Things that caught my eye this week…

A new 'Avatar' trailer, remakes of 'Footloose' and 'Mad Max,' a 'Pi' director, and more

by Brandon Fibbs

After several wholly unimpressive weeks, the movie news has come roaring back these past few days (warning: the word of the week is “remake.” Can you say that with me boys and girls? "Remake!" Good, I knew you could).

The first full-length theatrical trailer for Avatar, the first film from James Cameron since Titanic, is finally out. (The film opens Dec. 18.) I've always said I love animation because it is hindered only by the filmmakers' own imagination. More than any film I can think of--even ones such as Lord of the Rings and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow--this feels like that very movie brought to life through a computer rather than ink. Please be good … please be good … (Meanwhile, the Avatar trailer will be broadcast on the world's largest video display on Sunday, Nov. 1, at the new Cowboys Stadium just before their game with the Seahawks -- while millions also watch it from their TV sets at home.)

And now for those remakes . . .

* * *
They are remaking Footloose with Craig Brewer (Hustle and Flow, Black Snake Moan) in the director’s chair. The first film portrayed quite a tug of war between rebellious adolescence and stuffy religion. I wonder if Brewer will keep that element; it does seem to be central to the story and to the character of Ariel, the socially suffocating minister's daughter.
* * *
The film adaptation of The Life of Pi may have finally settled on a director, none other than Ang Lee (the project previously attracted the interest of Jean-Pierre Jeunet, M. Night Shyamalan and Alfonso Cuarón). The story of a young boy adrift in a lifeboat along with several carnivorous and quite hungry zoo animals is a metaphor for, among other things, the nature of religious belief.
* * *
They’re remaking Mad Max!
* * *
It’s not another Bourne film, but it is the next best thing. Director Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon team up for Greenzone. Check out the trailer here.
* * *
Want more Damon? How about this trailer for Clint Eastwood’s new directorial effort, Invictus, about South African President Nelson Mandela (played by Morgan Freeman).
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What, more Damon? You’re insatiable! How ‘bout this: we told you a few weeks ago that the Coen brothers were going to remake the John Wayne classic True Grit with Jeff Bridges in the lead. Turns out they are adding Damon and Josh Bolin to the mix. This just gets better and better.
* * *
Joe Wright, the director of the beautiful Pride and Prejudice and Atonement, will team up once again with the equally beautiful Keira Knightly for a remake of My Fair Lady, which Danny Boyle was, for a time, rumored to be eyeing.
* * *
Speaking of classics, Sin Nombre director Cary Fukunaga is in negotiations to direct an adaptation of Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte's story of love, madness and redemption.
* * *
The new A-Team film doesn’t appear to be a tongue in cheek remake at all. Judging by this first cast photo, it’s slavish to the original television series.
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Finally someone is making a live action version of Ghost in the Shell, the Japanese anime classic that in many ways inspired The Matrix. I say finally because there is so much there to draw from (and I’m including the extraordinary television series in that assessment). But there is also so much to mess up. Dense with tangled debates over the nature of humanity, identity and the location of soul, GITS is either going to be phenomenal … or a phenomenal mess.

One for the iPod

by Brandon Fibbs

In this podcast, Dick Staub speaks with Jeffrey Overstreet, film critic and author of Through a Screen Darkly, Jennie Spohr, producer of The Kindlings Muse, and Gregory Wright, managing editor of Hollywood Jesus.com about the three best movies about God they suspect many people have never seen: Wings of Desire, The Decalogue and Babette’s Feast.

Law & Order Takes On TV's "Most Persistent Taboo"

Surprisingly sensitive portrayals of pro-life views . . . on network TV?

by Laura Leonard

You may be surprised at what many prominent women’s groups are protesting as “anti-choice propaganda.” It’s not a new book, or a graphic display; it’s a recent episode of NBC’s Friday night staple, Law & Order.

The show, which often rips its story straight from the headlines, recently aired an episode clearly based on the murder of late-term abortion provider George Tiller. The episode, titled “Dignity,” offered sensitive portrayals of pro-life views that result in two characters who originally take the pro-choice side to reconsider their views.

