From: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com (aml-list-digest) To: aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: aml-list-digest V1 #303 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 Wednesday, April 18 2001 Volume 01 : Number 303 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2001 00:38:00 -0700 From: Ronn Blankenship Subject: Re: [AML] Richard DUTCHER, _Brigham City_ (REVIEW) At 04:48 PM 4/13/01 -0600, you wrote: > >I don't know if Ronn remembers this, but back when >he and I and Scott Bronson enjoyed contract employment at the MTC, writing and >directing training videos, I found myself in the food line with the >missionaries. Immediately before us employee types were two sister >missionaries >and in front of them a string of Elder who were doing something rather >infantile >(can't recall what it was, after all these years). One of the sister >missionaries turned to the other and said, "And we have to call them 'Elder.'" > >Thom Only vaguely. FWIW, there were several humorous moments that took place in the cafeteria, so that particular one doesn't stand out . . . - -- Ronn! :) - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2001 23:23:10 -0500 From: Linda Adams Subject: Re: [AML] Richard DUTCHER, _Brigham City_ (REVIEW) > > I can't resist chiming in here because my sister is dorm mother at Ricks > > College and gets to dormsit more than 200 19-year-old boys, and the stories > > she tells makes this seem extremely believable--and even tame. Many of the > > stories she won't even provide details for, they're so disgusting. > (Most, of > > course, are closely tied to bodily functions.) > >A missionary prank I didn't mention in my last post about this subject >was when I snuck into the bathroom while my district leader was taking a >shower. I pull back the curtain, he turns around, and I get a great >shot of his hiney. > >At the time, we all thought it was hilarious. >Thom Duncan Now, I've asked my husband about this (he's a big fan of _God's Army,_ especially after serving his mission in San Diego). He also says it's quite accurate. I said, so where's the famous picture of YOU on the toilet? He said, easy, he always locked the door. How come so MANY Elders out there don't know how to use such a simple protective device? I think y'all _wanted_ your pictures taken, that's what I think. (I guess Missouri must still be a Southern state. I've been relegated to using "y'all" and "big ol'" in the 8 years I've been here...) Linda Adams Linda Adams adamszoo@sprintmail.com http://home.sprintmail.com/~adamszoo - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2001 09:22:32 -0600 From: "Brown" Subject: Re: [AML] BECK, _Expecting Adam_ (Review) This would be a fascinating direction to take our questions! Please do fill us in! Marilyn Brown - ----- Original Message ----- > Since my wife grew up in the same house as Martha (she was so close in age > and emotion to Martha that they were like twins) I'd be happy to ask her to > share her take on Martha's book and what it was really like growing up in > Hugh Nibley's family, if anyone's interested. > > --Boyd Petersen - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2001 10:44:13 +0900 From: "Andrew Hall" Subject: [AML] Tim SLOVER, _Hancock County_ (Deseret News) Sunday, April 15, 2001 Company plans plays for debut By Ivan M. Lincoln Deseret News theater editor The New Renaissance Theatre Company, founded by Kathy Biesinger =97 associated for many years with the Actors' Repertory Theatre Company and its= =20 Castle Amphitheater productions in Provo =97 will make its debut with not= one,=20 but two dramas, both with local connections. The company will present five= =20 performances of Anton Chekhov's classic drama, "The Seagull," utilizing a new translation by Alex Gelman of the=20 University of Utah. Then, on Friday night only, April 20, at 8 p.m., the company will host the= =20 staged reading of Utah playwright Tim Slover's new drama, "Hancock County,"= =20 based on events surrounding the slaying of Joseph and Hyrum Smith in the=20 Carthage Jail. All performances will be in the Leona Wagner Black Box Theatre of the Rose Wagner Center for the Performing Arts,= =20 138 W. 300 South. Biesinger's cast includes Tammy Davis as Nina, Nathan=20 Mitchell as Treplev, and Equity player Jay E. Raphael as Trigorin. Others in= =20 the cast are Equity actors Tom Markus as Dorn and Susan Dolan as Madame=20 Arkadina, with Brigham Young University theater department chair Robert=20 Nelson as Sorin, Jay Perry as Medvedenko, Janice Power as Polina, Joe DeBevc= =20 as Shamreyev, Nikki Heffner as Masha and Daniel Beecher as Yakov.