Religion News Blog » Films

Paul Haggis on his exit from the Scientology cult

Religion News Blog — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 11:54:55 +0000

Oscar-Winning director Paul Haggis has a new movie out, The Next Three Days. Metro asked him about his exit from the Scientology cult: It’s tempting to read the jailbreak plot of The Next Three Days as a metaphor for Haggis’s escape from Scientology. Is it the sinister cult we all think it is? ‘How would you define sinister?’ he hedges. ‘The philosophy seems fine to me but there was a lot of stuff that I found increasingly disturbing. ‘The thing is you get inside and you really have this feeling of being in a cocoon and that you’re part of a minority group and that everyone else is out to get you. ‘There’s a lot of bigotry and intolerance in this world and I saw the organisation – with all its warts, growing pains and problems – as an underdog. And I have always had a thing for underdogs. I’ve always loved the idea of being part of a group that everyone reviled.’

Hollywood for Christ (and money)

Religion News Blog — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 13:12:25 +0000

Amid big budget flops and crashing DVD sales, studio executives are turning to what they call "faith-based audiences," more specifically America's vast church-going community.

In the case of Secretariat, a $35 million (£22 million) Disney production which opened across the US this weekend, trailers featuring the quote from Job were distributed to religious websites, previews were held for Christian groups and the film's subtext of faith emphasised.

More mainstream films embracing Christian themes, like forgiveness and redemption, are in the works. They include next year's Soul Surfer, starring Dennis Quaid and Helen Hunt. It tells the story of American surfer Bethany Hamilton, who lost an arm in a shark attack but eventually returned to her sport.

Hollywood's pursuit of Christian audiences is nothing if not thorough. There are websites for pastors to download trailers and film clips for use in sermons, along with suggested Biblical quotations to link them to. Screenings are held for religious leaders months before official release dates, and promotional materials are produced for Bible study groups.

"The silver screen is the pulpit of today," pastor Phil Hotsenpiller told The Sunday Telegraph. "People get their values, their depiction of God, from the silver screen. It doesn't mean it's the best pulpit, but you have got a ton of people listening."

Twilight’s Mormon roots

Religion News Blog — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 13:23:58 +0000

'Twilight' weaves Mormon ideas into supernatural love saga. Uhuh. Here are some research resources that point them out -- along with some information about Mormonism itself.

Rewriting the script

Religion News Blog — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 21:22:18 +0000

Why do blockbusters have to distort the history of Christianity? Why not bring its heroes to Hollywood?

Gerard Butler to don the role of “Machine Gun Preacher”

Religion News Blog — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 21:35:58 +0000

Hollywood action superstar Gerard Butler will soon be playing the role of real-life AK-47-toting Pastor Sam Childers in 2012’s “Machine Gun Preacher,” according to the Internet Movie Database. A former bike gang member and drug dealer, Childers underwent a massive spiritual transformation in 1992, during a revival at an Assembly of God church . Six years later he visited the Sudan where the Ugandan sectarian militant group known as the Lord’s Resistance Army, led by Joseph Koney, had abducted and tortured an estimated 30,000 children and displaced 1.6 million people since the start of the rebellion in 1986. For the past 12 years, the so-called “unconventional American pastor” has lived and operated in Southern Sudan and Northern Uganda. His Angels of East Africa children’s village has become a safe haven for rescued children.

The Love Boat Captain is Back on Course

Religion News Blog — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 07:43:26 +0000

The world knew Gavin MacLeod as Captain Merrill Stubing in The Love Boat TV series, but he has revealed that his personal life was far from joyful – in fact it was all at sea.

But then he found Jesus Christ as his Savior fell back in love with Patti, his former wife and, after three years of divorce, he re-married her.

Religious overtones subtle in Golden Compass

Religion News Blog — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 09:53:24 +0000

Is "The Golden Compass" movie anti-religious or anti-Christian? Unless you have read the book or already know about the controversy, probably not so that you would notice.

Jesus Christ gets an evil twin in fantasy film

Religion News Blog — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 13:35:56 +0000

The story traces the journey of two German archaeologists looking for evidence that Jesus visited India.

Why didn’t more flock to Nativity film?

Religion News Blog — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 17:27:45 +0000

In the movie business, the first weekend is a crucial gauge in determining whether a movie lives or dies. The soft $8 million opening for "The Nativity Story" wounded its chances of becoming a holiday hit and could dampen Hollywood's enthusiasm for big-budget faith-based movies.

A closer-than-ever look at Jesus’ birth in “Nativity Story”

Religion News Blog — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 03:11:24 +0000

The Nativity Story is a movie that tells the account of Jesus' birth in Bethlehem in a way that is surprisingly close (for a mainstream Hollywood movie, anyway) to the brief accounts in the New Testament gospels of Matthew and Luke.