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Jimmy Stewart and God
The actor discussed his faith and 'It's a Wonderful Life' in 1977 article
Apparently Stewart wasn't really acting; those tears were real.
In this 1977 article that Stewart wrote for Guideposts, the actor recalls that George "is unaware that most of the people in town are arduously praying for him. In this scene, at the lowest point in George Bailey's life, Frank Capra was shooting a long shot of me slumped in despair. In agony I raise my eyes and following the script, plead, 'God...God...dear Father in heaven, I'm not a praying man, but if You're up there and You can hear me, show me the way, I'm at the end of my rope. Show me the way, God...'
"As I said those words, I felt the loneliness and hopelessness of people who had nowhere to turn, and my eyes filled with tears. I broke down sobbing. This was not planned at all, but the power of that prayer, the realization that our Father in heaven is there to help the hopeless had reduced me to tears."
In the article, Stewart further discusses the making of the film, his faith, and how his dad held him accountable to attend church once he moved to LA from little Indiana, Pennsylvania. A good read about a fine man and a classic movie.
(Hat tip to Eric David.)
Karl Malden, 1912-2009
Karl Malden, who passed away this week at the age of 97, is well-known for many roles, from his Oscar-winning performance opposite Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) to the cop he played opposite Michael Douglas on the TV show The Streets of San Francisco (1972-1977). But the first movies of his that I remember seeing as I was growing up were, appropriately enough, movies in which he co-starred with children.One of those movies was Captains Courageous (1977), an adaptation of the Rudyard Kipling story about a spoiled teenaged boy who falls overboard and learns a thing or two about maturity and growing up when he is picked up by a "crusty old sea captain" (as the IMDb puts it) played by Malden. I haven't seen this film in decades, but to this day, I'm pretty sure I can remember how Malden's character -- named Disko Troop, of all things, which makes him sound like a refugee from the Village People -- reluctantly takes the boy under his wing and barks the words, "Right hand, starboard! Left hand, port!" When I started taking canoeing lessons at summer camp a few years later, I credited this film with giving me a head start on the terminology.
The other movie was Pollyanna (1960), the first of several films that Hayley Mills starred in for the Walt Disney studio. Here, Malden played the Rev. Paul Ford, a fire-and-brimstone preacher who changes his ways when the title character, an irrepressibly sunny girl played by the 13-year-old Mills, compels him to look up all the "happy texts" in the Bible. So in some ways, this character was the opposite of Malden's role in Captains Courageous: in the Kipling story, the child learned from Malden, but in the Disney movie, Malden learned from the child.
'Sources of Spiritual Power Are Not in the Cinema'
So says John Piper in a blog post about no TV and rare movie watching
In a recent post at his Desiring God blog, Piper wrote:
"I think relevance in preaching hangs very little on watching movies, and I think that much exposure to sensuality, banality, and God-absent entertainment does more to deaden our capacities for joy in Jesus than it does to make us spiritually powerful in the lives of the living dead. Sources of spiritual power - which are what we desperately need - are not in the cinema. You will not want your biographer to write: Prick him and he bleeds movies."
Piper went on to say, "If you want to be relevant, say, for prostitutes, don't watch a movie with a lot of tumbles in a brothel. Immerse yourself in the gospel, which is tailor-made for prostitutes; then watch Jesus deal with them in the Bible; then go find a prostitute and talk to her. Listen to her, not the movie. Being entertained by sin does not increase compassion for sinners.
"There are, perhaps, a few extraordinary men who can watch action-packed, suspenseful, sexually explicit films and come away more godly. But there are not many. And I am certainly not one of them."
What do you think? Is Piper right? Partly right? Does it "depend on the circumstances"? Weigh in with your opinion in the comments section below, and/or let us know at CT Movies.
