From: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com (aml-list-digest) To: aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: aml-list-digest V1 #720 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 Tuesday, May 21 2002 Volume 01 : Number 720 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 20 May 2002 20:23:17 -0400 From: "Tracie Laulusa" Subject: Re: [AML] Money and Art We have a Stake Pres. who is a very highly regarded doctor. He has taken care of missionaries without compensation for years. He's even been generous enough to help us out a time or two, like when our stupidity got us into a "the form needs to be signed for camp by Monday morning and it is now Saturday afternoon and no way to get the kid to the doctor" situation. Tracie - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 May 2002 17:15:12 -0700 From: "Rex Goode" Subject: Re: [AML] Frankness in Mormon Writing Thanks, Linda. Someday I might tackle a Mormon fiction work that is frank about sexuality. First I have to get a job, of course. The novel I started was fairly frank about sexuality, but it was about homosexuality more than heterosexuality, so I didn't cover these issues. It wasn't anything a reasonable person would call "dirty" but some people just can't take any sexuality in literature at all. The biggest problem with my novel, as some who read parts of it assayed, was that it had too many points of view. Yet, in a novel that explores issues of sexuality between people, I would almost think you would want readers to be in the minds of both partners, if you were going to show both sides. Homosexuality is a whole different game when it comes to what makes for willingness. If fact, I think that for homosexual male lovers, willingness is hardly ever a question. In a way, in a story, you could explore the whole question of female willingness through the thoughts of a married LDS man who is attracted to men and struggles to stay faithful to his wife. I am not being politically correct when I say that part of what contributes to the struggle with male same-sex attraction is that seduction is so much an easier task with males than with females. The challenge for me has been to learn to appreciate the added skills it takes to be successfully married to a woman. Without enjoying a challenge, I'd be back where I used to be, in a very real way, taking the easier route. An interesting presentation I heard recently from a psychologist talking about same-sex attraction addressed the level of anxiety many homosexual men feel when contemplating or trying to accomplish physical intimacy with a woman. That anxiety level is just not present when in the same pursuit with other men. Back to the idea of championing the cause of women, I find it difficult in working with same-sex attracted married men to help them get good support to stay faithful to their wives in a culture that condemns men for even having same-sex attracted feelings. Sadly, the "it's the man's fault" mentality pervades this issue. I've seen many a marriage between a same-sex attracted man and an issue-laden woman where the fact that the man has homosexual feelings puts him at a secondary position in the marital hierarchy. Everything is immediately his fault or the fault of his orientation. Most of these men readily accept this blame and much in the Mormon culture urges them to be official guilty party in all disputes. I've seen everything from blame by the wife to violence committed by the wife justified simply because the man was same-sex attracted, even though he was being faithful. This happens with other men as well. Since I operate resources for opposite-sex addictions, I see how often every marital difficulty has one main offender--the man. I fear that even a novel would have to pay homage to the notion that men are 90% of the cause of all problems if it wants a shot at success in the Mormon market. Rex Goode - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 May 2002 18:55:58 -0600 From: "Clark Goble" Subject: RE: [AML] _Attack of the Clones_ (Review) ___ Eric ___ | There's never an instant in either this movie or PM when you | see people engaged positively in politics. The movie makes | a big deal about Amidala, for example, and clearly she's | influential and/or a swing vote. So why not show her | negotiating with someone over something? Why not show a | committee meeting? The democracy they describe is utterly | inconsistent with any politics they actually show. And | there's time in the movie for it. ___ Isn't this more of a criticism regarding genre? You wanted the Star Wars equivalent of _All the President's Men_ and Lucas wanted more of a straight action flick. In this regard I must confess I think Lucas was wise to do what he did. You thought the democratic elements were interesting and wanted to see more. I daresay that the average filmgoer would have been more upset had Lucas done what you wanted than they were even with _The Phantom Menace_. (Remember that one criticism with that was too much focus on politics) Now one can question Lucas' decision to go with the whole political subtext. On an other mailing list I'm on that deals with film philosophy some people questioned the fact that the empire rose only 30 years prior to the first Star Wars film. However I think that Lucas is correct in this. If you recall in the first Star Wars they tell Princess Leah that they had just *then* disbanded the Senate. Further as I mentioned there are lots of interesting parallels with Rome and the Caesars or Hitler and Germany. (Or perhaps even