From: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com (aml-list-digest) To: aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: aml-list-digest V1 #295 Reply-To: aml-list Sender: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk aml-list-digest Friday, April 6 2001 Volume 01 : Number 295 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 04 Apr 2001 20:42:25 +0000 From: Jeff Needle Subject: [AML] Interesting Book Exchange Site Check this out, it looks like a great idea: Folks exchange their old paperback books over the Internet, at minimal cost. http://www.thebookcart.com/ - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 4 Apr 2001 21:47:37 -0700 From: harlowclark@juno.com Subject: Re: [AML] Doug and Donlu Thayer On Thu, 15 Mar 2001 before the hie (to Kolob) ate us, Lynnie Mar Prattleson wrote: > Did this person put his or her name on the letter? Marilyn Brown > > [MOD: My oops. This was a post from Harlow Clark that for formatting reasons > had to undergo some contortions before I could send it out over the List. In > the process, I apparently lost Harlow's name--though if anyone's style is > distinctive enough to tell even without a name it's probably his...] > > ----- Original Message ----- > > My father read pomes (Love Seamus Seoyce's words, and pennyeach is about > > what my father's earned on his pomes) at BYZ about a week before AML and > > afterward Susan Howe, Bruce Jorgensen, Doug Thayer, and the grad student > > [snip the rest] I promised in the post Lynnie Mar was quoting to go back into semi-Lurchdom, but this gives me a perfect chance to share one more Jeff Acerson Story (definitely going into _The Last Dog etc_), and all the trouble Jonathan went to to get the last message posted deserves a good story. (One of the things I don't like about Juno 5.0 is that, apparently, if you put a URL into the message, Juno creates an HTML version and appends it when it sends the message out, which creates havoc for moderate Langfords everywhere. Another thing I don't like is the Juno Supercomputing project, which is going to download a screensaver and program onto my computer to use my unused capacity when my screensaver would otherwise be on--and they may eventually require all users of Juno's free services to leave their computers on all the time so the supercomputer project can forever send and receive. Anyone know of any similar services, i.e., that will compose without a web connection then send without requiring yo to go online? I bought--I think--a copy of Novell's internet gateway for GroupWeasel 5.0 at DI, to go with the GroupWeasel that comes with PerfectOffice 6.1. Maybe I'll have to install it, but I'll still have to have some kind of external (pop3 goes the Weasel?) account to send mail thru. Any shruggestions?) An item on the city council agenda one night a few months back was a fellow applying for a license to sell beer in his convenience store. He explained that you can't stay in business in a C-store if you don't sell beer. They approved it quickly--a matter of routine, then the C-store owner shakes hands with Acerson, says, "Thanks, Jeff," and leaves. Acerson says something to the council that sounds like "we were in a bishopric together. I thought of asking him how President _________ would feel, but decided I wouldn't," and gives a Jeff Acerson laugh. I asked him about it a few weeks later and he said, "We were in the same mission together in Italy. I did a lot of travelling around the mission." "Oh, you were an AP." "Yes." Anyway, this definitely goes in the book. It's a quintessentially Mormon story, because you can read it so many ways, an example of Mormon hypocrisy, or Mormon hospitality (Years ago, one family night we discussed that month's New Era What-would-you-do question about a guy whose coach was going to give or receive some kind of award in the kid's home. The award included a bottle of wine. Should he let his house be desecrated by wine. (The situations were worded so you had a pretty good idea what the editors thought you should do.) My parents talked about how JS had served wine in the Mansion House, and how the restaurant in the Joseph Smith Memorial Hotel served coffee as a sign of hospitality ("The Lord heard me say water," J. Golden is supposed to have said after the waitress had filled his coffee cup at a friend's insistence and walked halfway around the table where she couldn't hear him.) It can also be read as a story about Mormon pragmatism, or about caving into the pressures of the world, or as a story about Mormon power. I remember how shocked I was one summer up in Morgan (Ogden, down Weber