For one character, a police detective, it is the revelation that his partner was born two months prematurely after his mother tried to end the pregnancy that forces him to think differently about the subject. For another, ADA Connie Rubarosa, it is the testimony of a nurse who witnessed and assisted in late-term abortions and ultimately left the practice. After hearing the nurse’s graphic description of a botched abortion that resulted in a post-delivery murder of the newborn child, she says, “I grew up thinking Roe v. Wade was gospel and that a woman’s privacy was inviolate. But after hearing that woman on the stand, talking about her baby dying in her arms, I don’t know. I don’t know where my privacy ends and another being’s dignity begins. On one side they’re talking about abortion never, and on the other side it’s abortion whenever, meanwhile the rest of us are just stuck in the middle trying to figure it out.”

After her partner asks her to “do her job” and “put the bad guys in jail,” Rubarosa's response is quite stunning, considering her point-of-view just hours before:

“I’m glad that it’s so clear cut for you, Hank," she says. "Unfortunately, I can’t leave my soul in the umbrella stand when I come into work every morning.”

Watch the clip for yourself:

Popular pro-life blogger Jill Stanek gathered the overwhelmingly positive responses from those who were thrilled to see a positive portrayal of their cause on network television. "'Dignity' was the most powerful episode you have done,” says one commenter on the NBC site. “I am used to seeing pro-lifers marginalized and dismissed as narrow minded religious zealots. This was one of the most fair-minded and even-handed presentations of this critical and persistent legal and moral issue."

Of course, not everyone’s happy with the treatment. Kate Harding, at Salon’s Broadsheet blog, writes, “None of it is anywhere near as simple as this episode makes it out to be.” Because not every situation turns out as well as those portrayed here, she calls the portrayals of these viewpoints “the most egregious anti-choice propaganda,” while calling out the show for ignoring the “reality” of those on the other side. And the National Organization of Women (NOW) complained that “several of the supposedly pro-choice characters on the show were guilted into questioning their values.”

In 2004, The New York Times called abortion “television’s most persistent taboo.” Usually when shows tackle the issue, it’s through a character who is deciding whether or not to terminate a pregnancy. The Tiller-like story provides a new angle that allows characters to approach the issue head-on, on both a personal and moral level.

What did you think? Did you see the episode? How accurately did it portray the pro-life view? How will this affect future TV portrayals of abortion?

Lessons from the Cinema: How NOT to Preach

Blogger spotlights 'Three Amigos,' 'Ferris Bueller,' and 'Princess Bride' among examples

by Mark Moring

Gospel coalition blogger Kevin DeYoung says preachers should turn to movie clips for their sermon illustrations -- er, for illustrations on how NOT to preach, that is.

He starts with some Steve Martin silliness from Three Amigos, then Ben Stein's droning ways in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, followed by (bad) examples from The Karate Kid, Star Wars, and The Princess Bride.

Funny stuff -- and instructional. Pastors, take note!

Forgive Someone Who Murdered Your Family?

Yes, it's possible. And it's happening all over Rwanda, as shown in upcoming documentary.

by Mark Moring

I spent almost two weeks in Rwanda earlier this year with my good friends Troy and Sara Groves and a team from Food for the Hungry. While there, I met a man named Marc who in 1994 had killed 15 people during that nation's genocide. I also met a woman, Felicita, who lost many family members in the killings, including her father -- all of them at Marc's hands, which were wielding a machete.

When I met Marc & Felicita, they shared beers and laughter over lunch while telling me their amazing story of how hatred and murder had transformed into forgiveness and reconciliation -- and how they're now sharing their story with others throughout Rwanda, riding a bike together (see picture) from village to village with their incredible true tale.

You'll be able to see their story soon on a new documentary, Wounded Healers, which premieres Dec. 3 at the Seattle International Film Festival. It's a production of Rwanda Partners, which was very helpful in assisting me in my reporting in Rwanda, and introducing me to Marc and Felicita and their incredible story.

I can't wait to see this documentary. Watch the trailer here. And while you're waiting for this film to arrive, be sure to check out another great documentary about reconciliation in Rwanda, As We Forgive.

Wanna Be a Movie Producer? Now You Can!

Marchiano seeks 4.5 million 'producers' for Jesus movie . . . and other Christian film news.

by Mark Moring

Remember Bruce Marchiano and his winsome performance as Jesus in 1993’s The Visual Bible: The Gospel According to Matthew?