David/Solomon and Israel?) Anyway, I don't think showing a bunch of politicians debating would have forwarded the plot at all. Especially since the focus is on how people's *misleading* beliefs about democracy allow them to fall prey to the "dark side." What counts isn't tedious conference meetings about tax codes. (Not even the best FX could spice that up) What counts is the non-politician's *views* of politics. What's even more interesting is that as Anakin begins to fall, we sympathize with him a fair deal. I'm not sure Lucas pulls this off as well as he should have, but it is still there. Obiwan is a little too critical of Anakin. We all were angry and hoping Anakin would let loose on the raiders. I've heard Anakin's exact comments on democracy many times prior to 9/11 made here in America. I suspect that if democracy seems too "argumentative" and "messy" in responding to any future terrorist attacks we'd find more making the same statements. ___ Eric ___ | Any kind of functioning democracy has checks and balances in | place controlling the damage for those times when the | inevitable evil conspiracy arises. ___ You're joking, right? America has numerous checks and balances but most democracies do not. Even in America we had the spectre of Huey Long, as I mentioned. America would be more difficult to take down in the fashion of Star Wars, but not impossibly so. I should add that 19th century LDS views of America actually feared something very similar to what is portrayed in _Attack of the Clones_. They thought that secret combinations were running in America that would eventually turn her against herself. After this the constitution falls and the Elders raise up to save what is left. Indeed the theology of the Council of 50 was directly tied to all this. Now of course the 19th century brethren were somewhat like Jonah in that they didn't understand the prophecies that the Lord revealed to them. However reading some of the religious political rhetoric of the time is rather interesting. The Elders of Israel as the Jedi? The unknown leader (the Beast of Revelation) as the head of the secret combinations -- a latterday Kishkumen? ___ Eric ___ | We never see Palpatine doing any of this. Okay, he's this | Machiavellian behind the scenes guy. That could be fun, to | see him functioning. ___ Actually we do several times. We see how he manipulates Amadalah to be out of the Senate when the votes come up and manipulates Jar Jar to vote him the powers he desires. We see how he uses Dooku to set up rival armies that he can call on. While it isn't as focused on as you wish, it is definitely there in the foreground. Once again I think the problem is that you wanted _All the Chancellor's Men_ while everyone else wanted to see Yoda and Annakin kick ass. ___ Eric ___ | But the movie absolutely does not say in any straightforward | way that the good guys were snookered. ___ "Victory, say you? No, not victory. The Clone Wars have begun." (Yoda at the end) Further the fact that Darth Siditious was behind both the clone and the druids suggest something quite forthrightly, doesn't it? Not to mention that Jango Fett is involved with both the clones and the druids suggests a lot, doesn't it? You can't say too much *that* overtly otherwise the good guys won't really be snookered, will they? Further when Darh Seditious says that everything is going to plan, it is a statement that things *weren't* going the good guys way but his way. Say what you will about Lucas, but subtlety isn't his forte. So all this is pretty overt. I come down actually on the other side from you. I think he was too overt about it all. I'd have preferred more subtlety. But then all of this manner of political intrigue is in the fashion of the old serials of the 30's I suppose. - -- Clark Goble --- clark@lextek.com ----------------------------- - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 May 2002 19:19:06 -0600 From: "Thom Duncan" Subject: Re: [AML] Money and Art > Thom Duncan wrote: > > | Scott Bronson can speak to this more exactly but just the other day he and > I > | were talking about this thread. He mentioned, iirc, the > Church-commissioned > | musical _Barefoot to Zion_. Arlen Card was "called" to write the music. > He > | had to audition but was eventually called. And he was paid in cold, hard > | cash for his services. > | > | Truman Angel who designed the Tabernacle was paid for his work. All the > | architects who've designed LDS temples are paid for their work as are the > | artisans who do the actual building. > | > | Are they guilty of not adhering to the Law of Consecration? > > Of course not. But I don't think it's fair to equate designing the > Tabernacle with putting on a ward play (or, to use my earlier example, doing > some light construction work at a disabled member's home). Putting on a ward play may appear to be something easy to someone who hasn't done it but, if you want to do it right, you're going to have to put as much blood, sweat, and tears as if you were to produce the play professionally. What if, on top of that, you are a professional actor, or writer, and, to accept this position, you have to set aside a project that may make money for you. It may be all right for Eric Samuelsen to direct a Stake play. He has a full-time job during the day. In my case, since freelance writing/producing/directing is my only current means of livelihood, I would run the risk of losing money to direct a road show. Would the Lord want me to do that? > Compare apples to > apples -- when the Church (with a capital "C") commissions