=20 Performances will be 8 p.m. on Thursday and Saturday, April 19 and 21, and= =20 at 6 p.m. on Sunday, April 22, with matinees at 4 p.m. on Friday, April 20,= =20 and at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 21. Tickets for evening performances are=20 $12.50 for adults and $10 for students and senior citizens. All tickets for= =20 matinees are $6 each. Tickets may be reserved in advance through all ArtTix= =20 outlets, including the Rose Wagner Center, Abravanel Hall, the Capitol=20 Theatre and Kingsbury Hall, or by calling 355-2787 or 888-451-2787. =95 LOCAL PLAYWRIGHT TIM SLOVER is excited about the scheduled eading of=20 "Hancock County," a new play commissioned by Utahn Don Oscarson through his= =20 "Discovery Grant" program. Slover said Oscarson's goal is to help produce=20 locally written works that can possibly move beyond the Wasatch Front at=20 some point. Oscarson had become interested in a University of Illinois Press= =20 book, "The Carthage Conspiracy," written about 25 years ago by Dallin Oaks= =20 and Marvin Hill. It chronicles the trial of the alleged murderers of Joseph= =20 and Hyrum Smith, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints prophet and= =20 his brother, at Carthage Jail. "I read the book, of course, and thought=20 there might be a story in it worth telling, so then I got hold of the court= =20 transcript for the 1845 trial. The more I read, the more I realized there=20 was a story I could tell," said Slover. Kathy Biesinger is directing the=20 seven-member cast of readers. They are Joyce Cohen, Marvin Payne, Tim=20 Threlfall, Kim Abunawara, Eric Samuelson, Robert Nelson and Todd Parmley. Previously, said Slover, "I have shied away from Mormon history, probably=20 because I'm too close to it, but I have attempted to write a play that is=20 both educational and entertaining, and I have tried to give full weight and= =20 value to both the Mormon and non-Mormon views in Illinois during that=20 period." Slover noted that, during his research for the project, he=20 discovered a song written by Joseph Smith's son, David, called "The Unknown= =20 Grave." "It's a beautiful folk song about his father's burial and was in=20 the early LDS hymnbooks, but it's not really a hymn, so it's no longer found= =20 in the hymnbooks of today," he said. It's one of two songs that figure=20 prominently in the play. There will be an open discussion following the reading. The reading is free= =20 of charge, but donations will be accepted. [Andrew Hall] _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2001 09:27:24 -0600 From: "Brown" Subject: Re: [AML] WOOLLEY, _Pillar of Fire_ (BYU Universe) Good comment, Thom. Cedar Fort did a huge volume on Lehi's something or other (sorry I can't remember). And there have been MANY others. I even started one once and lost it. (So of course it never reached the shelf.) I was under the impression we weren't supposed to do this kind of "fictionalizing" about the scriptures. Someone important told me so. But then that was about twenty-five years ago. How times change. I loved reading the Publisher's Weekly article, though. It was so encouraging. Maybe we still have a chance. Anybody read DEATH OF VISHNU? I can see something similar about Mormon spiritual experiences. Marilyn Brown - ----- Original Message ----- > Andrew Hall forwarded: > > > > First Book of Mormon fictional history hits the shelves > > By Melissa Burbidge > > NewsNet Staff Writer > > > > The first? I don't think so. > > -- > Thom Duncan - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2001 10:41:26 -0700 From: "Frank Maxwell" Subject: Re: [AML] Mormon Book Marketing William wrote: > I know that Deseret Book has been expanding their chain of > outlets (the independent LDS bookstore near the Oakland Temple was bought by > them a couple of years ago)---obviously they're going to push their books in > the store they own, but do they also make room for non-Deseret Book > published titles (I mean if something sells, it sells, so I assume that the > bottom line means something to them)? Actually, the indy LDS bookstore in Oakland was not bought by Deseret Book. It was bought by Seagull. Seagull also bought the indy LDS bookstore near the Los Angeles temple a number of years ago. Does anyone known if Deseret Book has bought out pre-existing