'Stoning' Actress Gets It Wrong
Aghdashloo makes false claims about stoning: 'nothing to do with Islam'
Spencer cites of few of Aghdashloo's comments in an interview with the Staten Island Advance, in which she says that stoning "has been happening since the Stone Age, in Judaism, Christianity, Islam." Spencer replies, "In fact, no," and goes on to state his case, showing where Aghdashloo gets it wrong.
Shia Seeking Something?
'Transformers' star clearly doing some soul-searching these days
But LaBeouf might just have an eye on something else too--something a bit more ethereal, maybe even spiritual. Check out these quotes from a recent article and photo shoot in PARADE magazine:
Read. And. Weep.
Reason No. 673 why Pixar is the greatest studio on the planet.
Ten-year-old Colby Curtin was dying of a rare form of cancer, but she had one last wish before her death: To see the new Pixar/Disney movie Up.
But she was too ill for a trip to the theater, so when Pixar heard about it, they flew a rep to Colby's house in Huntington Beach, CA, for a private screening in her home. Colby died seven hours later.
"When I watched it, I had really no idea about the content of the theme of the movie," Colby's mother, Lisa Curtin, told the Orange County Register. "I just know that word ‘Up' and all of the balloons and I swear to you, for me it meant that (Colby) was going to go up. Up to heaven."
(Hat tip to Joel Storey.)
A Newt, a Pope, and a Doc
Gingrich making a documentary about Pope John Paul II's role in bringing down Soviet Union
Nine Days That Changed the World will release this fall under Gingrich Productions. Gingrich also discussed his conversion to Christianity with Gilgoff, saying the influence of popes JPII and Benedict affected him deeply.
Angels & Demons & Prelates, Oh My!
Controversy escalates over the upcoming prequel to 'The Da Vinci Code'
We've already had plenty of lively banter between Ron Howard and Bill Donohue. Then we had some shmoe calling Tom Hanks a "pawn of Satan."
Now the Vatican has joined the fray, ironically without commenting.
Howard is saying that Vatican officials obstructed his efforts to shoot the film in Rome, saying he couldn't shoot scenes anywhere in the city with churches in the background.
"Was I surprised? No. Am I a little frustrated at times? Sure," said Howard.
A Vatican spokesman wouldn't comment, but apparently said enough to imply that Howard was just spouting off to "drum up publicity," according to the AP. That's a pretty feisty "no comment."
CNN would disagree, noting that the film is not drawing the Vatican's "ire," while quoting an Opus Dei priest as saying, "I don't think that anyone at the Vatican is paying much attention to the premier of 'Angels & Demons.' . . . I think the church's attitude has been, from the beginning, 'hands off.'"
Meanwhile, Tom "I'm Not the Pawn of Satan" Hanks told the German publication Bild, "I am a very spiritual guy. I do believe in God. We go to Church. My children are baptised. But I don’t know a lot about the condom ban. I have been happily married for 21 years!" Of Angels & Demons, he said, "It’s fiction but has amusing facts."
In India, Christian protests have resulted in a decision to show the film only after certain parts have been deleted, according to the Hindu News Update: "The Censor Board has assured them of deletion of some of the portions before release of the movie, which will also have a disclaimer saying that it is a work of fiction."
A work of fiction. Good to remember that, and not get too worked up about it. Eh?
Tom Hanks: Pawn of Satan?
So says author in reference to 'Angels & Demons.' And the Donohue-Howard feud continues.
So says Mark Dice, author of The Illuminati: Facts & Fiction, of the movie star's role in the upcoming film version of Angels & Demons, based on Brown's book of the same title. A&D is a prequel to The Da Vinci Code.
Dice went on to say that "Brown's book, as well as the film, serves only as disinformation and a whitewash of the real Illuminati."
Dice is founder of something called The Resistance, which on its website calls itself "a conservative political and media watchdog and activist organization focused on preserving family values and upholding the Constitution of the United States."