a work of art or > an architectural design, it is likely that the artist or architect would be > asked to quit their full-time employment or take a sabbatical in order to > complete the assignment. Hence, these people are compensated. However, when > the church (lowercase "c," as in a local ward) asks someone with theatrical > talent to direct the ward play or someone with musical talent to lead the > ward choir, there is an understanding that the assigned work will be done in > the person's spare time. A freelance employed person has no free-time. In fact, every minute that goes by where the free-lancer isn't working is potential money never to be seen again. Someone with a full-time job loses nothing by "donating" their free-time to direct a play. > If anyone knows of local ward members who have been > asked to quit their jobs to work on the stake road show, I'd love to hear > about it. But I doubt this type of "consecration" is going on in the Church > today. If I were asked to direct a ward road show, I would essentially be losing money. Thom - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 May 2002 19:21:37 -0600 From: "Thom Duncan" Subject: Re: [AML] Money and Art > Often a professional will donate his services at no cost. A lawyer, I > believe is required to take so many cases pro bono. Many physicians > will do service at a clinic, periodically, at no charge to either the > clinic or to the patient. I know of at least one financial planner, > who will work with people gratis, to get them pointed in the right > direction. And you can bet that, in every case, they are taking tax deductions for doing this. Which eventually inures to their benefit. Thom - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 May 2002 19:32:43 -0600 From: Barbara Hume Subject: Re: [AML] "Ender's Game" Director Announced At 08:52 AM 5/20/02, you wrote: >Interestingly enough, "Enemy Mine" is a highly >underappreciated movie, based on a great novella, which is >thematically very, very similar to "Ender's Game." If you >haven't read the original novella, or seen the movie, you >really should do so. If you're a Card fan you'll like either >version of "Enemy Mine." I saw this movie, and I appreciated the thematic content, which dealt with demonizing the enemy, and I thought the acting was great, and then of course it had Dennis Quaid, which is always good. And a young actor named Bumper Robinson did a great job as an appealing alien. The setting was extremely dark and unpleasant, but the overall message made it worthwhile. I've always wondered how close it was to the book, but it the movie is a good example of the way science fiction is great for pointing a moral. Maybe that's why there are so many LDSF writers. barbara hume - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 May 2002 22:22:06 EDT From: Pup7777@aol.com Subject: Re: [AML] Kimberly Heuston, _The Shakeress_ In a message dated 5/20/02 3:31:17 PM Pacific Daylight Time, Chris.Bigelow@UnicityNetwork.com writes: > THE SHAKERESS > By Kimberly Heuston. > 207 pp. Asheville, N.C.: Front Street. $16.95. (Ages 12 and up) > > Kim is a wonderful writer and I am thoroughly enjoying her book. Her daughter painted the cover and it is cool. She is local Mormon who lives in Salt Lake. I can't wait to see what other great books she has in store for us. I recommend her book to anyone who reads children books. Lisa Peck - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 May 2002 20:48:10 -0600 From: "Paris Anderson" Subject: Re: [AML] Frankness in Mormon Writing Kim Madsen wrote: I'm sure there are people who take such ideas and run with them to form groups of open sexuality, There are such groups. There are also groups who devote themselves to celebacy for the same reason. There are also groups that are devoted to charity work. All of those methods work, but they work faster if you know what you're doing. I'm still a little foggy on everything, but toward the end of my stay in Spain I ran out of my medication. And sometimes it got so bad I felt like my head was on fire. The only thing I could do was walk around until i was too exhausted to hurt anything. One night I walked passed an old widow-lady sitting in a doorway. There was a black piece of cloth spread on the sidewalk in front of her, and a few coins were tossed onto it. I dropped a couple of pesetas onto it and immediately the fire in my head stopped. The next day I had to walk half way to hell before I found a begger, but when I dropped a few coins the fire in my head went out--and I felt really good. I looked forward to finding beggers because I had discovered a way to use them. A few days after that I went to England and I was saddened to not find beggers. And cigarettes were so expensive. What I think was happening was (and maybe this isn't the case), but::: When I had my accident, a head injury, the governing vessel was damaged. Even meager amounts of bio-energy were blocked from feeding my brain. When I performed these small acts of charity energy was forced through the block and fed my brain. That's why the fire went out and why I felt really good. Maybe sex would done the same thing, but a few pesetas on an act of charity is a lot cheaper. Paris Anderson - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 May 2002 20:49:56 -0600 From: Barbara Hume Subject: Re: [AML] Gerald N. LUND, _Come Unto Me_ (Review) At 10:12 AM 5/17/02, you wrote: >Is there some sense that these books, >almost guaranteed to sell, are rushed through the editing and publishing >process? It's my opinion that this is true