Amy Berg’s Hollywood Abuse Doc ‘An Open Secret’ Slightly Edited for PG-13 Rating

Amy Berg‘s long-gestating Hollywood abuse documentary, “An Open Secret,” is one step closer to being available to a wider audience. The Hollywood Reporter shares that the film’s producers have “tweaked some scenes” in the film, which is focused on the pattern of abuse and pedophilia in Hollywood circles, in order to earn the feature a PG-13 rating from the MPAA.

The film was originally granted an R rating, a move that producer Gabe Hoffman strongly objected to, arguing that “the film tells cautionary tales meant to be learned by teenagers under 17 who wouldn’t be allowed to attend without parental supervision had the R-rating stood.”

The MPAA’s concerns were reportedly rooted in the language used in the film, and a few modest snips (per THR, “one word from two different scenes was cut in order to satisfy the members”) landed the film a more audience-friendly PG-13 rating. 

“It was my intent all along to have this film viewed by as many people as possible and when we realized the R-rating would limit our audience, we took action,” said Hoffman.

The R-rated version of the film has played in Los Angeles, New York, Denver and Seattle, but THR notes that the new PG-13 version “could be headed to many more cities through an arrangement with Gathr Films, which has pioneered the ‘theatrical-on-demand’ distribution technique,” through a new deal with the distributor announced earlier this week.

“An Open Secret” premiered at DOC NYC in November of last year.

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