Take Dice's words with a grain of salt. A loose cannon who also goes by the pseudonym "John Conner" (a la the Terminator saga), Dice has called the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the U.S. "an inside job" by the U.S. government. He has also demanded that demanded that Duke University change the school nickname of "Blue Devils" because it's "offensive to the Christian community." (No report on whether he has a problem with Wake Forest's "Demon Deacons" or Arizona State's "Sun Devils" or . . . Oh, nevermind.)
It's not the first attack on Angels & Demons. The Catholic League's William Donohue dissed the film, prompting director Ron Howard to respond last week. And now Donohue has responded to Howard's response:
"Ron Howard must be delusional if he thinks Vatican officials are going to like his propaganda - they denied him the right to film on their grounds," says Donohue. "Moreover, we know from a Canadian priest who hung out with Howard's crew last summer in Rome (dressed in civilian clothes) just how much they hate Catholicism. It's time to stop the lies and come clean."
Somehow, I don't think Howard is waiting in the batter's box to step up and take the next swing. But I also bet we haven't heard the last of this, either.
Ron Howard Fights Back
Producer responds to Catholic League's William Donohue re: 'Angels & Demons'
No longer. In a measured but strongly-worded op-ed today in The Huffington Post, A&D director Ron Howard responds by saying that Donohue should essentially zip it till he sees the movie.
Howard writes that Donohue "is on a mission . . . to paint me and the movie I directed, Angels & Demons, as anti-Catholic . . .
"Let me be clear," Howard continues. "Neither I nor Angels & Demons are anti-Catholic. And let me be a little controversial: I believe Catholics, including most in the hierarchy of the Church, will enjoy the movie for what it is: an exciting mystery, set in the awe-inspiring beauty of Rome. After all, in Angels & Demons, Professor Robert Langdon teams up with the Catholic Church to thwart a vicious attack against the Vatican. What, exactly, is anti-Catholic about that?"
Donohue has written a booklet, Angels & Demons: More Demonic Than Angelic (available for a $5 donation to the Catholic League), which he said that A&D "details the myths, lies and smears that are made against the Catholic Church [in A&D]. It also provides evidence of the anti-Catholic animus harbored by those associated with the film.
"Author Dan Brown and director Ron Howard are . . . obsessed with Catholicism. It is not enough to criticize it - they are hell bent on demonizing it. It is not enough to drag out dirty laundry - they invent it. And the fact that they pay absolutely no price for their propaganda shows beyond dispute that anti-Catholicism is the one bigotry Hollywood likes."
"Mr. Donohue's booklet accuses us of lying when our movie trailer says the Catholic Church ordered a brutal massacre to silence the Illuminati centuries ago," Howard writes. "It would be a lie if we had ever suggested our movie is anything other than a work of fiction (if it were a documentary, our talk of massacres would have referenced the Inquisition or the Crusades). And if fictional movies could never take liberties with reality, then there would have been no Ben-Hur, no Barabbas, The Robe, Gone With The Wind, or Titanic. Not to mention Splash!
"I guess Mr. Donohue and I do have one thing in common: we both like to create fictional tales, as he has done with his silly and mean-spirited work of propaganda. "
Howard concludes with these words: "I know faith is believing without seeing (and a boycott would be disbelieving without seeing). But I don't expect William Donohue to have faith in me, so I encourage him to see Angels & Demons for himself. Then he will finally witness, and perhaps believe, that what I say is true."
Michael J. Fox and The 700 Club.
I happened to spot Michael J. Fox's new book Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist at the drug store the other day, and since he's a fellow Vancouverite, I gave it a quick look.I was particularly intrigued by the chapter on "faith". While it's more or less what you'd expect from a Hollywood celebrity, it still has some interesting tidbits, such as Fox's description of himself as a lapsed Protestant who now attends a Reform Jewish synagogue with his wife and kids, or his references to the evangelists and Christian musicians he met or knew in Vancouver while growing up here; I'm only nine years younger than Fox, and I grew up in the evangelical milieu here myself, so I can't help wondering if I may have crossed paths with any of these people, too.