canyon, is a suburb, as is the Browning rifle factory, official supplier to Olympians from Juan Antonio Samaranche on down) when I walked into one of the ward pillars' drugstore and saw wine and other liquor on the shelves. Later, my bishop in Provo was the manager of the state liquor store. I mentioned this one day to a woman I was working with in Seattle who had a Mormon aunt, and she said, a little bitterly, "Yeah. In Utah the Mormons run everything." Oh, and one more story about Doug Thayer. My dad and I were in the BYU library ("Heaven, I'm in heaven." Isn't that from that Theodore Roethke song, "I Gnu a Woman": "Of her choice virtues only gods should speak / or English poets who grew up on Greek. / I would have them sing in chorus, cheek to cheek.") one day just after he had published _Liberating Form_ and Curtis Taylor and Stan Zenk had given him copies of Donlu Thayer's _In the Mind's Eye_ and Margaret Young's _Salvador_ as examples of what else Aspen was publishing, and we ran into Doug. He was reading _Lonesome Dove_ and he told us it was about a cattle drive where things go wrong and just keep getting worse and worse. Dad told Doug he had enjoyed _In the Mind's Eye_ and said, "Donlu may just turn out to be . . ." "The better writer?" "No, the better seller." Doug said he didn't mind. Someone had to pay for the kids' missions and schooling. Ok, back to semi-lurchdom. Open up the stairway and I'll walk under. Harlow S. Clark ________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj. - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 5 Apr 2001 09:44:54 -0600 From: "Brown" Subject: Re: [AML] _Anne Frank_ Performance Scott, you gave it away! (Grin) Now I wonder if we will ever have the privilege of seeing Eric Samuelsen at one of our productions? (Grin twice) Marilyn - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 5 Apr 2001 09:29:51 -0600 From: "Brown" Subject: Re: [AML] Dissertations on Mormon Literature This is very interesting, Chris! Right up our alley. What does it cost to send for some of these? (Not to buy, but as library loans? Maybe electronically?) Marilyn [MOD: Typically, if you want to order a dissertation for temporary viewing, you can do so through interlibrary loan at a university. Dissertations are not distributed electronically, but are often available on microfiche--yuck.] - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 4 Apr 2001 23:15:08 -0600 From: "Eric D. Snider" Subject: [AML] Richard Dutcher, _BRIGHAM CITY_ This is my review of "Brigham City," to be published Friday in The Daily Herald. Congrats to the several people on this list who worked on and in the film (including Scott Bronson, whose scene was left on the cutting-room floor but still got his name in the credits). "BRIGHAM CITY" by Eric D. Snider Richard Dutcher's much-anticipated follow-up to "God's Army" is two things: a very bad murder mystery and a very good spiritual drama. "Brigham City" is set in the fictional Utah town of Brigham (not Brigham City, which is a real place), a small suburb with tree-lined streets where nearly everyone is Mormon and absolutely everyone knows everyone else. Wes Clayton (Richard Dutcher, also director, writer and producer) is the local sheriff, as well as one of the town's LDS bishops. Most folks just call him "bishop," though, suggesting the degree to which Brigham's ecclesiastical and secular societies intertwine. Wes is eager, at times bull-headedly so, to preserve Brigham's quaint, unsullied lifestyle. He's suspicious of the new construction going on, and won't even listen to news on the radio. The outside world is full of rapes and murders, he reasons. Brigham is nothing like that, and he plans to keep it that way. His deputy is Terry Woodruff (Matthew A. Brown, who co-starred with Dutcher in "God's Army"), an enthusiastic young guy who keeps telling Wes that he can't hold the world at bay forever. That point is driven home when the two find a car with California plates abandoned in a field. Its owner lies nearby, murdered. Wes insists it's an isolated incident -- and, since the victim was not from Brigham, the murderer was probably just passing through and is not anyone they know. Then a Brigham resident is found dead in the park, and FBI agent Meredith Cole (Tayva Patch), already investigating the first murder, gets more deeply involved. "Congratulations," she tells Wes grimly. "You've got yourself a serial killer." Assisting Wes and Terry is their secretary, Peg (Carrie Morgan), a wonderful character with dry wit and great charisma. (Carrie Morgan is a Utah actress, as are most others, but she has the same