Compiled by Leo Partible
(Week of February 23, 2005)
Reel
Faith in Pop Culture is newsletter
from FilmPR.com that compiles
headlines and resources to inform the Christian community of the growing impact
of Christians in pop culture. To get the full story click on the link.
For
questions or comments about this bi-weekly newsletter please contact Leo
Partible at leo@filmpr.com
Also
visit his website at www.dpgvisions.com
CONTENTS
QUOTES
OF THE WEEK:
Cecille
B. DeMille on the Bible
Johnny
Cash on Cain and Abel
G.K.
Chesterton on 'love thy neighbor'
J.R.R.
Tolkien talks God and myth making
Eugene
Peterson on the sad state of the church
Elvis
Presley proclaims the real King
Terry
Bradshaw preaches to Playboy
magazine
HEADLINES:
*New behind the scenes footage of 'Narnia' online
*Don't give me an 'R' – Film
rating slips in light of political climate (Variety)
*Hollywood
touts divine with upcoming films
*Hollywood's
top gun in Washington woos the GOP
*Roman
Catholic convert Ann Rice promotes minister's new horror novel
*KORN guitarist leaves band after becoming
born-again Christian (MTV)
*Did
'The Passion' Fulfill Its Promise?
*Songstress Sinead returns to music with 'religious
songs with bad words'
*Hollywood
Player Hunt Lowry Is
a Christian
*Touched
by a devil or two
*Evangelical
Christians and Hollywood: The Ongoing Disaster
*Priests
Sign Up for Exorcism 101
*Steve
Beard reviews 'Constantine' (The National Review)
*Pope
Calls Gay Marriage Part of 'Ideology of Evil'
*Is
Europe on the verge of a Spiritual revival?
*Top
Hollywood writers and directors jump to comic books (Newsweek)
PRESS
RELEASE: Act One is coming!
RECOMMENDED
BOOKS:
*THE REVOLUTIONARY COMMUNICATOR: SEVEN PRINCIPLES JESUS LIVED
TO IMPACT, CONNECT AND LEAD by Erik Lokkesmoe and Jedd Medefind
*WHO
NEEDS A SUPERHERO? by H. Michael Brewer (with a Forward by Leo Partible)
QUOTES
OF THE WEEK:
Give
me any two pages of the Bible and I'll give you a picture. Cecil B. DeMille
The
First murder recorded in the history of man was when Cain killed his brother
Abel. No doubt people wrote and sang songs about it, and we've been doing it
ever since. Johnny Cash, liner notes to "Murder"
The
Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and also to love our enemies; probably
because they are generally the same people. G.K. Chesterton
We
have come from God, and inevitably the myths woven by us, though they contain
error, will also reflect a splintered fragment of the true light, the eternal
truth that is with God. Indeed only by myth-making, only by becoming a "sub-creator" and inventing stories, can Man aspire to the state of
perfection that he knew before the Fall. Our myths may be misguided, but they
steer however shakily towards the true harbor, while materialistic
"progress" leads only to a yawning abyss and the Iron Crown of the
power of evil. J.R.R. Tolkien
I am having the depressing
experience of reading congregational descriptions of what church want in a
pastor. With hardly an exception they don't want pastors at all – they
want managers of their religious company. They want a pastor they can follow so
they won't have to bother with following Jesus anymore. Eugene Peterson
I am not a
King, I am only a singer. Christ is King. Elvis Presley
I don't
think Jesus ever shied down. And, as one of his children, neither should I.
Jesus was for the people. He is for the people. And he was teaching and preaching to all the people. Murderers. The rich.
The poor. You know. Everyone. And today, it would include people who read
Playboy. He hasn't spoken to me about it, but I know he would want to be in
here. I had reservations about doing this. I told JoJo and JoJo was upset when
I told her I was going to do this interview, but I said, "Hey, it's an
opportunity for me to witness to 22,000,000 people." Terry Bradshaw in
a 1980 interview with Playboy
HEADLINES:
New behind the scenes footage of Narnia
online
ComingSoon.net
has your first look at a brand new featurette on The Chronicles of Narnia:
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe director Andrew Adamson (Shrek, Shrek 2), as he takes you behind the magic
of Narnia. This is the second in a special series of early looks at the movie,
hitting theaters on December 9.
"The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe," based on C.S. Lewis'
bestselling novels, concerns a war between good and evil, pitting the magnificent
lion Aslan against the forces of darkness in the magical world of Narnia. A
White Witch has used her dark powers to keep Narnia in winter for 100 years,
but it is foretold that four humans will be able to help Aslan break the spell.