more and more in the publishing business as a whole, not just in the LDS arena. Editors don't edit line by line and correct mistakes; they acquire books. Many authors I know are appalled by the mistakes introduced by their baby editors -- young people fresh out of the nest who change "all right" to "alright" or "she was lying on the sofa" to "she was laying on the sofa." I have become relucant to blame an error on the author until I can be certain that some inexperienced editor was not responsible! The typesetter, of course, ignores the "stet" mark. . . . . barbara hume - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 May 2002 20:52:55 -0600 From: Barbara Hume Subject: Re: [AML] _Attack of the Clones_ (Review) At 11:31 AM 5/17/02, you wrote: >-- it's a tragedy in which evil triumphs, not through a sweeping hostile >takeover, but through the moral compromises and confusion of the good guys. >The heroes allow freedom to lose ground gradually because each compromise >seems like an expedient choice at the time. By the time the good guys >realize how much their evil foes were entrenched all along, they've lost >too much ground. Evil wins by default. If it makes this point well, it's a good contribution to a culture that makes so many decisions based not on morality, but on expediency. Since people discuss movies like this one at great length, as we have been doing here, perhaps they enlighten more people than does a milk-and-water LDS novel that hesitates to portray any kind of evil. barbara hume - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 May 2002 22:19:02 -0500 From: Ronn Blankenship Subject: Re: [AML] _Attack of the Clones_ (Review) At 02:40 PM 5/16/02, Eric Samuelsen wrote: >We all recognize them immediately, of course, because they're Imperial=20 >Storm Troopers; same molded white plastic costumes. And they're on our=20 >side, the good guys' side. By Episode IV, though, when they're on the bad guys' side, they have also=20 completely lost their marksmanship abilities . . . - -- Ronn! :) God bless America, Land that I love! Stand beside her, and guide her Thru the night with a light from above. From the mountains, to the prairies, To the oceans, white with foam=85 God bless America! My home, sweet home. - -- Irving Berlin (1888-1989) - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 May 2002 22:01:27 -0500 From: lajackson@juno.com Subject: [AML] Re: Gerald N. LUND, _Come Unto Me_ (Review) Jeff Needle: > And yes, I suppose a better editor may have noticed > these inconsistencies, given enough time to review > the manuscript. > > Larry Jackson This is an interesting comment. Is there some sense that these books, almost guaranteed to sell, are rushed through the editing and publishing process? _______________ I can't speak for the publisher, of course. I think an editor should have caught the "spoke the language / didn't understand the language" issue. As far as the other issues, I wonder how many editors there are who are able to distinguish between Hebrew and Aramaic, or who are familiar enough with history in the meridian of time to fact check a book of this type. With his _The Work and the Glory_ series, Lund had access to more history than is available for his _The Kingdom and the Crown_ series. Because I haven't read them, I don't know how well he handled the historical information in the first series. In this book, the second in the second series, he really tried to do a lot with very little information. Personally, I think he overdid it. Larry Jackson ________________________________________________________________ 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/web/. - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 May 2002 20:48:33 -0700 From: "Levi Peterson" Subject: Re: [AML] Frankness in Mormon Writing Elizabeth Hatch quoted Stephen E. Lamb, M.D., and Douglas E. Brinley, Ph.D., authors of the book BETWEEN HUSBAND AND WIFE: GOSPEL PERSPECTIVES ON MARITAL INTIMACY as having observed that wives who are uninterested in sex are "often women who have been mistreated by their husbands." Michael Martindale comments that such anecdotal evidence as their statement implies is "not considered compelling evidence in science." I can readily accept the anecdotal evidence of Lamb and Brinley. It is my observation that a wife who has reason to appreciate and respect her husband is willing to gratify his sexual need even when hers is dormant. Levi Peterson althlevip@msn.com - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 May 2002 07:57:43 +0000 From: "Andrew Hall" Subject: [AML] RANDALLS, _Red Moon Rising_ (Review) Author: Vickie Mason Randalls Title: Red Moon Rising. Out of the Barren Ground Volume 1. (The series is also called the "Earth Family Trilogy." at one point) Cedar Fort Incorporated/Bonneville Books, 2001. Paperback, 202 pages, $12.95 It's a stinker. Pass, move on, buy something else. Don't even bother reading my review, I wasted my time reading the book, don’t waste your time reading the review. Delete and move on. You still here? All right, I'll say a few things about it. As you can probably guess, I'm somewhat bitter towards this book, as I signed up to review it, and so felt duty-bound to read the whole thing, when normally I would have chucked it after a few pages. It is a "last days" novel, sketching out a possible scenario for a Mormon end-of-days. The point of the whole thing, explained in the final sermons, appears to be to encourage members to stock up on their food supply and get a big truck loaded with gasoline ready for the trip to Missouri. The