For years, Marchiano has wanted to do something similar with the Gospel of John -- a word-for-word adaptation of the book to the big screen. Finding deep-pocketed investors, however, has been another story. So Marchiano has recently changed his strategy: He's now calling the hoped-for film Jesus . . . No Greater Love, still a verbatim adaptation. But how's he going to pay for it? That's where you come into the picture . . .

Marchiano is calling on regular folks to be "co-producers" of the film -- specifically, he's asking 4.5 million Christians to give $10 apiece (tax deductible) to turn his vision into reality.

“In all humility," says Marchiano, "I am asking Christians around the world to support us, to unite across cultures and denominations in the name of Jesus. It will be a long process, but if we all pull together, we can get this movie made—that the nations might be saved.”

Learn more about Marchiano's plan, and the film, at the official site, and check out the excitement in this promo video:

> The new documentary Inside the Revolution, based on Joel Rosenberg’s book of the same title, has been selling well at Barnes & Noble, recently finishing at No. 2 in overall sales. The doc, like the book, concerns volatile relations in the Middle East; the subtitle says it all: “How the followers of Jihad, Jefferson and Jesus are battling to dominate the Middle East and transform the world.” Both products are distributed by Tyndale House Publishers; the DVD is available for purchase here.

> To Save a Life, a drama about teen suicide and what students can do to help hurting peers, will hit theaters on January 22 and will be distributed by Samuel Goldwyn (Fireproof, Amazing Grace). Outreach Films is also partnering with the film, which has a subtle evangelistic message.

> Luke Barnett, a Christian actor, is producing a new documentary called Spare Some Change about homeless youth in America. He is also part of the Spare Some Change movement, which hopes to get as many homeless kids off the streets as possible. Learn more about the movement here, and check out their promo video below:

'Letters to God' Gets a Date, Distributor

Directed by Fireproof's David Nixon, film to hit about 800 theaters in March

by Mark Moring

Several months ago, we visited the set of Letters to God, an upcoming Christian film directed by David Nixon, who was a producer for the indie hits Facing the Giants and Fireproof.

The film, based on the true story of a 9-year-old boy with cancer who writes his prayer letters to God, was recently picked up by Vivendi Entertainment for U.S. distribution. The movie will open in about 800 theaters on March 12.

Vivendi's Mark Kristol told Variety that Letters can tap into the same market as Fireproof, the Sherwood Productions feature that grossed $33 million for Samuel Goldwyn last fall, after being made for a mere $500,000.

See the Letters to God trailer below:

Heartland Gives Big 'Welcome' Gift

Indianapolis film fest honors French flick with $100,000 grand prize

by Mark Moring

The Heartland Film Festival, now in full swing in Indianapolis, held its annual awards banquet on Saturday, Oct. 17, giving the French film Welcome, directed by Philippe Lioret, its $100,000 Grand Prize Award for Best Dramatic Feature.

P-Star Rising by Director Gabriel Noble was the winner of the $25,000 Award for Best Documentary Feature, and Bicycle (Jitensha) by Director Dean Yamada was the winner of the $10,000 Vision Award for Best Short Film.

Heartland also honored Dr. Ed Catmull, co-founder of Pixar Animation Studios and president of Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios, with the Pioneering Spirit Award for his creative spirit in filmmaking and his contribution to Heartland’s mission.

OMG!

A new documentary ponders the nature of God

by Brandon Fibbs

The new documentary Oh My God, due out next month, interviews men and women from all walks of life, from atheists to devout believers of a myriad of faiths, in an attempt to get to the bottom of the age old question, "What is God?" Director Peter Rodgers, frustrated over how God is increasingly politicized in our culture, spent more than two years making the film in a journey that crisscrossed 23 different countries.

"I was fed up with the childish schoolyard mentality that permeates this world," Rodgers says. "I call it the “My God Is Greater Than Your God” syndrome, where you have grown men flying into buildings shouting “God is Great, ”where you have the leader of the free world telling the BBC in 2003 that he invaded Iraq because God told him to. None of these concepts made any sense to me, so I decided to go around the world and ask people what they think."

Rodgers interviewed everyone from rabbis to Christian fundamentalists, Muslim radicals to Buddhist monks, Hindu Swamis to Catholic priests. (He also interviews a handful of celebrities including Hugh Jackman, Ringo Star and Seal — though I'm not entirely sure why we should care what they think).

