FRANK SESNO, CNN ANCHOR: We start with Congress wanting to know what Hollywood is doing to make sure your child won't be targeted for entertainment laced with explicit sex and violence. Top studio executives are on the hot seat today on Capitol Hill. Kathleen Koch is covering the hearings. Hello, Kathleen.</s>KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Frank. Those eight studio executives have feeling the heat this morning. Senators have angrily cited case after case of violent films marketed to children, sometimes as young as 12 years old. Children that young even being used in test audiences for violent R-rated films. Hollywood moguls came here promising change, that they will no longer run previews for R-rated films before G-rated movies; that they will expand the ratings system to make clearer for parents. Still, the chairman of the committee, Senator John McCain has serious doubts about Hollywood's intentions.</s>SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: We're in a town where we get into interesting discussions about what the definition of is, is. I don't -- I don't understand this language. I think it's filled with loopholes. Why don't you just simply say that you will not market to children this kind of R-rated material, that you will not market to children under 17 period?</s>KOCH: Some studios this morning made that pledge; others wouldn't. Many stress that what movies children see should be up to parents, not Congress.</s>JIM GIANOPULOUS, PRES., TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX: We are firmly committed to taking these actions and we can and must provide parents with the tools necessary to make informed decisions about what is best for their families. However, we cannot be in every living room or at every box office and video store. Ultimately, our success in these efforts will depends on the active involvement of parents and decisions about their children's entertainment choices.</s>KOCH: If studios don't police themselves and cleanup their acts, senators are threatening congressional action or an FTC investigation into deceptive advertising practices. Reporting live in Washington, I'm Kathleen Koch.
Top Studio Executives on the Hot Seat Today on Capitol Hill