great screen presence as the best Hollywood big-shots.) Her fiance, the newly converted Ed (Jon Enos) helps out, too, as does Brigham's retired sheriff Stu (Wilford Brimley), who is itching to be a lawman again. A local photographer (Richard Clifford) develops the first crime-scene shots for Wes, keeping everything under wraps for as long as possible. A bunch of yokels having to face a problem they're so ill-equipped to deal with is a thrilling idea. Or are they ill-equipped? Their insulated existence, which leads to an "it can't happen here" mentality, also has its advantages: When a local girl is kidnapped, apparently by the same person behind the murders, Wes can easily mobilize every man in town into a regiment of two-man search parties. The fact that most are returned missionaries makes them all the more adept at going door-to-door (and already acquainted with having doors slammed in their faces by uncooperative townsfolk). The murder-mystery aspect of the film is largely unoriginal. Dutcher's skill as a writer and director lies more in characters and moral dilemmas than in whodunits, and the scene in which the killer is revealed is the worst-written moment in the movie. (When Wes points out that, in a deviation from the killer's apparent pattern, one of the victims' hair was not red, the killer replies: "It was by the time I got through with it." Cringe.) In terms of figuring out who the killer is, the distractions Dutcher gives us are second-rate. A good red herring, as it's called, makes us gasp and say, "THAT person did it?! Wow, what a great ending!" Then, when we find out we were wrong, we gasp again and say, "Wow! What an even BETTER ending!" The curveballs thrown in "Brigham City" are never convincing. And even if we do believe the person now being suspected is the murderer, the ensuing feeling is one of disappointment ("HE'S the killer? How lame"), not excitement. But certain aspects of the mystery are well-done, particularly as they relate to the film's stronger theme, summed up by a Sunday School teacher: "Do we have to lose our innocence to gain wisdom?" When a small town is thrust into reality like this, whose fault is it? Could it have been prevented? SHOULD it have been prevented? Characters' reactions to the various tragedies that befall Brigham over the course of the movie are both surprising and refreshing: In most movies, people get killed all the time with little emotional fanfare. The fact that a death elicits such concern here is, of course, exactly the point. This is a town -- and a movie -- where murders actually mean something. Dutcher does fantastic work as the beleaguered Wes. (You'd look beleaguered, too, if you had to write, direct and star in the same movie.) He wisely ends the movie not with solving the murders, but with an emotionally powerful scene set in a sacrament meeting. It brings the film back around to its REAL point, with a spiritually profound resolution that features an achingly poignant performance from Dutcher. "Brigham City" has its flaws. I'd like to have seen more examples of the townspeople's growing mistrust of each other, for example, and a few of the smaller speaking parts are amateurishly acted. But when it is good, it is very good. It depicts the people of Brigham as religious but not fanatical, and it's never preachy or heavy-handed: Small-town culture is the focus, not LDS doctrine. The tone is bittersweet and often somber -- an about-face from the generally sunny "God's Army." But the result is more insightful, more impacting and more emotionally charged than "God's Army," too. Richard Dutcher's winning streak is now at two, and counting. Grade: B (my apologies to Eric Samuelsen and other anti-gradists :-) ) - -- *************************************************** Eric D. Snider www.ericdsnider.com "Filling all your Eric D. Snider needs since 1974." - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 05 Apr 2001 10:59:57 -0600 From: "Eric R. Samuelsen" Subject: [AML] (On Stage) DUTCHER, _Brigham City_ (Movie) ON STAGE Brigham City Eric Samuelsen: I was tickled silly to have been invited to the big Hollywood premiere of = Brigham City up at Jordan Commons in SLC. Watching Barta Heiner and Bob = Nelson show up in limos was essentially priceless. And I just have to = drop a few lines and let y'all know about it. =20 Doggone good flick, is what I think. Brigham City is not actually set in Brigham City, it's set in a southern = Utah town of the same name, or actually, just called Brigham, which is = parts Mapleton, Springville and other Utah locales. This may a bit = confusing to those of us who know this