Fox also makes at least two references to The 700 Club, in contexts that suggest he probably isn't all that interested in watching the show or being one of its guests -- but one thing he doesn't mention, at least not that I noticed, is that he once co-starred in a prime-time TV special produced by The 700 Club in the early 1980s. You can see a fragment of that performance above.
Music and Moviemaking
Calvin College recently hosted its biennial Festival of Faith and Music in Grand Rapids. It was a weekend full of rich conversation and wonderful music with participants including Cornel West, Lupe Fiasco, David Bazan, Over the Rhine, David Dark, Charlie Peacock, Andy Crouch, and so many more.
Nathan Johnson, who used wine glasses and household junk to compose the score for the neo-noir film Brick and also scored the upcoming The Brothers Bloom (both directed by his cousin Rian Johnson), gave an excellent behind-the-scenes look at composing music for independent film. He explored specific creative challenges regarding structure, technology and the constraints of small-scale music production.You can listen to his workshop here.
On a more personal note...
Barbara Nicolosi, the founder of Act One and a prominent Christian voice in Hollywood, announced her engagement to Norris Archer Harrington just this morning.
She writes: "One of my friends said, 'So, now you have a date for the apocalypse.'
"Yeah, it's hard not to think of Jesus saying, 'But in the end times it will be as in the days of Noah, when they were eating and drinking and marrying and giving in marriage right up until the rain started to fall.' So this is my part in filling out Biblical prophecy for the last days?
"Cool!"
Cool, indeed. Congrats Barb!
Just What the Docter Ordered
'Up' director Pete Docter still another man of faith at Pixar
Why is it that Pixar's creative wheels seem to be spin faster than everyone else's, that their wells of imagination seem to run deeper than all of their competitors? Perhaps it's because many of the company's principals are in tune with the Creator himself.
Andrew Stanton (WALL-E, Finding Nemo) has discussed his Christian faith (even with CT Movies), and we've heard that Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Ratatouille) is also a believer.
I was googling for info on Pete Docter, the writer/director of Monsters Inc., and now the director of Up, and found this interview with Radix magazine, done about the time Monsters Inc. released, in which he also discusses his Christian faith.
Docter was asked how having a child changed him as an artist, to which he replied: "Work-wise, I definitely see things differently. . . . As a Christian, having my son has made me even more amazed by the whole Creation, when I watch him grow and start to connect things in his brain. I say, 'That's amazing.' It leaves me speechless."
Asked how his faith affects his work, Docter said, "Years ago when I first spoke at church, I was kind of nervous about talking about Christianity and my work. It didn't really connect. But more and more it seems to be connecting for me. I ask for God's help, and it's definitely affected what I'm doing. It's helped me to calm down and focus. There were times when I got too stressed out with what I was doing, and now I just step back and say, "God, help me through this." It really helps you keep a perspective on things, not only in work, but in relationships."
Asked if he planned to ever make an explicitly Christian film, Docter said, "Not at this point. I don't feel so comfortable with that. Even if you have a moral to a story, if you actually come out and say it, it loses its power. Not that we're trying to be sneaky or anything, but you have more ability to affect people if you're not quite so blatant about it. Does that make sense? . . .
"To me art is about expressing something that can't be said in literal terms. You can say it in words, but it's always just beyond the reach of actual words, and you're doing whatever you can to communicate a sense of something that is beyond you."
Amen to that.
Perpetuating Black Stereotypes?
Tyler Perry's films are hugely popular, but are they dumbing down African Americans?
Popular, yes. But are they politically incorrect? Or even offensive?
"Tyler Perry's films are rooted in some of the worst stereotypes that have ever existed," Todd Boyd, professor of critical studies at USC School of Cinematic Arts, told EW.
Donald Bogle, author of Toms, Coons, Mulatoes, Mammies & Bucks: An Interpretive History of Blacks in American Films, tends to agree: "If a white director put out this product, the black audience would be appalled."