When the Pevensie siblings - Lucy, Susan, Edmund, and Peter - discover the
magic of Narnia by entering the enchanted world through a wardrobe, the stage
is set for a classic battle of epic proportions.
To watch
the video, click here.
http://www.comingsoon.net/news/topnews.php?id=8473
Don't give me an 'R' – Film
rating slips in light of political climate
Despite moral watchdogs lamenting Hollywood's vile
tendencies, the studios have actually been cleaning up their act. R-rated
films, once the studios' mainstay, are on the decline, both in numbers and in
lure. In the last five years, R-rated pics have dwindled from 212 in 1999 to
just 147 last year. Perhaps even
more startling is the fact that in 2004, PG films outgrossed R pics for the
first time in two decades: $2.3 billion to $2.1 billion. The last time PG was
bigger business than R was 1984, the year the Motion Picture Assn. of America
introduced the PG-13 rating.
http://www.variety.com/VR1117918193.html
Hollywood touts divine with upcoming films
The horror movie "Constantine' features demons,
exorcisms, readings from a Satanic Bible, suicide, a priest who uses vulgarity,
graphic depictions of hell and a gory scene involving an electric chair. Many evangelical Christians eagerly await the movie's
opening on Friday. These pastors, seminary students and youth leaders say "Constantine' will provoke valuable discussions about subjects like heaven
and hell, angels and demons, and God and salvation. They cite the film as an
example of God using unusual channels to communicate with people. Also opening
Friday is "Because of Winn-Dixie,' a family and faith-friendly movie about
a young girl who adopts an orphaned dog. The movie's official Web site features
a Bible study to connect moral themes in the story with passages in scripture.
http://www.sgvtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,205~12220~2708486,00.html
Hollywood's top gun in Washington woos the
GOP
Glickman arrives just as Hollywood finds
itself caught in the crossfire between Red and Blue America. George W. Bush mocked
the industry's liberal values in last year's campaign. This Sunday, when stars
step out of their limos at the Oscars, they'll be greeted by a billboard from
the conservative group Citizens United. It pictures Bush with Michael Moore,
Whoopi Goldberg and Barbra Streisand and the ironic message: W. STILL
PRESIDENT. THANK YOU HOLLYWOOD! Not only did celebrities campaign against Bush,
but they've come under fire for movies (Clint Eastwood's euthanasia plot in "Million Dollar Baby") and television broadcasts (Janet Jackson's
wardrobe malfunction) that offend conservative sensibilities. Now Tinseltown
must come to terms with the new political landscape: Republicans have tightened
their grip on Washington just as Hollywood's need for help in fighting illegal
movie downloads is rising. "I've got some bridge building to do," Glickman, a lifelong Democrat, admits.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6999732/site/newsweek/
Roman Catholic convert Ann Rice promotes
minister's new horror novel
She is a best-selling
author known for novels about vampires. He is a minister who says he has seen
and talked with angels. Anne Rice and Howard Storm have never met, yet they are
working together to promote Storm's book, My Descent Into Death: A Second
Chance at Life (Doubleday, $14.95)...
Rice says she, like Storm, was a "fashionable atheist" for many
years. She re-embraced her Roman Catholic faith in 1998. He got religion after
excruciating stomach pain landed him in a Paris hospital for emergency surgery
in 1985.
http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2005-02-21-rice-storm_x.htm
KORN guitarist leaves band after becoming
born-again Christian
Guitarist Brian "Head" Welch, a founding member of
Korn, has left the band and has rededicated his life to Christianity, according
to the group's management. "Korn has parted ways with guitarist Brian 'Head' Welch, who has
chosen Jesus Christ
as his savior, and will be dedicating his musical pursuits
to that end," a statement from the band reads. "Korn respects Brian's
wishes, and hopes he finds the happiness he's searching for." The announcement puts to rest weeks of rumors that
Welch was unhappy with Korn's direction. On February 8, he had apparently
written a "letter of resignation" to the band's management. In the
note, Welch detailed a long list of reasons for leaving the band, including
increased moral objections to Korn's music and videos. In particular, he was
upset by how he was portrayed in the clip for their cover of Cameo's "Word
Up," off their recently released Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 album. In the video, Welch's
face was superimposed on a dog patrolling a strip club.
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1497313/20050222/korn.jhtml?headlines=true
Did 'The Passion' Fulfill Its Promise?
A year ago,
Mel Gibson's much anticipated, highly feared and loudly lauded film "The
Passion of the Christ" debuted nationwide. And while the film was
predicted to usher in everything from a massive Christian revival to an
epidemic of anti-Semitism, only one forecast has come entirely true--Mel Gibson
and his company, Icon Productions, made a fortune, taking in $370 million for a
movie that cost only $30 million to make.