story covers a period when the Saints have largely gathered to Jackson County, and are living in scattered self-sustaining villages for a few years before Christ returns to the Earth. The prime factor in social decline is environmental, rather then a nuclear war as in many other apocalyptic novels. Somehow the environment went from its present state to completely degraded in a few short years, and all the available water and food supplies are poisoned. The government and social order have broken down, and the populace lives in either walled-off Christian villages, or as bands of scavengers. The action revolves around the association of a Mormon village, led by the Rock family, and a scavenger band led by the young Rachael. The village is shocked by the band's depraved condition, and Rachael is put-off by the apparent smugness and superiority of the village. But circumstances continue to throw them together, and the village members become indebted to the band for their assistance, and the band becomes converted to the village's faith. Randalls drops the reader in the middle of a last-days scenario. Except for the final chapters, where we are presented with sermons on food storage and the sequence of events in the last days, the novel focuses on the romance between members of the two groups and some periodic adventure, rather then how society got into its mess. Yeah, yeah, anyway. The writing is fair to poor. The POV jumps in and out of characters' heads without warning, and often there are time and scene changes without any warning. The dialogue is often stilted, especially when things turn romantic. The romance was unconvincing. Randalls does a fair job describing the thoughts in people's heads, as long as things don't turn romantic. The "good" Rock family members are bland and indistinct. There is no sense of place. She describes the way the village functions in some detail, but she never gives the reader a feel for the terrain or climate. It may have something to do with her choice to hide the exact locale of the village as being in Jackson County until near the end, but if so it wasn't worth it. The final sermons, presented in stilted, bad-1970s- Christian TV channel-drama style ("Why you're right, Timmy, Jesus does love the little children."), are probably the most interesting parts of the book. She at least got me thinking about food storage and preparedness. Several aspects of the "last days" were unbelievable to me. For example, missionaries are sent from the villages to the outside world, but are utterly rejected, until missionary work is finally suspended. But the villages are shown as islands of plenty in a sea of despair and death. A depraved lifestyle is lots of fun when you can live it up, while the righteous live comparatively aesthetically, but here the general population was starving, while the righteous lived relatively well in their villages. It seems like in a situation like that, people would be applying to join up in droves. The Church has problems with people joining up for its welfare program today as it is, surely it would be a huge problem in this scenario. But no, here the population is not only wicked, but also really, really dumb. Secondly, the women of the village are portrayed as being kept largely unaware of the state of affairs outside the villages. I think that in a return to pioneer conditions, we would trust women to be a bit more involved and aware then that. Also, I need to be more convinced how the atmosphere and ground could become so poisoned in such a short span of time. In an apparent bid to make the book inviting to as wide an audience as possible, the name of the Church these people belong to is never mentioned. As a reviewer said of The Other Side of Heaven, “Mormonism is the religion that dares not speak its name." Even at the end, where she is talking about Jackson County and prophets, she doesn't tip her hand. C'mon, we all know what you're talking about here. In conclusion . . . Ah, forget it. Andrew Hall Fukuoka, Japan _________________________________________________________________ Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 May 2002 06:59:48 -0600 From: katie@aros.net Subject: Re: [AML] _Attack of the Clones_ (Review) Quoting "Eric R. Samuelsen" : > Right, they say that, but they never show it. There's never an instant in > either this movie or PM when you see people engaged positively in politics. > The movie makes a big deal about Amidala, for example, and clearly she's > influential and/or a swing vote. So why not show her negotiating with > someone over something? Why not show a committee meeting? I wonder if Padme Amidala's presence in office is part of the problem. Really, what kinds of idiots must the Naboo be to elect teenage girls to be their leaders? She is clearly most interested in maintaining her wardrobe, like any teenage girl. Granted, she does very well in office for someone so young, but she listens too much to Palpatine. I wonder if the powers that be count on her to be someone they can influence. Besides, then she's dumb enough to marry Anakin, which doesn't seem to make much sense except that it's in the script. Anakin is so unsympathetic as a character, what does she really see in him? Except, perhaps, that she's still so naive that she believes love will conquer all? - --Katie Parker (still lurking) Salt Lake City, UT - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 May 2002 09:40:56 -0600 (MDT) From: Ivan Angus Wolfe Subject: Re: [AML] _Attack of the Clones_ (Review) Eric Wrote: >Ivan wrote: > >The republic