Pretty, Great State pretty well, = but it works okay--most non-Mormons know Brigham Young if they know any = Mormon type names. Dutcher plays Wes, a guy who is both Sheriff and = Bishop in the small town of Brigham. (Sheriff of Kirtland County--a = lovely touch). What's interesting about this film is the fact that Wes = wears both hats, Sheriff and Bishop, and that he can't always separate = them. A woman in his ward needs to confess her sins, and so she goes to = the sheriff's office; he asks her to come back when he's bishoping, and = she says it can't wait, and so, with a sigh, he puts away his gun and = hears her confession. Benign stuff, but it becomes the central issue of = the film; because he's bishop, he knows things that impact his role as = sheriff. He suspects a guy in his ward, we're led to believe, because of = stuff that guy told him in confession. (That issue isn't explored much, = but it's part of the fabric of the film, and I really liked it and wish = there'd been more of that kind of dilemma.) And because he's a fundamental= ly decent man, actually THE FACT that he's a fundamentally decent man, = impacts his role as sheriff in some pretty negative ways. He's a = small-town guy, in a peaceful and decent town, and he just doesn't cope = well when it becomes clear that there's a serial killer in his town. This is what I liked best about the film, it's exploration of Mormon = insularity as both a strength and a weakness. Wes's Sheriff (who = townspeople tend to call, interchangeably, Sheriff and Bishop, usually = inappropriately), immediately is sure that the serial killer couldn't be a = member of his community. The first victim is in a car with California = plates; it's just a coincidence that she's killed in his town, and he = can't wash his hands of it fast enough--he just hands the case to the FBI = and tries to forget it happened; even covers it up. Okay, another death = shocks and galvanizes him; he's devastated to learn that there's a serial = killer in town. What to do? He then immediately suspects a group of = migrant construction workers. They're outsiders, and so must be guilty. = Next in line are inactives--he stakes out the one bar in town, because = obviously his serial killer would frequent a bar. He goes around = questioning people and basically asking "do you know anyone who could do = such a thing." The only answer to that is, of course, no, and Wes is = satisfied--he doesn't either. And, without giving away the ending, let me = also say that a major plot twist involves the fact, because he's a bishop, = because he's a naive and trusting man, he neglects the most routine and = obvious piece of police procedure.=20 At the same time that he's screwing up the investigation, the FBI agent = assigned to the case, a non-Mormon from New York (superbly played by Tayva = Patch), becomes more and more impressed with him as a human being and as = a bishop. And so we see the other side of it. He's insular, naive and = prejudiced, but he's also deeply compassionate, and spiritually inclined. = He gets a break in the case, or at least a clue about how to solve it, = through prayer, for example, (in that Dutcher favorite, the kitchen sink = epiphany scene.) =20 It's in that context that the ordinance scenes are so important. There's = already been some controversy about this film, because Dutcher shows a = baptism and he also shows the sacrament ordinance. (The Daily Universe = helpfully ran a story recently quoting folks who hadn't seen the film = saying how awful it was--that's such a valuable service for a student = newspaper to offer. Let me voice my opinion right now that the 2002 Salt = Lake Winter Olympic were a complete disaster, and the 2004 Presidential = race a sham and a fraud.) Ahem. Aside aside, let me say that the = ordinance scenes are terrific, essential and the best thing about the = film. And the reason they're so essential is simply this: Mormons believe = that ordinances actually work. You can't explore Mormonism without = understanding that. The film ends with the passing of the sacrament, and = that's the right way, the best possible way, for it to have end. I won't = say more, except just to add how nice it is to have a Mormon artist who = understands and whose work reflects the fact that we take ordinances = seriously. \ As a murder mystery, it's pretty good too. You suspect four different = townspeople of being the baddie, and there are some dandy red herrings, = while the clues to who it really is are all there--when the killer is = revealed, you bop yourself on the head and say 'I shoulda seen it,' and = there were enough clues for you to have gotten it. The great thing where = a woman gets in a car and you see her framed in the right half of the = frame and you just know there's someone in the back seat and then it turns = out THERE IS! He's got that in this film. You know that other cliche, where a woman has = a flat tire and she's all alone and a creepy guy comes and asks if he can = help her and she can't really not say yes, but she's scared, and you see = her fingers close around the gun in her handbag? That's in here too. = Cliches, sure, but used effectively and with a little twist. It's a = pretty good movie mystery film, quite apart from what it says about our = culture.