bookstores, the way that supermarkets sometimes take over their competitor's stores? Or does DB open its own stores in competition with other LDS booksellers, the way Barnes & Noble or Borders would open large stores in towns with previously profitably indy bookstores? Frank Maxwell Gilroy, California - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2001 20:20:02 -0500 From: Larry Jackson Subject: [AML] MN Legal Request for Anti-Mormon Reports at U of U Denied: Deseret News From: Rosemary Pollock To: Mormon News Date: Sun, 15 Apr 2001 23:30:00 -0500 Subject: MN Legal Request for Anti-Mormon Reports at U of U Denied: Deseret News 11Apr01 P2 [From Mormon-News] Legal Request for Anti-Mormon Reports at U of U Denied SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH -- Former University of Utah student, Christina Axson-Flynn, was denied a request for campus reports of bias against members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A federal judge ruled against Axson-Flynn who filed suit last year, alleging the professors violated her constitutional rights by not permitting her to omit two vulgar words from an in-class performance. The request stated, "please provide the names, addresses and phone numbers of any employees at the University of Utah who have investigated, studied or reported instances of anti-Mormon bias." Axson-Flynn, who is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, reports that she told department officials before being accepted into the acting program that she would not use vulgar words in order to comply with her religious beliefs. The University of Utah denies Axson-Flynn's allegations and claims the school "has no knowledge of any employees....who have investigated studies or prepared reports into incidences." The school added that they have "queried all administrative officers....in the preparation of this answer." James McConkie, attorney to Axson-Flynn, claims the administrative response was insufficient and suggested a mass e-mail be sent to all employees of the University or a letter to be placed in all employee paycheck envelopes to get the necessary information. The University of Utah's attorneys argue that they are immune from the rules of discovery, due to the burdensome and overbroad nature of the discovery. Source: Judge denies suit request for anti-LDS reports at U. Deseret News 11Apr01 P2 http://www.deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,270011780,00.html By Maria Titze: Deseret News staff writer >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 ________________________________________________________________ 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: Tue, 17 Apr 2001 13:04:39 -0600 From: Thom Duncan Subject: Re: [AML] WOOLLEY, _Pillar of Fire_ (BYU Universe) Brown wrote: > > Good comment, Thom. Cedar Fort did a huge volume on Lehi's something or > other (sorry I can't remember). And there have been MANY others. I even > started one once and lost it. (So of course it never reached the shelf.) I > was under the impression we weren't supposed to do this kind of > "fictionalizing" about the scriptures. Back in the Pleistocene, when I attended BYU, Truman Madsen wrote a novel that took place in BofM times. I remember reading one of those "Shocked and Appalled" letters accusing Brother Madsen of trying to rewrite scripture. Thankfully, those times are behind us. Thom (he says with a sarcastic smirk) Duncan - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2001 14:58:19 -0600 From: "Scott Tarbet" Subject: RE: [AML] Tim SLOVER, _Hancock County_ (Deseret News) Quoth the Tarbaby: Where can I get my hands on a copy? You staged readers? Please?? I'd come to the reading, but as EVERYONE knows I'll be on stage at the Little Brown that night. Come on down and see how we handle it.... - -- Scott - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2001 15:07:34 -0600 From: Jacob Proffitt Subject: Re: [AML] BECK, _Expecting Adam_ (Review) On Mon, 16 Apr 2001 14:19:58 -0600, Thom Duncan wrote: >Boyd Petersen wrote: >>=20 >> Since my wife grew up in the same house as Martha (she was so close in= age >> and emotion to Martha that they were like twins) I'd be happy to ask = her to >> share her take on Martha's book and what it was really like growing up= in >> Hugh Nibley's family, if anyone's interested. > >And on what basis may we assume that your wife's account wouldn't also >project her own reality on the truth? >My point being that perhaps neither Martha's