The study found that the more family- friendly a major Hollywood movie's rating in the period from 1988 to 1997, the more revenue it was likely to generate and the more profits it was likely to earn. Conducted by Paul Kagan Associates, the study concluded, "While the movie industry produced 17.4 times more R-rated films than G-rated from 1988 to 1997, the data show that G-rated films produced 8.35 times more profits per film than R-rated movies." The research also showed that PG films were the second-most-profitable and PG-13 films the third. NC-17 movies were the least profitable.

But, strangely in Dove's eyes, over half of the movies produced in the period were rated R. "All the major studios are publicly held companies," said Dove president and CEO Dick Rolfe. "So they are accountable to shareholders."

There is some evidence that the Dove study has had an impact. For example, Walt Disney Studios head Joe Roth said shortly after the study's release that the studio will reduce its proportion of adult live-action movies from 80% to 50% and produce more family fare to make up the difference.

"Our mission is that of encouragement, not condemnation," said Rolfe. "We try to work with Hollywood." Non-profit Dove even generates some profit for Tinsel Town. Twice a year in Grand Rapids and in cities around the country, Dove holds Family Film Festivals, each of which draws "hundreds of thousands of people," said Rolfe. "They are family films between regular theatrical release and video, and we organize the festivals and show the films at a discount. It makes movie-going much more affordable for a modest-income family." So far, Dove has visited 13 cities with its festivals.

Dove also has a store that sells family-friendly films on video (Website: http://www.dove.org/shop and that carries many older, hard-to-find pictures. The foundation's website has an extensive list of theatrical and made-for-TV movies with ratings for children. "We approve about 5% of Hollywood films," Rolfe reported.

Says a Dove pamphlet, "From 1933 to 1968, most films produced for theatrical releas6 were the equivalent of a G rating. Since 1968, over 60% of the movies Hollywood has produced for theatrical release have been R-rated." Dove has a review board that, in the foundation's words, "is made up of parents who, have been trained to evaluate each film or video based upon' Judeo-Christian ethics... To date, there are over 3,000 Dove-approved movies and videos." Dove also considers more about a movie in its ratings system than the traditional MPAA ratings, which focus heavily on just sex and, violence: MPAA "ratings don't protect our children from exposure to movies that glorify or encourage unsavory behavior," says the group.

On its advisory board, Dove has such well-known figures as conservative film critic Michael Medved, Sen. Charles Grassley (R.-Iowa), entertainer Steve Allen, and Joe Paterno, head football coach at Penn State.

Dove also runs the Children's Hospital Movie Channel, which provides 30 children's hospitals with 28 family movies every three months at no charge so that children staying in the hospital can watch them for free. "That is probably the single most-beloved thing we do here," said Rolfe, who added that as more sponsors come on board, the foundation hopes to expand the program to all 300 children's hospitals in the nation.

Rolfe, who used to work in the media industry himself, serves on the board of advisors to the C. S. Mott Children's Hospital at the University of Michigan Medical Center. His biweekly commentary airs on "'Family News in Focus" for Focus on the Family. He also travels around the country, emphasizing the importance of popular culture and its impact on Americans, sometimes heading to Southern California to convince those involved in the entertainment industry to adhere to family values.

"We see some positive signs," Rolfe said. Rolfe pointed to "October Sky," released by Universal Pictures, as an example of a currently running film that is family-friendly. "In fact;" he said, "Universal plans to release seven family movies this year. In recent years, their average has been four."

____________________