"My prediction was that it would die in
the box office after a week," said the Rev. Richard Blake, a professor of
film at Boston College who unfavorably reviewed the film for America magazine.
"But it became a crusade in the culture wars."
http://www.beliefnet.com/story/152/story_15209.html
Songstress Sinead returns
to music with 'religious songs with bad words'
Controversial Irish singer Sinead O'Connor
has today announced that she is to make a return to the music industry after
having dramatically retired only two years ago. The star is set to sign a
management and record deal with Sanctuary Records, based in New York, and is
concurrently working on three records.
Mother of three Sinead spoke of how she had
become disillusioned by the music industry describing it as, "for the most
part, spiritually bereft"...
"I want to at least aim my records at a
more spiritualised market. Not religious records strictly speaking, but in the
spirit of roots, gospel, chant."
"Religious songs with bad words, that's
the best way I could describe it," said the singer, who was ordained a
priest in the controversial Latin Tridentine Church by Pat Buckley in 1999.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=610128
Hollywood Player Hunt
Lowry Is a Christian
Movie producer Hunt Lowry is responsible for
bringing such diverse films as "A Walk to Remember," "White
Oleander" and "The Last of the Mohicans" to the motion picture
screen. During a recent interview, I discovered that Mr. Lowry is also a
Christian and weekly churchgoer. What's more, looking over his body of work,
which includes "A Cinderella Story" with
Hilary Duff, "First Knight" with Sean Connery and "Only The
Lonely" with John Candy, it becomes apparent that the majority of his work
examines family relationships or contains a moral message. In the case of
"A Walk to Remember," he did something unique in Hollywoodland: He
dramatized a teen story with a Christian as the film's central figure.
http://www.crosswalk.com/fun/movies/1312335.html
Touched by a devil or two
The great Christian theologian C.S. Lewis wrote in
the preface to his landmark "The Screwtape Letters" that "there
are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the
devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and
to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are
equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the
same delight." It's no wonder then that John Constantine, the hero
of the great new supernatural thriller that shares his name, angers the
underworld. Constantine is a man of few words but possesses immense presence
(making Keanu Reeves a perfect casting choice). He knows that demons are real.
He has been to hell and back and believes he is destined to return there,
sooner rather than later.
http://u.dailynews.com/Stories/0,1413,211~23516~2716723,00.html
Evangelical Christians and Hollywood: The
Ongoing Disaster
No
wonder the Muslims hate us. Misguided as they are, Muslim extremists believe
they are defending their faith and culture from western barbarians. If only
evangelical Christians had an ounce of their courage and dedication. Instead,
we have developed a high tolerance for visual vomit. How have we gotten to such
a place? This may irk you, but I believe it's because, long ago, evangelicals
abandoned their historic mandate to take the Good News about Jesus everywhere.
Somehow, "everywhere" didn't include Hollywood and we're paying the price for
that foolish attitude every day. Instead of taking the Good News to the people
of the entertainment industry, we have resorted to a series of stupid tactics
that have guaranteed failure.
http://myturntorant.com/colemanrants/04mar_ongoingdisaster.html
Priests Sign Up for Exorcism 101
The Roman Catholic Church
is facing a shortage you may not have heard about: qualified exorcists. And so,
on Thursday about 100 priests stood, prayed for protection, then sat down to
begin an eight-week study of how to distinguish and fight demonic possession.
The course at Rome's prestigious Regina Apostolorum Pontifical Athenaeum,
represents the first time a Vatican- sanctioned course in exorcism is being
offered at this level. In Italy, the number of official exorcists has soared
during the last 20 years to between 300 and 400, church officials say. But they
aren't enough to handle the avalanche of requests for help from hundreds of
tormented people who believe they are possessed. In the United States, the
shortage is even more acute.
http://www.latimes.com/
Steve
Beard reviews Constantine (The National Review)
Several years ago, enterprising Christian ministries
on college campuses around the nation began showing The Matrix and hosting discussions afterward regarding the
nature of reality. They saw the film as a conversation-starter about the big
issues of life: What is truth? Is there purpose in life? What is reality?