nor your wife's account >could be considered entirely accurate on its own. My wife, for instance, >has a very different understanding of what it was like to grow up in the >Bromley household than does her sister, who proclaims to this day that >her parents were "perfect." =20 Based on the comments so far about Martha's book and how she gets it so wrong about Mormonism, I'd say that Martha's account would be more = suspect. The thing is that when you read anything, you evaluate how the = perceptions of the author match up to your own. If the author is removed from your = own perceptions of the way things are then you can be pretty certain you = won't agree with the rest of what they say. Maybe this is the true reason that Speculative Fiction is so much easier to experiment with philosophically--because there isn't so much that the readers can automatically contradict from their own experience. I'd love to hear the recollections of Boyd's wife. But only because Hugh Nibley is such a celebrity and someone I enjoy reading so much. I'd like= to hear *any* story about him told from the point of view of personal experience. And I have to admit that I'd value (and give a higher = "truth" probability to) a description by a faithful LDS member than by someone disaffected by Mormonism. That's because I think that the Gospel is = true... Jacob Proffitt - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2001 16:19:20 -0500 From: Linda Adams Subject: Re: [AML] Mormon Book Marketing Beehive Books in Seattle, near the temple, was a long-standing independent bookstore. My husband worked for them after his mission, so has a soft spot for them. They were eventually purchased by Deseret Book a few years back. I believe, though I could be mistaken, that buying an existing store is their method of choice, rather than opening a store in direct competition. Linda At 12:41 PM 4/17/01, you wrote: >Does anyone known if Deseret Book has bought out pre-existing bookstores, >the way that supermarkets sometimes take over their competitor's stores? >Or does DB open its own stores in competition with other LDS booksellers, >the way Barnes & Noble or Borders would open large stores in towns with >previously profitably indy bookstores? > >Frank Maxwell >Gilroy, California Linda Adams adamszoo@sprintmail.com http://home.sprintmail.com/~adamszoo - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2001 15:52:01 -0600 From: Gerald G Enos Subject: Re: [AML] BECK, _Expecting Adam_ (Review) I have to agree with Tom. My sister and I are twins (identical) and she sees our growing up years intirely different then I do. The truth would have to lie somewhere in between the two unless of course one side has more colaboration then the other. (I my case my other sister and my brother see our growing up years pretty much the same just my twin sees it differently.) Our there any other siblings to back up one side or the other? Konnie Enos ________________________________________________________________ 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: Wed, 18 Apr 2001 01:04:53 -0600 From: "D. Michael Martindale" Subject: Re: [AML] Richard DUTCHER, _Brigham City_ (REVIEW) Linda Adams wrote: > I said, so where's the famous picture of YOU on the toilet? He > said, easy, he always locked the door. > > How come so MANY Elders out there don't know how to use such a simple > protective device? I think y'all _wanted_ your pictures taken, that's what > I think. Hey, when you can't have any kind if interaction with the opposite sex, thanks to a two-year commitment to ultra-celibacy, you have to come up with inadequate and pathetic substitutes. P.S. I never got my picture taken. We in the Germany Frankfurt mission were much too mature for that. - -- D. Michael Martindale dmichael@wwno.com ================================== Check out Worldsmiths, the new online LDS writers group, at http://www.wwno.com/worldsmiths Sponsored by Worlds Without Number http://www.wwno.com ================================== - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2001 05:03:20 +0900 From: "Andrew Hall" Subject: [AML] DAVIS, _The Other Side of Heaven_ I was excited to hear about the new Groberg/Davis movie, so I did a little bit of web-searching about it. There is an official site, with short multi-media presentation, pictures, and info about the cast and crew: http://www.eyeofthestormthemovie.com/ The eclectic Adherants.com site has a lot of information about the movie, as well as links to