Perry's critics argue that his movies include "regressive, down-market stereotypes," as EW put it: "In many of his films there's a junkie prostitute, a malaprop-dropping uncle, and Madea, a tough-talking grandma the size of a linebacker ('Jemima the Hutt,' one character calls her)." Bogle says that Madea has "connections to the old mammy type. She's mammy-like."
Perry comes to his own defense, telling EW, "These stories have come out of my own pain and everything I've been through. These characters are simply tools to make people laugh. And I know for a fact that they have helped, inspired, and encouraged millions of people."
Indeed, Perry, a Christian, infuses his movies with stories of hope, forgiveness, and redemption -- partly mirroring his own personal journey out of a painful past, which he shared with CT Movies in this interview.
What do you think of Perry's films (if you've seen any)? Do they perpetuate stereotypes, or not? Are they uplifting and inspiring? Chime in on the discussion thread below.
Dick Ross, 1918 - 2009
Dan Wooding of the Assist News Service reports that Dick Ross, director of several Billy Graham films between the early 1950s and mid 1960s, passed away on Saturday at the age of 90.
In addition to his work for Graham, Ross also produced the film version of The Cross and the Switchblade (1970), starring Pat Boone as David Wilkerson (you might have heard that name in the news again recently) and Erik Estrada as Nicky Cruz.
But it was the Graham films -- and the studio that made them -- that are arguably Ross's greatest legacy. Click here for an article we ran four years ago on the history of Billy Graham movies; it touches on Ross's role at the beginning of that venture, and on the people to whom he passed the torch after directing The Restless Ones (1965), a movie about juvenile delinquents, teen pregnancy and other social issues that was also the first Billy Graham movie to be shown in regular theatres.
Robert E. A. Lee, 1921 - 2009
Lee, whose duties included a 34-year stint as executive secretary of what is now known as Lutheran Film Associates, was executive producer of the Reformation biopic Martin Luther (1953) and the civil-rights documentary A Time for Burning (1966). Both films were nominated for Oscars: cinematography and art direction for Martin Luther, and documentary feature for A Time for Burning.
Lee's work was cutting-edge for its time. David Neff, editor-in-chief of the Christianity Today Media Group, recalled five years ago how Martin Luther was the first movie he ever saw, and how moviegoing was so frowned-upon in church circles back then that some of his fellow congregants criticized his parents for taking the family to see that film -- even though it had been made by a church.
Meanwhile, A Time for Burning was widely praised for acknowledging the racial divisions within the Lutheran church itself. The film partly concerned a pastor at an all-white Lutheran church who was forced to resign after his efforts to promote fellowship between his church and local black Lutheran churches ended up dividing his congregation.
Co-director William C. Jersey tells the New York Times: "A Time for Burning would never have happened without Robert Lee. . . . Here we are, we’re doing a scriptless film, and our hero is forced to resign. So then what do we do? And Bob Lee, who's representing the church, has this trial by fire with others within the church who say, 'We're making a film about the church's failure?' He says, 'We should do it,' and we finish the film. So he was vindicated, but in 1965, that was a big risk -- for an institution to say, 'We're flawed.'"
Lee's other films included Question 7 (1961), "a drama about Christian life in East Germany", and the documentary The Joy of Bach (1980).
The Dude Abides . . . and Other News
'The Gospel According to the Coen Brothers,' a Schiavo doc, & Phil Vischer's new venture
Our friend Cathleen Falsani, religion writer for the Chicago Sun Times and author of this terrific cover story on Bono for CT, just happens to be a big fan of the Coen Brothers too. And that just happens to be the topic of her next book, The Dude Abides: The Gospel According to the Coen Brothers, due from Zondervan this fall -- right about the same time the next movie from the Coens, A Serious Man, hits theaters (due Oct. 2).
Falsani, also the author of Sin Boldly and The God Factor, gives an early glimpse at the cover (at left) on her blog, also called The Dude Abides.