survived for millenia as a democracy with only minor = > >problems ("there's never > >been an all out war since the formation of the republic!") > > Right, they say that, but they never show it. There's never an instant in = > either this movie or PM when you see people engaged positively in = > politics. Basically - you want 1000 years of peace on film? It seems the dramatically appropriate choice would be to start when things are fallign apart - not spend hours of film showing government comitties sitting around agreeing with each other and making all the right decisions. > Three points to make here: > > 1) Any kind of functioning democracy has checks and balances in place = > controlling the damage for those times when the inevitable evil conspiracy = > arises. Certainly that's been true in US history (remember Aaron Burr?). > The Republic in this movie seems to have no such mechanisms in place. Or = > if it does, we never for a second see them trying to function, so that we = > can have some sense of menace when they fail. Again - should we fault Lucas for not showing a balanced government? Showing a government that works perfectly is rather boring. Get to the part where the evil dudes control all major parts of the government, and no democracy will work. >> 2) We never see Palpatine doing any of this. Okay, he's this Machiavellian= > behind the scenes guy. That could be fun, to see him functioning. I'll agree he should have shown more of this, but if you want to see this, go read the Star Wars Novels "Cloak of Deception" by James Luceno and "The Approaching Storm" by Alan Dean Foster (bot written with input from Lucas) - they both do a good job of fleshing out the political background. (Curiously, most Star Wars fans don't like these books because they are so political, with little action. Perhaps Lucas knew his fan base would hate a picture with lots of political manuvering). > 3) From a structural standpoint, this is hugely problematic. Palpatine = > becomes the only volitional character in the movie. He's consequently the = > protagonist, and everyone else is his puppet. That's just poor writing. I would think with the dark side of the force, he's a bit more than just one treacherous guy. > One possible explanation for the Storm Troopers scene might be that the = > good guys were snookered. The music cues are there, adding very creepy = > overtones. But the movie absolutely does not say in any straightforward = > way that the good guys were snookered. We can infer that, and maybe the = > next movie will clear it up, but right now, they're on the side of = > characters we think of as good. Wait - first you attack the movie for its lack of depth, and then I give an example of some depth, where the audience gets to draw conclusions without it being spelled out for them, and you complain it has too much depth? > But we don't know what their grievances are, why they're = > leaving, what steps have been taken to placate them, what's at stake, what = > human rights violations have taken place by who against who. Instead we = > get portentous pronouncements about how the Dark Side is growing in = > strength. Not. Good. Enough. Great stuff if you want to go see a political thriller. But if you want to see Star Wars with lots of cool special effects and lightsaber battles - that's not what is going to be dramatically most satisfying. >(except for Darth in Heaven) I wouldn't say he was in heaven -it was more like he was one with the universe. - --ivan wolfe - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 May 2002 10:40:58 -0600 From: "Eric R. Samuelsen" Subject: Re: [AML] "Oh My Heck" T-shirts Regarding the LDS girl on Survivor, I'm indebted to the Deseret News for = pointing out that her name, Neleh Dennis, when spelled backwards, spells = out "Helen Sinned." Oh My Heck indeed. =20 Eric Samuelsen - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 May 2002 11:05:02 -0600 From: "Eric R. Samuelsen" Subject: RE: [AML] _Attack of the Clones_ (Review) >Notice that everything in the political arena is being manipulated by the >Chancellor. He sets up the conflict which divides the Republic. = >One also gets the distinct impression that Yoda knows this and also is >willing to go along with things for his own unknown reasons. < >/SPOILER> Look, we might be able to infer all this. But Palpatine has maybe three = minutes screen time, and speaks, tops, ten lines of dialogue. And he's = the only guy making all the decisions that drive the entire picture? I = never saw him manipulate anything. We see so little of him, in fact, that = I kept forgetting what he looks like, and I certainly could not remember = his name. Jimmy Smits is in the movie, wearing a brave little beard; he = has about as much to do as Palpatine, and I would find it just as = persuasive if you told me he was Darth Sidious. =20 I think you're probably right; I think we're meant to see this minor and = obscure character as the mastermind behind everything. What you'll never = persuade me is that that's good writing. Reading Ivan's and Marianne's and Clark's posts on this have been = interesting for me. You've described a very interesting, complex and = potentially powerful and dark story. I wouldn't mind seeing that picture. = Fact is, though, it bears only the tiniest, most tangential relationship = to the actual film Attack of the Clones. Let's face facts: we do NOT see = Palpatine manipulating the political process. Not once do we see him buy = votes, gladhand, horse trade, demogogue, give a persuasive speech, = manipulate committee