other related sites: http://www.adherents.com/movies/OtherSideOfHeaven.html Another interesting site is Adherants.com's page about other upcoming movies by Mormon directors: http://www.adherents.com/movies/mov_lds_made.html Finally, an article from a Tongan web magazine about the making of the movie: http://www.itonga.net/features/movie.shtml Andrew Hall Pittsburgh, PA _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2001 15:15:29 -0600 From: Margaret Young Subject: re: [AML] Doug and Donlu Thayer]] NOTE: In response to the query by Sharlee Glenn, and Harlow Clark's response to that, I wrote this for Margaret and gave her permission to forward it to the list. --Donlu Thayer Thanks for forwarding this, Margaret. It's nice to know one has a fan. I've always regretted publishing In the Mind's Eye. I wrote it for fun, as a quick experiment in writing the kind of novel I might like to read (if I read novels, which I don't; I read biographies and religion and science books). I thought I might finish it one day, but I didn't really plan to publish it. About the time I was finishing the first draft, I ran into Curtis Taylor one evening at Marilyn's Brown's place. I had done some editing for him (his own writing) years before he started with Aspen. Marilyn had told him I was working on a novel, and he asked if he could look at it . . . for fun. I think he must have assumed it would be good and didn't really take a close look at it, because he immediately asked if he could print it. In fact, it went into print without my final corrections, which might have improved the plot slightly. Sharlee is absolutely right. It's a character study. Curtis always said that Minnetonka Howard was the most interesting character in Mormon fiction (this was quite a while ago, of course). I always thought he was crazy. I mean, Minnie interests me, but as a literary character, she's boring. (No plot.) I did promise Curtis a series, but I never got around to it. I wasn't terribly disappointed that Curtis & Co. got involved with (overwhelmed by) Embraced by the Light, which came out simultaneously with my book, because I didn't really want my book to sell. As my book was going to press, it didn't have a title. (I wanted to call it The Fall of Minnetonka Howard, but Curtis said no.) I was discussing this fact with my new convert-from-Connecticut neighbor Pat Pelissie, and during the discussion we came up with more than 200 potential titles (I kept count). I thought this was an interesting process. ( I had known from working with Marilyn Brown years before that my literary imagination could benefit from collaboration.) I finally came up with a title that I hoped would warn the reader to expect excessive interiority. Pat liked it and Curtis accepted it. A few days later, Pat's French filmmaker husband suggested that she and I collaborate on a book to accompany a screenplay he was working on. That project turned into a plot-constructing marathon that lasted about 6 years and produced piles of manuscripts for novels, screenplays, teleplays, satires. We actually sold a couple of teleplays (to Canadian TV), and published an "old-fashioned-sounding" novella, The Wall (under the pseudonym Evangeline Ivers), with Origin Books. We sold quite a few of these, and James Asay planned to issue a revised-for-Christmas hardcover version with the title Old Bells Falls under the Gold Leaf imprint, but the revival of Gold Leaf didn't go as planned, so the manuscript is in limbo, complete with a beautiful recording of a reading of the text by Leslie Norris. Pat & I also invented Mona Lovejoy & Sunny Knight, under which names we did the wacky self-published satire, Overcoming Co-Dependency through the Elimination of Human Relations, the (mildly) Depressed Person's Guide to Daily Living, as well as a couple of live musical spoofs called Depressed Musicians in History (Pat's a world-class singer of opera and jazz; I'm a mediocre pianist). We had a lot of fun doing this. As I said, what Pat does for me is spark the imagination, which creates plots, stories, so that my character studies can become tales. (She has lived a very interesting life. While I was in the BYU library writing my masters thesis, she was on the road with national touring companies of Sound of Music and Camelot. She once won second place in a drag queen contest. Stuff like that. Places Minnie's never been.) But, not getting anything into print means the collaboration is finally recreation (which neither of us can afford), so