See the trailer here or go the official website where you can submit your answer to the question: "God is _______."

'Love Boat' Captain Finds Reel Love

Gavin MacLeod (aka Captain Stubing) finds Jesus, stars in new film -- and other tidbits of interest

by Mark Moring

Remember that cheesy '70s TV show, The Love Boat? And its lovable pilot, Captain Stubing? Of course you do.

These days, Stubing -- er, actor Gavin MacLeod -- is making family-friendly movies with Christian themes, including The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry, now showing in limited theaters. Set in 1970, it's a story about a young boy who befriends an old man.

"The film is about forgiveness," MacLeod, a Christian, told Fox News. "Forgiveness is one of the greatest tools God has given us."

> The Great Reverse is a compelling documentary about nine students who take a months-long missions trip to West Africa, experiencing culture shock and God's grace along the road. It's worth watching for anyone considering a short-term missions trip. The soundtrack features artists as diverse as MercyMe, Seabird, Sara Groves, Jars of Clay, Sleeping At Last, Jon Foreman, Lori Chaffer and more.

> The Fabric of Time, a docudrama which examines physical evidence of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, is being re-mastered in 3-D by Grizzly Adams, gearing up for an April 2010 release. The European release is timed to coincide with the first public viewing in more than a decade of the Shroud of Turin, believed by millions of Christians to be the burial cloth of Jesus.

'The Ten Commandments' to be remade as "300"?!

Fox also to add info not from the Bible, but from Rabbinical Midrash and other historical sources

by Brandon Fibbs

Variety is reporting that 20th Century Fox is remaking Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments!

Sorta.

But wait, it gets weirder...

Fox intends to tell the story of Moses in the style of 300, Zach Snyder's pornographically violent film about the last stand of a cadre of Spartan warriors against a far more vast Persian foe at the Battle of Thermopile.

Fox says it's keeping all the good stuff, from plagues to the parting the Red Sea, but is including new information excised not from the Bible, but from Rabbinical Midrash and other historical sources.

Other than 300's obviously splendid visuals (filmed almost entirely on a green-screen laden set), I can't imagine why you'd link these two films unless you intend to transform Moses from a weak leader, terrified of his calling and dependant on God for every ounce of his strength into a revolutionary figure who employs violence to attain his ends.

Perhaps I'm reading more into this than I should, but I seem to have misplaced my Midrash and am wondering exactly where Fox intends to go with this. There is the potential, of course, to offend millions of Christians and Jews alike. Or perhaps Fox is taking a page from Quentin Tarantino’s latest film, Inglourious Basterds and creating a revenge fantasy film that elevates the oppressed underdogs to the status of vengeful angels.

More details as they appear...

Beware the Hair!

Chris Rock's new flick about 'black hair' raises good questions about the definition of beauty

by Mark Moring

CT Movies didn't review Good Hair, the new docu-comedy by African-American funnyman Chris Rock. But we've heard plenty of good things about it, and it's getting excellent reviews.

Today, my friend Ed Gilbreath, editor of UrbanFaith.com, posted a few thoughts on the film, including his concerns about how the $9 billion-a-year "black hair" industry is affecting young girls' ideas of what it means to be beautiful--especially as they see role models (Beyonce, Tyra, etc.) with their perfectly straight (and perfectly unnatural) hairstyles.

Ed writes: "There are few things more central to the daily experience of a black woman. A good-looking 'do plays a pivotal role in both her personal and professional happiness. Yet an ominous theme undergirds the entire enterprise. Why do so many women spend so much time and so much money trying to attain what's essentially a "white" look?"

Good question, and Rock, in his inimitable (and often hilarious) way, sets out to find the answer.

Watch the trailer here:

'The Great Divorce' to Get Movie Treatment

Film rights to C. S. Lewis's classic fantasy secured by Beloved Pictures

by Mark Moring

Heaven has been depicted on the big screen before, but never quite like this -- as the most beautiful landscape you've ever seen, but every blade of grass is so hard it actually hurts your feet to walk on them, and a single leaf so heavy you can't lift it.

Such is the creative depiction of heaven by C. S. Lewis in The Great Divorce--great fodder for a filmmaker with a rich imagination and a love for the work. And now it appears that the story has found just that.