A Zondervan press release says the book "will look at the filmmakers' presentation of serious existential and theological questions using the dark, intelligent humor and epic storytelling that have been their trademarks in more than a
dozen films during the past 25 years. . . . Falsani will investigate the theological, mythological, moral, ethical, religious and philosophical content and what their overarching message -- their "Gospel" -- might be."
I've already been in touch with Cathleen about an interview to discuss her book and the Coen movies, so stay tuned . . .
* * *
A new documentary, The Terri Schiavo Story, promises to reveal "previously unexplored facts of the case . . . through in-depth interviews with participants on both sides of the issue. Hosted by author and speaker Joni Eareckson Tada, who became personally involved in the case in 2005, The Terri Schiavo Story sheds new light on the controversial decision that led to the death of a 41-year-old disabled woman."
Read more about the film or purchase it on DVD at the official site, and watch the trailer here:
* * *
VeggieTales founder, creative genius, and all-around good guy Phil Vischer has launched an online children's TV network called JellyTelly. The free network, which streams programming 24/7, is aimed at kids ages 5-11.
In an introductory video to parents on the website, after noting how many hours kids spend in front of the TV -- especially the Disney Channel and Nickelodeon -- Vischer says, "Is it any wonder that our kids are growing up knowing more about Hannah Montana than about the Apostle Paul? Or that they're more emotionally engaged in the outcome of American Idol than in the Gospel of Jesus Christ or the work of the church around the world?
"JellyTelly is a way to bring the Bible to life for kids on a daily basis, to show them the work of the church around the world and the role they can play in it, to teach their faith and what it looks like to live it."
If anyone can get through to children through the means of visual media and new technologies, it's Phil Vischer. May God bless this latest endeavor.
Who are the greatest active directors?
One major surprise: Woody Allen is nowhere to be found. Yes, the man has had some clunkers, but he's probably still made more truly great films than most of the people on this list-- certainly more than Apatow, who probably wouldn't have a career if not for Allen's trailblazing work, and certainly more than Zack Snyder, whose biggest claim to fame, 300, is little more than a technically impressive but soulless exercise in violence pornography.
Someone whose absence is not surprising, but who I would have liked to see on the list anyway: Wes Anderson, who, apart from Tim Burton, just might be cinema's greatest stylist-- and, with at least some of his movies, a tremendous storyteller.
Are there any other directors who you think should have made the cut? Any who made the cut and perhaps shouldn't have?
Did We Miss the Religion of 'The Wrestler'?
S. Brent Plate of 'Religion Dispatches' apparently thinks so
"How did reviewers from the New York Times to Christianity Today miss the obvious religious references in this Oscar-nominated hit? Did they blink and reach for popcorn at the images of a tattooed Jesus Christ on Randy's back, or was it more about the myth of modern individualism and body-soul dualism?"
But Plate's not done yet. He's just getting started.
Continue reading "Did We Miss the Religion of 'The Wrestler'?" »
Where's Joaquin?
Apparently not in Phoenix, anyway
When Joaquin Phoenix said he was done with acting, he apparently meant it. His interview with David Letterman seems to indicate he has certainly checked out.
Letterman's best line: "What can you tell us about your days with the Unabomber?"
The audience has some yuks at Phoenix's expense, but it's also kind of sad to see what was once such a bright flame among Hollywood's finest actors flickering out to, well, whatever this is:
Jacked Up
Hugh Jackman is looking dapper for the Oscars
ABC TV released publicity shots of Academy Awards host Hugh Jackman today.
The Aussie, best-known for his role as Wolverine in the X-Men movies, will be hosting the Oscars for the first time. Few people have nailed the role, bringing just the right mix of charisma and humor to the gig. Here's hoping Jackman finds some of that magic when the telecast airs on Sunday, Feb. 22.
We're betting that sometime during the show that we'll see a teaser for X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
No 'Doubt' About This Talent
Two Oscar nominees in a stunning scene
It doesn't take long to see why Meryl Streep and Viola Davis were both nominated for Oscars in this clip from Doubt at the NY Times site.
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