now she has a job and I have a job. (I've been teaching creative and technical writing at BYU for the past three years.) And now I've been accepted by BYU Law School, starting date August 13. Ho hum. I am working on a new Minnetonka novel, though. (I would like it to be the FIRST Minnetonka novel, but alas.) I hope to finish it this summer. (Unfortunately, however, Curtis is no longer around to speed it into print.) I've also promised Doug that I will see to my part of a revision of Greg and Kellie. Since the film Only Once came out, there has been some renewed interest in that. And then, just this morning Pat said to me, "Could it be that those 6 years were a complete waste?" We'll see. Well, not that you asked. But maybe Harlow or Sharlee would be interested. Incidentally, thanks for the perceptive review of In the Mind's Eye, Harlow. I hadn't seen it before now. Donlu - --------------50AFC8CEE87F5A9031E17252-- - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2001 16:59:30 -0600 From: "J. Scott Bronson" Subject: [AML] DUTCHER, Richard: _Brigham City_ Well, I finally have a few minutes to add my thoughts to the mix on this issue if anyone cares to listen. I was at the premiere of Brigham City along with the two Erics and as it happens my opinion falls somewhere between theirs. As for the mystery element of the story: I thought it was pretty much along standard lines. I mean, I knew that the red herrings were red herrings. In fact, the first one was so obviously a red herring that there was no suspense whatsoever for me in that scene. And here is the main reason it was so obvious: It was too early in the film for us to know who the killer was. That may seem like faulty reasoning, but the audience has been conditioned to view this genre in a certain way and Dutcher gave it to us just the way we've been conditioned. Now, I understand that the mystery isn't the real story going on here (and btw, I really liked the real story -- more on that later), but that doesn't mean that the skeleton of the film -- the mystery -- needs to look like all the other skeletons on the rack. I think Richard (I feel stupid calling him "Dutcher." I'm not a journalist, I will forego the SOP) could have done a little more to custom fit the skeleton to the skin he wound up putting on it. For instance, what might have helped make that scene more suspenseful is if it had been part of the main character's try-fail cycle. Let's say we see the protagonist make an accusation along the lines of ... oh ... It was Professor Plum who did it in the conservatory with the rope and then rushes off to the conservatory to save the next victim because he has just heard that the professor invited Miss Scarlett there for a spot of tea and winds up breaking into a perfectly innocent encounter, well then, we feel something for the protagonist and stay involved with the story, because even though we may be smart enough to know that the hero is wrong, we still want to know how that realization is going to effect the way he conducts the rest of his investigation. My example is also rather pedestrian, but little twists can be added here and there to a pedestrian scene to make it less so. My sixteen year old niece knew who the actual killer was long before I knew just because she knew that it had to wind up being the one person we were never meant to suspect. Her exact quote was, "It was so obvious he wanted me to suspect all these other people, I just knew that it couldn't be." None of this is to give the impression that I didn't like the film. I loved it. I wasn't nearly as disappointed in the mystery side of things as say, Eric D. was. There were actually a few things that caught me off guard -- including who the killer was -- and I was glad for that. You should note that my criticisms are fairly nit picky, having to do with story and character development more than anything else because I have spent years in various critiquing groups of one kind or another and it's sort of a habit by now. For example, re: these comments about God's Army: Thom wrote: The problem I had with the healing scene is that it seemed to come out of the clear blue. It didn't seem to "fit" artistically. Cathy G. responded: OTOH, that's pretty much the nature of healings and such. Life goes on and on, and once in awhile we experience something from the spiritual realm that may be unexpected and seemingly out of context. True, but a movie isn't real life. A movie -- all storytelling -- in my opinion, works