=20 Other great things about the film. It's shot entirely in Utah, and cast = almost exclusively with LDS actors (the two major exceptions being Matt = Brown, who was the greenie in God's Army and who is the Sheriff's deputy = in this, and gruff old Wilford Brimley, who's the other deputy.) The = acting is, frankly, superb. Dutcher is very good, as always, but the best = thing about the film are all the wonderful townspeople faces. Barta = Heiner is in the film and she's great. Richard Clifford has a small but = central part and he's magnificent. Carrie Morgan is great, Jon Enos is = great, Chris Clark and Chris Kendrick are both great. I know these = people; they're all friends of mine, and it's hard for me to be objective, = but really, the acting is superb. =20 It opens tomorrow in 100plus screens nationwide. Go see it. It's darn = good, better at most levels than God's Army, which I also loved. I even = missed West Wing to see Brigham City, and that's a sacrifice I don't make = every day (though, of course, I did record West Wing, and watched it = afterwards. That is, after all, why the Lord invented the VCR.) Eric Samuelsen - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 05 Apr 2001 13:43:06 -0600 From: Jacob Proffitt Subject: Re: [AML] Satire On Wed, 4 Apr 2001 22:17:06 -0700, harlowclark@juno.com wrote: >> We want to protect our dignity, but >> in a weird deflected way--not because we don't want to admit our=20 >> flaws, but because we don't want our flaws to affect our message. =20 > >An odd kind of pride, assuming that we are so powerful that we could = stop >someone from joining the church. Didn't someone write a letter from jail >about the folly of thinking you were strong enough to reach out your = arm >and stop the flow of the MO, Curly, Larry and Shemp River? (BTW, >marvelous scene in Dean Hughes' _As Wide as the River_ where Joseph = Smith >asks this boy to throw a rock across the river and he can't, then Joseph >tries and says, "You see, I can't do it either." He's showing the boy >that he's human like anyone else.) > >> We don't want our flaws compounded into sin because >> they were used by somebody to not accept the gospel. > >But of course, if someone uses my behavior as an excuse not to accept = the >gospel that's their responsibility. It's perfectly proper to ask = someone, >"Do you always keep your bow strung?" We are not responsible for other >people's behavior. I agree with this, both on the pride and the sin basis. It *is* = accepting too much responsibility for the actions of others. But the underlying = truth is that a) you bear *some* responsibility not to offend--how much is = tricky to work out and certainly, not all offense is bad (anyone who stands up against tyranny is going to offend the tyrants) b) we are told time and again by our leaders that we need to invite all to join the church and do everything in our power to help them see the truth. It's a lot of = pressure and it takes a good deal of effort to remember that we *aren't* the = gospel message, we're just the messengers. It is tough to accept = responsibilities to act and let go of responsibilities for the result. It isn't natural, = so we have to build up to that level. And while we're building, we tend to = be careful of things like satire... Jacob Proffitt - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 05 Apr 2001 13:32:01 -0600 (MDT) From: Ivan Angus Wolfe Subject: [AML] LTUE History Project Okay and forgive the spelling errors. Okay _ ihave yet to secure funding for this, but I'm sure I will, but I will get some college credit for it. As LTUE (Life, the Universe and Everything - BYU's annual science fiction symposium) Is approaching its 20th year (and then some since there were some "negatively numbered" precursor years), and as I have already been gathering some of the history for an english 667 class project, I decided It is time to have a near-complete history. If all goes well, this