Beloved Pictures announced Monday that it has secured film rights to the story, and that David L. Cunningham (To End All Wars, Seeker: The Dark Is Rising) will direct. Cunningham, 38, is a Christian and the son of Youth With a Mission co-founders Loren and Darlene Cunningham.

The Great Divorce tells the story of one man's journey--on a bus!--from the post-apocalyptic wasteland of a grey town to the outskirts of heaven.

"We are tremendously excited to bring one of Lewis's most profound stories to the screen," said Beloved Pictures CEO Michael Ludlum. "We believe that this story, much like the Chronicles of Narnia, will resonate with a global audience."

Beloved is currently seeking investors for the film, which may begin filming sometime in 2010. A release date has not yet been determined.

Family-friendly horror movies?

by

Will family-friendly horror movies take the place of slasher films and the like? Variety magazine seems to think that that is a possibility -- and at least one of the filmmakers leading the charge just happens to be a Christian.

The trade paper reports that Scott Derrickson, who has discussed his faith and filmmaking with CT Movies a couple of times, has signed on to direct a remake of the Danish grade-school thriller The Substitute for Spooky Pictures, a brand-new outfit set up by Sam Raimi and Columbia Pictures.

Derrickson has plenty of experience as a maker of horror movies for grown-ups -- among other things, he directed the R-rated Hellraiser: Inferno and the PG-13 The Exorcism of Emily Rose (which is also available on DVD in an "unrated" edition) -- but this new venture, according to Variety, is aimed at "family audiences".

The Substitute itself will concern "a terrified sixth-grade class as the students race to reveal to their parents that their new substitute teacher is an evil alien being."

Variety notes that Spooky Pictures is not the first family-oriented scary-movie brand to be created in recent months. Three weeks ago, the Disney studio announced that it had struck a deal with horror maestro Guillermo Del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth, etc.) to create 'Disney Double Dare You', a new production label that will make "animated films full of chills and thrills for audiences of all ages".

Variety writer Marc Graser writes that the rise of these labels "signals the kind of thrillers Hollywood may soon be unspooling at the megaplex," and speculates: "Should the labels find an audience, the shift away from slasher fare and the like, often referred to as 'gore porn,' is likely."

Derrickson, for his part, has a number of other projects in development at the moment, including adaptations of John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost and Dan Simmons's Hugo-winning sci-fi novel Hyperion Cantos; it remains to be seen which of these movies will get the green light first. His last film was the remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still, starring Keanu Reeves.

Things That Caught My Eye This Week

by Brandon Fibbs

What do Mel Gibson, vampires and green aliens have in common? They all caught my eye this week...

Welcome to what will be a regular feature here at the Christianity Today Movies blog. Things That Caught My Eye This Week is exactly what it sounds like — short snippets of movie news and gossip that I thought was interesting enough to pass along. Enjoy!

The Passion of the Mel Gibson?
What do you do if you’ve directed an extraordinarily successful (if controversial) blockbuster and need to refurbish your tarnished image after a DUI and an embarrassing racist rant? Mel Gibson’s answer may surprise you!

Jesus Christ Superstar to be remade?
Jesus Christ has always been a hot attraction on the big screen, even when films about him are controversial. Now it looks like the Son of God might become a cineplex superstar yet again – literally. Talks are underway for a “modern, hipstery take” in a remake of Jesus Christ, Superstar from (500) Days of Summer director Marc Webb.

Not-So-Little Green Men
It’s no secret around here that we’re very excited about Andrew Stanton’s (the director of WALL*E and a Christian) new live action film John Carter of Mars, based on the novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Well some new casting news appeared this week. In addition to those already set in stone, including Friday Night Lights' Taylor Kitsch and Lynn Collins (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) are newcomers James Purefoy (Mansfield Park, Vanity Fair), Mark Strong (Stardust, Body of Lies) and Thomas Hayden Church (Sideways, Spider-Man 3). The latter two will be playing aliens, among them the green-skinned, four-armed Tharks!

Things that caught my eye this week…

One for the iPod

Law & Order Takes On TV's "Most Persistent Taboo"

Lessons from the Cinema: How NOT to Preach

Forgive Someone Who Murdered Your Family?

Wanna Be a Movie Producer? Now You Can!

'Letters to God' Gets a Date, Distributor

Heartland Gives Big 'Welcome' Gift

OMG!

'Love Boat' Captain Finds Reel Love