best when connective threads run throughout binding seemingly disparate events together so that by the end we have that "Aha!" moment when we realize that "this thing" had something to do with "that thing" and so forth. In God's Army, it must be acknowledged that the healing was an abrupt occurrence that took too long to justify in terms of STORY. Of course, many of us accept that this kind of event can-- and does -- happen in the real world, and it can happen in this celluloid world as well, as long as it fits into the pattern that is being woven. I think three minutes of dialogue incisively placed earlier in the script would have given tremendous power to that event in the story of what was going on between Dalton and Allen. As it is, the healing says a great deal about the Church and the Gospel and Moron belief, but it doesn't have much to do with Dalton's story -- at least not clearly enough for me. I have imagined this exchange in my head between Dalton and Allen to be inserted into the movie soon after Dalton's cancer becomes known: Allen: Haven't you ever had a blessing for it? Dalton (Well, Duh!): Of course I have. Allen: And? Dalton: And I still have cancer. Allen: Yeah, but-- Dalton: I've heard all the yeahbutts. Listen, I have faith. I know God can heal me if He wants to. Apparently He doesn't want to. Allen: Oh. Dalton: Bummer, huh? Allen: Major. Then, when Dalton becomes the instrument to bring about someone else's healing, and everyone keeps the faith they've developed, well, it rocks with meaning ... for me. Back to Brigham City. Some reactions I have solicited from a couple viewers: One man at work said that he had never felt so many variations of emotion in any film. Dave Wolverton told me today that he really liked the film a lot for a couple of reasons specifically. Dave was initially put off by the fact that the story was a murder mystery, and even more so when he found out that the murderer was a serial killer. Dave pointed out that in virtually every so-called Hollywood film that deals with a sociopathic killer, the story spends most of its time forcing us to wallow in the mind of the killer. In Richard's film, that doesn't happen. We get a fairly rip snorting thriller without having to dwell in the killer's mind. (BTW, knowing sociopaths the way he does, after the film was over as Dave reflected on the killer's behavior throughout the film, he thought, "Of course! Of course!") "Instead of the darkness and pornography of Silence of the Lambs," he said. "We had a story full of light and hope." And this is also my greatest joy of the film. Many people --including a woman in our ward -- are incensed that Richard shows things on film like priesthood blessings and baptisms etc. "What will people think of us." I think these people are ashamed of the gospel. Richard shows incredible bravery and brilliance in the way he handles the "Mormon" elements. As Michael D. said, take that stuff out, and you don't have a story. I am moved beyond words to describe how grateful I am that Richard took his camera into the chapel and the baptismal font. Not only into the mind and heart of a Mormon character, but into the heart and soul of what makes that character what he is. The last five minutes of Brigham City, where not a single word is spoken, has for me twice -- three times -- the power of the first thirty minutes of Saving Private Ryan (TV Guide's number one Best Moment in Cinema history). My sacrament meetings will be different from here on out. Thanks, Richard. J. Scott Bronson Member of Playwrights Circle "An Organization of Professionals" www.playwrightscircle.com - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2001 08:35:45 -0600 From: "D. Michael Martindale" Subject: Re: [AML] DUTCHER, Richard: _Brigham City_ "J. Scott Bronson" wrote: > My sacrament meetings will be different from here on out. Thanks, > Richard. For my first sacrament meeting after seing the film, I couldn't get images of the film out of my head, and flashbacks of the emotions I had while watching it out of my heart. A story that can affect you like that days after experiencing it is a powerful story. - -- D. Michael Martindale dmichael@wwno.com ================================== Check out Worldsmiths, the new online LDS writers group, at http://www.wwno.com/worldsmiths Sponsored by Worlds Without Number http://www.wwno.com ================================== - - 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 #303 ******************************