will mean a book - a full-sized book - for the 2002 symposium to be sold at a negligible cost (as long as the funding comes through to pay for the inital printing). What I need are names and materials - who I need to interview - who has materials (notes, old program books, whatever). If all you have are memories then I will either interview you or ask you to type up recollections that may be included (with due acknowledgement, of course). I'm using Lee Allred and Barbara Hume's brief histories to help guide me on my journey, but I'm sure there is a lot those brief histories had to nessecarily omit. Even if you're not involved enough in LTUE to help with the facts of history, I could use general help in suggestions on hos to format and present the history. I'm doing this for two reasons - one - it will provide a legitimacy to LTUE - it has been remarked no academic discipline has legitimacy until it's history has been published nad two - because there is no central database for LTUE history and I don't want to lose it. thanks in advance. Please email me at iaw2@email.byu.edu - I will be working on this over the next year, but the sooner the better (and the rmore liklely it will get included). - --Ivan Wolfe - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 5 Apr 2001 13:22:06 -0600 From: "Scott Tarbet" Subject: RE: [AML] Interesting Book Exchange Site I'm really leery about any site that asks me for my credit card information just to sign up with the site. > -----Original Message----- > Check this out, it looks like a great idea: Folks exchange their old > paperback books over the Internet, at minimal cost. > > http://www.thebookcart.com/ - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 05 Apr 2001 13:51:51 -0600 From: Jacob Proffitt Subject: Re: [AML] Doug and Donlu Thayer On Wed, 4 Apr 2001 21:47:37 -0700, harlowclark@juno.com wrote: >I bought--I think--a copy of Novell's internet gateway for GroupWeasel >5.0 at DI, to go with the GroupWeasel that comes with PerfectOffice 6.1. >Maybe I'll have to install it, but I'll still have to have some kind of >external (pop3 goes the Weasel?) account to send mail thru. Any >shruggestions?) www.mailbank.com. For $10 a YEAR, you get a POP3 mailbox accessible from anywhere on the internet. They have registered a bunch of surnames to = offer mailboxes for. They have, for example, harlow@clark.org available or harlow@ClarkEmail.com if you'd prefer a .com. I've been with these guys = for years which is how I have the stylish Jacob@Proffitt.com :) Jacob Proffitt - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 5 Apr 2001 11:02:01 -0600 From: "Sharlee Glenn" Subject: Re: [AML] Doug and Donlu Thayer Harlow Clark wrote: > Dad told Doug he had enjoyed _In the Mind's Eye_ and said, "Donlu may > just turn out to be . . ." "The better writer?" "No, the better seller." > Doug said he didn't mind. Someone had to pay for the kids' missions and > schooling. _In the Mind's Eye_? Was this the murder mystery Donlu wrote? If so, I read it several years ago and thought it was quite good. Better as a character study than as a murder mystery though. Wasn't it going to be the first in a series? Sharlee Glenn glennsj@inet-1.com - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 05 Apr 2001 14:03:07 -0600 From: Mike South Subject: Re: [AML] (On Stage) DUTCHER, _Brigham City_ (Movie) Eric R. Samuelsen wrote > Brigham City is not actually set in Brigham City, it's set in a southern Utah > town of the same name, or actually, just called Brigham, which is parts > Mapleton, Springville and other Utah locales. This may a bit confusing to > those of us who know this Pretty, Great State pretty well, but it works > okay--most non-Mormons know Brigham Young if they know any Mormon type names. I wonder if this means that Dutcher is widening the scope of his intended audience. I recall several statements to the effect that God's Army was intended for a Mormon audience. If anyone else came to see it, great, but that's not who the film was really trying to reach. Does he see this film as a tool to bridge the Mormon/Non-Mormon gap? On the other hand, this film will have a much wider release, so maybe it's just that the title sounds very Utah-esqe. Perhaps it's simply a nod to the fact that the film will be playing to a lot of non-Utahns, whether they're LDS or not. - --Mike South - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 5 Apr 2001 14:29:27 -0600 From: "Scott Tarbet" Subject: RE: [AML] _Anne Frank_ Performance > Scott, you gave it away! (Grin) Now I wonder if we will ever have the > privilege of seeing Eric Samuelsen at one of our