The new movie Constantine may end up being the next film to prompt an
incendiary discussion on campus — namely, heaven and hell, angels and
demons, salvation and damnation. There seems to be quite an interest in such
issues. Prancing through a theological minefield, several spooky spi-fi
(spiritual fiction) films such as Fallen, Bless the Child, The
Order, Stigmata, and the dreadful End of Days have touched on similar subjects. Even popular
comic-book adaptations such as Hellboy, X2, and Daredevil utilize explicitly religious iconic themes and
visuals.
http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/beard200502180804.asp
Pope Calls Gay Marriage
Part of 'Ideology of Evil'
Homosexual marriages are part of "a new ideology of evil" that is insidiously threatening society,
Pope John Paul says in a new book published Tuesday. In "Memory and
Identity," the Pope also calls abortion a "legal extermination" comparable to attempts to wipe out Jews and other groups in the 20th century.
He also reveals that he is convinced the Turkish gunman who shot him in 1981
did not act alone and suggests that the former Communist Bloc may have been
behind the plot to kill him.
http://reuters.myway.com/
Is Europe on the verge of a Spiritual
revival?
"God is back among intellectuals," says Aleksander
Smolar, a leading European thinker who heads the Stefan Batory Foundation in
Warsaw and teaches at the Sorbonne in Paris. "You can feel there is a
problem of soul in Europe; people are conscious of a void and there is a
certain crisis of secularism"... Rocco Buttiglione, a confidant of the pope who
was denied a bid to join the European Commission last year because of his
staunch Catholic views on social issues, has a ready answer to such questions.
"For a long time they told us that science and maths would give us the
identity we need," he says. "Both failed. Now when Europeans ask
themselves 'Who are we?' they don't have an answer. I suggest we are
Christians."
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0223/p01s03-woeu.html
Top Hollywood writers and directors jump to
comic books
The latest comic-book
superheroes are from a real different world—Hollywood. These days, TV and
movie scribes are cranking out comics. Even directors are in the game; Bryan
Singer ("X-Men") and Darren Aronofsky ("Requiem for a
Dream") will publish later this year. Why the shift? Big names help boost
sales. But are you ready for do-gooders who talk like "The O.C." 's
Mischa Barton?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6959878/site/newsweek/
PRESS
RELEASE:
ACT
ONE 2005 IS COMING!
01/11/05 -- Hollywood, CA: Act One, a training center for
Christian artists and professionals, is now accepting applications for its
four-week summer writing program. The ACT ONE: WRITING FOR HOLLYWOOD curriculum
provides an overview of screenwriting, with a specialized TV track for those
considering a career in television. This year's program will be held in
Hollywood July 8 through August 6.
ACT ONE Executive Director Barbara Nicolosi notes that the
goal of ACT ONE's writing program is not to produce "religious"
scripts, but rather scripts that reflect a Christian worldview. "A great
movie is a harmony -- images, performance, music and sounds, all coming
together in a miraculous unity," says Nicolosi. "A beautiful movie
not only harmonizes all these elements, but does so around a story that is
true, a theme that is universal. ACT ONE: WRITING FOR HOLLYWOOD equips writers
to bring together mastery of craft and depth of content for movies and
television. In embracing their vocation to beauty, these artists will also be
Christian apostles of love and prayer in the heart of the entertainment
industry."
A comprehensive training program for scriptwriters with a
concern for content, ACT ONE: WRITING FOR HOLLYWOOD covers everything a writer
needs to know to competitively enter the film and television industry.
Emphasizing artistry, professionalism, substance, and prayer, our impressive
faculty is made up of over 50 working writers and producers who serve as
instructors and mentors, including Nancy Miller (CSI: Miami; Law and
Order), Ralph Winter (X2: X-Men United; Fantastic Four),
Barbara Hall (Joan of Arcadia), David McFadzean (Home Improvement;
What Women Want), and Lee & Janet Batchler (Batman Forever).
ACT ONE students are finding success at many levels of the
entertainment industry's creative community, landing writing and producing jobs
at DreamWorks, Imagine, CBS, HBO, PAX, MSNBC, and FOX, among others. Alumni
David Hansenclaims "the amount of scholarship, the degree of
professionalism, and the keen wisdom of the WRITING FOR HOLLYWOOD program is
simply an unparalleled gift to burgeoning script writers. I can hardly believe
it exists." Featured by CNN, CBS, Entertainment Weekly, the Los Angeles
Times, and the Chicago Tribune, ACT ONE has been hailed by industry veteran Ron
Austin (Mission:
Impossible) as playng "an indispensable role in
bringing young Christians into the mainstream of Hollywood."
ACT ONE can only accept 30 students into its summer program.
The application process is very competitive, so interested writers are
encouraged to begin the process as early as possible.
