues, he could turn into a powerful voice on a number of issues. These days, it looks like you'd better think twice before you cross Seth Rogen. Don't let the pot smoking and slapstick antics fool you. image via YouTube

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Newly Outspoken Seth Rogen Tackles the Film Ratings System

A couple of months ago, Rogen spoke on the fight against Alzheimer's. He's been speaking out ever since.

Tonya Garcia

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Tonya Garcia