productions? (Grin twice) > Marilyn LOL! The man even pays to see us perform his own work! - -- Scott Tarbet - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 05 Apr 2001 22:47:14 From: "Eric D. Snider" Subject: Re: [AML] (On Stage) DUTCHER, _Brigham City_ (Movie) Mike South: > >I wonder if this means that Dutcher is widening the scope of his intended >audience. I recall several statements to the effect that God's Army was >intended for a Mormon audience. If anyone else came to see it, great, but >that's not who the film was really trying to reach. Does he see this film >as >a tool to bridge the Mormon/Non-Mormon gap? > Dutcher told me that as with "God's Army," he made "Brigham City" with Mormons in mind. He acknowledged, however, that this film is much more accessible to non-Mormons than "GA" was -- which he considers fortunate, since the PG-13 rating will no doubt turn off some of its target audience. He said hopefully the increase of non-Mormons seeing it will make up for the Mormons who refuse to. In a separate post, I'll send Dutcher's comments on the PG-13 rating. They are very wise and thought-provoking and probably of interest to many here. Eric D. Snider _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 05 Apr 2001 22:51:05 From: "Eric D. Snider" Subject: [AML] Richard Dutcher on PG-13 Rating This is from an article published in Friday's Daily Herald, from an interview I conducted with Dutcher about "Brigham City." DAILY HERALD: You know that some members of your target audience will not see the film because of its rating. DUTCHER: I’m a little surprised by that. To me, PG-13 is good, right? I’d like to see us as a people and as an audience become less concerned about ratings and more about story and character. ... We’re going to have to get past things like whether it’s PG or PG-13 or G or whatever, tell our stories, and let the MPAA rate them. So I’m just a little surprised. I was surprised with “God’s Army,” too. I had people concerned (because) it was rated PG! That just baffled me. ... Now we’re getting even more of that, people who for themselves have made these rules that they don’t see PG-13 movies, and that seem to want to impose that on the rest of us. That’s fine if that’s what they want (for themselves). I’d like to see a whole lot less attention on the rating, and more on what the story’s about. DAILY HERALD: Perhaps some people who wouldn’t be bothered by the rating are bothered by what they consider to be inappropriate subject matter. DUTCHER: It shouldn’t bother people. You could say the same for any scriptural story. Obviously God wants us to know these stories about wars and murders, and the story of David (and his adultery with Bathsheba), it goes on and on. It seems odd to me that as Latter-day Saints, we have that double standard, that if the story is packaged in gilded pages with a leather cover, it’s (automatically) acceptable. DAILY HERALD: Would you ever make an R-rated movie? DUTCHER: That’s the thing: You don’t make ANY rated film. You make a film, and then this group of 12 people in Encino, Calif., give it a rating. I could easily see how I could make a film that I think is totally appropriate and important and powerful, and I could see how they could come back and give it an R rating. ... There should be LDS-themed films that aren’t for kids, or that aren’t for the whole family. Everything we make doesn’t have to be for the 4-year-olds all the way to Great-Grandpa Jensen to sit down and watch with us. ... People have made these sweepings statements that we have adopted as truth: “Well, if it’s not appropriate for an 8-year-old, it’s not appropriate for anyone.” And that may sound good, but it’s ridiculous when you think about it. We have a ways to go as an audience. DAILY HERALD: Do you feel like part of your job is to help people get to that point, to challenge Mormon audiences while still maintaining their moral standards? DUTCHER: That’s kind of a by-product. I’m just telling the stories I want to see. ... I really do feel that we as a people hold our storytellers to a higher standard than God holds his storytellers, who are the prophets. The scriptures ... tell every story imaginable. Sexual deviants and murders and everything else. But it’s all told from a moral point of view, and with a purpose behind the storytelling. You’re not just telling salacious stories to make five bucks down at the bookstore. But it’s crept into our culture that we see storytelling and filmmaking that they need to be Lassie and Benji, or whatever. We should be telling the most powerful stories, and you can’t always do that with a G