For more information about ACT ONE, visit our
website at www.actoneprogram.com, or
contact Anthony Platipodis, Program Coordinator, at 323-462-1348. Also, this
summer ACT ONE launches the ACT ONE: EXECUTIVE PROGRAM, a training program for
entertainment executives. For details, see our website or contact Director Todd
Coleman at 323-462-1348.
RECOMMENDED
BOOKS:
THE REVOLUTIONARY
COMMUNICATOR: SEVEN PRINCIPLES JESUS LIVED TO IMPACT, CONNECT AND LEAD by Erik
Lokkesmoe and Jedd Medefind (Relevant Books)
The Revolutionary Communicator explores the
revolutionary power and impact of Jesus' approach to communication, presenting
seven communication truths that remain relevant 2,000 years later. In a
media-dominated era, all readers—from parents to pastors to politicians—are
invited on a journey to rediscover the passageways to influence, impact and
relate, and to learn how to integrate seven communication truths in their
relationships and professions.
Author Dwight Bain
comments, "Today I had a chance to do a radio interview Erik Lokkesmoe and Judd
Medefind, authors of 'The Revolutionary Communicator' on WTLN in Orlando, FL.
They outlined the 7 key principles to achieve a dramatic level of commection in
communication, both at work and in personal relationships. While they were
talking about how to get better results in daily communications, I noticed that
my co-host and I were both busy writing down their insights as fast as they
shared them. Their principles were effective and easy to put into use
immedietely to get better results in your day to day interactions with others.
This book quickly gets in your face about taking personal responsibility to
make positive changes, and it will likely step on your toes in places, but it's
worth checking out if you want to learn to connect to others with boldness and
strength."
Order
from Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/
WHO
NEEDS A SUPERHERO? by H. Michael Brewer (with a Forward by Leo Partible) (Baker
Books)
Christian
audiences need a resource that will help them understand the Biblical themes
presented in the comic book inspired films and television shows such as The
Incredibles, The Matrix, Spider-Man, The X-Men, Smallville, Buffy The Slayer, Blade,
The Hulk, Daredevil, Unbreakable, Hellboy, The Punisher, The Road to Perdition, Ghost World, From Hell, American
Splendor, and the upcoming Elektra, Batman Begins, The Fantastic Four, Star
Wars Episode 3: The Revenge of the Sith, and the new Superman
film.
Order
from Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/
RESOURCES:
The
following is a list of resources to keep you informed of the latest news
regarding Christians involved in the mainstream culture.
Mainstream Entertainment News
Ain't It
Cool News
www.aintitcoolnews.com
Cinescape
www.cinescape.com
Coming Soon
www.comingsoon.net
Dark
Horizons
www.darkhorizons.com
Media Sharx
www.mediasharx.com
Box Office Grosses
Box Office
Mojo
www.boxofficemojo.com
Box Office
Report
www.boxofficereport.com
TV Ratings
The Futon
Critic
www.thefutoncritic.com
Media Week
www.mediaweek.com
Zap2It
www.zap2it.com
Mainstream Blogs
Matt Drudge
www.drudgereport.com
Movie
Reviews (national roundup)
Rotten
Tomatoes
www.rottentomatoes.com
Christian perspective
Christian
Online Magazines (Pop culture, entertainment & politics)
CBN
www.cbn.org
Christian
Post
http://www.christianpost.com
Christianity
Today
www.christianitytoday.com
Cornerstone
http://www.cornerstonemag.com/
Faith N' Film
www.faithnfilm.com
Fuse
Magazine
www.fusemagazine.net
Relevant
Magazine
www.relevantmagazine.com
Movie Reviews
Hollywood
Jesus
www.hollywoodjesus.com
Movieguide
www.movieguide.org
Crosswalk
www.crosswalk.com
Christians in Mainstream Music
Rock Rebel
www.rockrebel.com
The Emerging Church and pop culture
The Ooze
www.theooze.com
The Voice
Behind
www.brewingculture.com
National Columns
Terry
Mattingly
http://tmatt.gospelcom.net
Chuck
Colson
www.breakpoint.org
Christian
Blogs (pop culture, politics, and faith)
Terry
Mattingly, Douglas LeBlanc, and Jeremy Lott
http://www.getreligion.org
Steve Beard
www.thunderstruck.org
Barbara
Nicolosi
www.churchofthemasses.blogspot.com
Evangelical
Outpost
http://www.evangelicaloutpost.com/
Urban Legends
Truth
Miners
http://www.truthminers.com
Christians
in the Hollywood Mainstream (Organizations)
Act One
Program
www.actoneprogram.com
Hollywood
Connect
www.hollywoodconnect.com
Intermission
http://www.inter-mission.net
MasterMedia
http://www.mastermediaintl.org
