In a three-story pinkish building with a heavy gate out front and a metal fence hidden by greenery in Encino is the Motion Picture Association of America, the studio-funded organization responsible for rating feature films. The activities taking place inside that building on Ventura Boulevard are the subject of “This Film is Not Yet Rated,” a documentary by filmmaker Kirby Dick released on DVD on Jan. 23. Dick interviews filmmakers, critics, authors, and others involved with the entertainment industry critical of the arbitrary decisions of the MPAA’s film raters. His point of view is that what the raters do borders on censorship, and the process favors the major studios whose dollars fund the MPAA at the expense of independent filmmakers. But the biggest target is the anonymity of the ratings process and the unknown faces of the full-time raters whose decisions can mean success or failure for a filmmaker. And ratings do matter, said Paul Dergarabedian, the Encino-based box office analyst who makes a brief appearance in the film. A rating can determine how many theaters show a film, what retailers will carry the DVD and even whether a newspaper will run an ad, said Dergarabedian, president of Media By Numbers. In its theatrical run, “This Film is Not Yet Rated” opened in two theaters and grossed $300,000. Still, it was a film that had tongues wagging in Hollywood. “It is a very insider kind of movie,” Dergarabedian said. But not inside enough that one isn’t drawn in by how Dick and his hired private investigator (now working for an investigation agency in Calabasas) track down and identify members of the rating board (officially titled the Classification & Rating Administration, or CARA). Toward the conclusion, the camera unmasks the appeals board filmmakers can go to if they don’t like the rating their work receives. “The filmmakers did a good job of presenting a mysterious world and opening it up and putting a spotlight on it,” Dergarabedian said. The film does not advocate scrapping the ratings system, just making it more fair and open. To that end, it may have done some good as the MPAA announced during last month’s Sundance Film Fest that changes would be made to the ratings process. For instance, CARA will now post at the association website the ratings rules and the standards for each. Ratings board members will remain anonymous but the demographic make-up of the board will be made public. Rule revisions include improving the educational training for raters; not allowing raters with grown children to stay on the board; and allowing filmmakers to reference similar scenes in other movies when appealing a rating. MPAA officials could not be reached at press time. “The documentary made it clear that we probably haven’t done as much as we can to explain how it all works,” MPAA chief Dan Glickman was quoted as saying in Daily Variety. Some Words Can’t Hurt Satan. Skank. Brown nose. The director of butt kissing. What do all these terms have in common? Courts have found that they are not defamatory in cases involving employee references as long as they are not used maliciously. These and other references were the topic of discussion at an event on legislative changes sponsored by the Los Angeles Chapter of the technology trade group AeA in Woodland Hills. According to the event presenters, while some words by themselves may not make a company liable, when it comes to giving a reference for a former employee the less said the better. The sensible thing to do is to give the dates of employment, what their position was and maybe what they were paid. “That is the wisest course for employees to take,” said Jeff Kramer, an attorney with the law firm of Troy and Gould, who spoke at the event. Kramer and AeA chief lobbyist in California, Roxanne Gould, gave the members an overview of what lawmakers are doing that may affect how they do business. Last year was a down year in terms of legislation affecting employers, which is a good thing because it is the active years that have everyone scrounging, Kramer said. However, pending before the state Supreme Court is a case on non-compete agreements and how far they can go to keep a person from working for the competitor of a former employer. California doesn’t recognize non-compete agreements except in very few cases, Kramer said, adding that federal courts have sided with non-compete covenants if they are narrow enough. The case pending could broaden the situations where employers can hold former employees to non-compete agreements. Depending on the outcome of the ruling it could have a big impact on business as every big company would like to keep former employees from competing against them, Kramer said. “If the [state] Supreme Court adopts narrow restrained exceptions it will be possible if you are careful about it,” Kramer said. When it was Gould’s turn to take the floor, she told the association members that 400 pieces of legislation had been introduced by state lawmakers in the new year but that not all had been reviewed to determine their potential effect on business. Among the items the lobbyists are currently watching, the AeA would get behind creating additional forensic labs used to retrieve data from computers; making sure the current state fee for recycling computer monitors is used for its intended purpose; and boosting the research and development tax credit to 20 percent from 15 percent in order to keep the state competitive. Sacramento needs to know there is more to the high tech industry than what is found in Silicon Valley, Gould said. Ad Auctioneer Expands Having found success selling unused ad time on terrestrial radio, Dave Newmark and Bid4Spots has now taken its proven reverse-auction model to independent Internet radio stations. The Encino-based firm had its first auction Jan. 26 for ad time on Internet radio. In Bid4Spots’ reverse auction concept radio stations bid against each other to get business from advertisers. Advertisers provide the amount they are willing to pay in a silent auction process held online. An area of expertise for Bid4Spots is pulling together into one space different radio stations with unused time, something that had not been done before. Bid4Spots saw a similar opportunity in the area of Internet radio. Staff Reporter Mark Madler can be reached at (818) 316-3126 or by e-mail at [email protected] .