rating. (Me again now.) I love what he says here, especially the last comment. If you visit the "Brigham City" Web site (www.brighamcitymovie.com) and check out the message board, you'll see people who haven't even seen the film terribly upset that it got a PG-13 rating -- as if that's automatically a wicked thing, to be rated PG-13. Eric D. Snider _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 5 Apr 2001 21:00:04 -0500 From: Larry Jackson Subject: [AML] MN New York's Mormon Artist Group Plans Benefit for Handcart Ensemble: Mormon Artist Group Press Release From: Glen Nelson To: Mormon News Date: Wed, 4 Apr 2001 23:30:00 -0500 Subject: MN New York's Mormon Artist Group Plans Benefit for Handcart Ensemble: Mormon Artist Group Press Release 4Apr01 A2 [From Mormon-News] New York's Mormon Artist Group Plans Benefit for Handcart Ensemble NEW YORK, NEW YORK -- Mormon Artists Group, a cooperative of fifty creative artists from a wide range of disciplines who live in New York City will host a gala benefit on behalf of Handcart Ensemble, Saturday May 5 in New York City. Handcart Ensemble is an LDS theater company now in it's third year producing works Off-Broadway. The event will feature an evening of "Sneak Peeks," that is, first performances of new works-in-progress, by LDS Artists, and a benefit sale of visual artworks. The new works include a concert song cycle by David Fletcher and Glen Nelson, "Joseph Smith's Letters from Prison’" to be performed by Darrell Babidge and David Skouson, and "Goblin Market", an adaptation of the Christina Rossetti poem performed by Handcart Ensemble. Three new works will be presented in excerpts: "Hold the Door," a feature film by Mark E. Johnson; "A Very Good Impression," a new play by Eric Samuelsen, performed by Veronique Enos and Ian Gonzalez; and "The Singer's Romance," an opera by Murray Boren and Glen Nelson, performed by Jennifer Welch-Babidge, Sarah Asplund, Adam Russell, Darrell Babidge & David Skouson. Tickets are $25 and can be reserved by calling 212.726.8054 >From Mormon-News: Mormon News and Events Forwarding is permitted as long as this footer is included Mormon News items may not be posted to the World Wide Web sites without permission. Please link to our pages instead. For more information see http://www.MormonsToday.com/ Send join and remove commands to: majordomo@MormonsToday.com Put appropriate commands in body of the message: To join: subscribe mormon-news To leave: unsubscribe mormon-news To join digest: subscribe mormon-news-digest - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 5 Apr 2001 21:28:25 -0500 From: Larry Jackson Subject: [AML] _Brigham City_ Marketing Message Propaganda Alert! I'm sending this along just for fun because Eric Snider was quoted. Looks like an "A" to me (graded on a curve, of course). :-> Larry Jackson _____ Begin Propaganda ///// Message _____ From: "Zion Films" Date: Thu, 5 Apr 2001 19:57:51 -0600 Subject: Do or die weekend for BRIGHAM CITY! This is it! As you all know, tomorrow is the nationwide opening of BRIGHAM CITY, and hopefully you're as excited about it as we are! It is imperative that you make plans now to see BRIGHAM CITY this weekend, and to make sure that everyone you know does the same! Movie theaters decide whether or not to keep a movie for the next week depending on the previous weekend's attendance. If you decide to wait a week to go see it, you just might miss it. So by gathering everyone you know and heading to your local theater, you help ensure that BRIGHAM CITY is here to stay. Yesterday's world premiere of BRIGHAM CITY was a huge success. A lot of money was raised for the Utah Foster Care Foundation, and the 1000+ in attendance had a wonderful time. Initial reviews for Brigham City have been outstanding. Here are a few of them: "Four Stars. . . the reinvention of a genre" - - Wade Major, Box Office Magazine "What every Hollywood movie wants to be - GREAT! . . .go see this film, you won't regret it." - - David Ramsey, KMLE-FM, Phoenix AZ "Spiritually profound. . .insightful" - - Eric Snider, Daily Herald Stop by the website for more reviews, and remember to check our Theater Page to doublecheck where BRIGHAM CITY opens tomorrow! Thanks for all of your support, and we'll see you this weekend, at the movies! _________________________________ >From the director of GOD'S ARMY BRIGHAM CITY http://www.brighamcitythemovie.com/index2.html _____ End Propaganda ///// Message _____ ________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj. - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ End of aml-list-digest V1 #295 ******************************