structure, use parliamentary rules to shut off = debate, negotiate, obfuscate, attach a rider to a bill. He does nothing = except sort of radiate badness, and we don't even see him do that much. = =20 When I first arrived in Norway, on my mission, I couldn't understand = anything anyone said to me, and I couldn't say anything to anyone. So the = first few discussions, it became patently obvious that my companion was = going to have to do all the teaching, because I was hopeless. So I told = him my role was to just sit there and radiate the Spirit. That's = Palpatine's role in this film, and it works as effectively in the film as = I worked effectively as a missionary. =20 Eric Samuelsen=20 - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 May 2002 13:51:16 -0500 From: "Preston" Subject: [AML] Box Office Report May 17 2002 Feature Films by LDS/Mormon Filmmakers and Actors Weekend Box Office Report (U.S. Domestic Box Office Gross) Weekend of May 17, 2002 Report compiled by: LDSFilm.com [If table below doesn't line up properly, try looking at them with a mono-spaced font, such as Courier - - Ed.] Natl Film Title Weekend Gross Rank LDS/Mormon Filmmaker/Actor Total Gross Theaters Days - --- ----------------------------- ----------- ----- ---- 5 The New Guy 6,478,078 2,687 10 Eliza Dushku (lead actress) 17,305,157 9 Murder by Numbers 1,672,454 1,580 31 Ryan Gosling (lead male actor) 29,911,694 21 ESPN's Ultimate X 344,553 47 10 Reed Smoot (cinematographer) 1,103,114 51 The Other Side of Heaven 34,415 57 157 Mitch Davis (writer/director) 4,454,789 John H. Groberg (author/character) Gerald Molen, John Garbett (producers) 55 The Believer (NEW) 26,236 4 3 Ryan Gosling (lead actor) 26,236 58 The Singles Ward 22,481 13 108 Kurt Hale (writer/director) 702,938 John E. Moyer (writer) Dave Hunter (producer) Cody Hale (composer) Ryan Little (cinematographer) Actors: Will Swenson, Connie Young, Daryn Tufts, Kirby Heyborne, Michael Birkeland, Robert Swenson, Lincoln Hoppe, Gretchen Whalley, Sedra Santos, etc. BOX OFFICE BUZZ: Latter-day Saint cinematographer Reed Smoot's "ESPN's Ultimate X" passed the $1 million mark in merely 10 days -- not bad for an IMAX film only playing in 47 theaters. In its second weekend, it still made $7,331 per screen. Meanwhile, "The Singles Ward" continues to find an audience - -- actually moving up in this weekend's rankings, although it dropped from 18 to 13 theaters. BELIEVE IN GOSLING: Not only did Latter-day Saint actor Ryan Gosling's "Murder by Numbers" remain in the Top 10 this week, after a month in release, another movie starring Gosling in the lead role opened in limited release. "The Believer," which was a critical favorite and an award winner at the Sundance Film Festival, opened in four theaters, grossing $26,263, or $6,559 per theater. This gave "The Believer" the 5th highest per-theater gross nationwide. Now, remember, it opened the same weekend as "Star Wars: Attack of the Clones." Not bad. In "The Believer" (which is based on a true story) Gosling delivers a tour de force performance as an Orthodox Jew who becomes involved with neo-Nazis. Although it played in only four theaters, "The Believer" earned the 3rd highest total gross nationwide of any NEW movie, behind "Star Wars: Attack of the Clones" (which played in 3,161 theaters) and "About a Boy" (starring Hugh Grant, which played in 1,207 theaters). ENDER'S GAME DIRECTOR AND STUDIO ANNOUNCED: Latter-day Saint writer Orson Scott Card's official website confirmed a report from Ain't It Cool News that the director chosen to helm the "Ender's Game" feature film is Wolfgang Petersen (who is not a Latter-day Saint). The studio was also announced: Warner Brothers. The recently signed project will soon be announced officially. German director Petersen is a seemingly perfect choice. He has worked with children and he has directed high-quality, big-budget science fiction movies. He directed "The Neverending Story" (featuring child actors, which will be what "Ender's Game" features as well) and he directed "Enemy Mine" (about humankind in war with an ultimately benign and deeply ethical race of aliens). Other films Petersen recently directed include "Outbreak" (1995) starring Dustin Hoffman, "In the Line of Fire" (1993) starring Clint Eastwood, "The Perfect Storm" (2000) starring George Clooney and "Air Force One" (1997) starring Harrison Ford. Many of these have been highly successful blockbusters. But perhaps Petersen's most critically acclaimed film is the submarine war film "Das Boot" (1981), which earned him two Academy Award nominations (Best Director and Best Screenplay). "Ender's Game" tells the story of Ender Wiggin, a half-Mormon/half-Catholic child prodigy who is trained by the government to fight in an expected conflict with an insectoid alien race. ANGEL HANGING AROUND: CBS has renewed "Touched by an Angel", the Hollywood trade papers reported. The show's fate had been in doubt. This weekly television series filmed in Utah, has been the place where many local actors and crewpersons have gotten their first network television experience. DERBIDGE ENGAGED IN NEW FILM PROJECT: Cary Derbidge, the producer of the LDS-themed feature film "Out of Step", has announced his next feature film project. The project is called "Temple Marriage," and has yet to receive a title. The executive producer will be Steve Ames, the D.J. and dance promoter (see his site at http://www.ldsdanceinfo.com). Derbidge told us that the movie, about a Latter-day Saint wedding, will have similarities to "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" and "Bridget Jones's Diary," which I understand to mean that the movie will be a comedy. This movie, which has NOT yet been cast, is in the pre-production stages and is scheduled to be released in theaters in January 2003. In other Derbidge news, there are plans to re-release "Out of Step" (directed by Ryan Little) into theaters this Fall before the movie is distributed on video/DVD by Thomson Productions. "Out of Step" was first displayed in theaters on February 15th, 2002. Despite complaints about technical flaws (sound problems in a few spots, changes in film stock), the movie's excellent script and acting earned it the best local reviews given to any LDS-themed feature film since "Brigham City." But the producers were unhappy with the scheduling and the advertising campaign, and they pulled the movie from theaters. STARRING AARON ECKHART: BYU graduate Aaron Eckhart, who has played important supporting roles in most of Neil LaBute's films, as well as in other big movies such as "The Pledge" and "Erin Brockovich" has been cast in the starring role in "Suspect Zero," an FBI thriller about an agent (Eckhart) assigned to track down a rogue agent (Ben Kingsley) on a vigilante crusade to kill murderers. (It gets even more complicated: Kingsley's character is apparently on the trail of a serial killer, known as "Suspect Zero", who has committed hundreds of murders while copying the modus operandi of other serial killers. Which poses the question: Should Eckhart stop Kingsley, when what Kingsley is doing may actually be making the world a better, safer place?) The part that Eckhart will play has previously been attached in rumors to Tom Cruise, Ben Affleck, and Sylvester Stallone. The movie is being made by Tom Cruise's production company, C/W Productions ("The Others", "Vanilla Sky"). Eckhart stars as Roland Michell in Neil LaBute's "Possession," which hits theaters this summer, and he stars in the sci-fi action pic "The Core", scheduled for release later this year on November 1st. MORE TREU: Latter-day Saint director Blair Treu will soon begin production on yet another feature film: "Dudes", starring Jeff Bridges and Aaron Carter. This major film release will be his 7th feature film, but only his 2nd one to be released theatrically (after "Little Secrets", which will be released nationwide this summer by Columbia TriStar). MORMON CHARACTERS AT CANNES: The Los Angeles Times ran an in depth article about this week's Cannes Film Festival premiere of Paul Thomas Anderson's latest film "Punch-Drunk Love." (See: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/printedition/calendar/l a-000035548may20.story?null) The movie stars Adam Sandler as a small business owner who doesn't fly, but is obsessed with collecting frequent flyer miles, which he does by collecting pudding box tops. He has seven sisters, and is something of an odd fellow, as Sandler's characters are wont to be. Important in the story are "four blond Mormon brothers from Utah who are the bane of Barry's existence." They are "played by four Mormon brothers from Utah." Moreover, "with the exception of Sandler, [Emily] Watson and co-stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, Luis Guzman and Mary Lynn Rajskub, everyone on screen is a nonprofessional. According to the P.T. Anderson website (http://www.ptanderson.com/featurefilms/love/main.htm), the four non-actor brothers are David Stevens, Nathan Stevens, Jim Smooth Stevens and Michael D. Stevens. They play "David", "Nate", "Jim" and "Mike D." They are listed in the cast immediately after Sandler, Watson, Hoffman, Guzman, and Rajskub, in the 6th through 9th billed roles. SMOOT SHOOTS HORSES: Latter-day Saint cinematographer Reed Smoot recently returned from Namibia where he shot an upcoming live-action Disney IMAX film: "The Young Black Stallion," a prequel to Carroll Ballard's 1979 boy-and-his-horse drama "The Black Stallion." The new movie should hit really big screens in early 2003. Smoot, whose hit IMAX film "ESPN's Ultimate X" is currently in theaters, was profiled this week in the Salt Lake Tribune: http://www.sltrib.com/05192002/arts/737916.htm ROOTS & WINGS LANDS ON VIDEO: Christian Vuissa's short dramatic film "Roots & Wings" earned him yet another award: it recently won First Prize at the Performing Arts Showcase of the Golden Key Int'l Honour Society. The film is about a devout Catholic Mexican father grappling with how to deal with his family's conversion to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. "Roots & Wings previously won the Audience Award, as well as awards for Best Screenplay and Best Actor, at the Final Cut Film Festival at Brigham Young University. The film was written and produced by BYU film student Maria Perez, who is herself a Latter-day Saint convert from Catholicism. "Roots & Wings" will be available on video in August. NEW LITTLE FILM: Ryan Little (award-winning director of "The Last Good" and "Out of Step"; cinematographer of "The Singles Ward") recently screened his new short film "Freedom on the Water" at the Windsong Film Festival in Indiana. For this film he received the festival's Best American Director Award. (Oddly enough, Little was born in Canada.) The purpose of the Windsong Film Festival is to foster recognition of human value and dignity, and affirm cultural and ethnic authenticity with dignity. DANSIE WITH DOUGS: Award-winning writer/director Tucker Dansie (whose documentary "Colors: Up Close and Personal" is sold at Deseret Book and online) has finished his short film "The Lesson," based on the moving, possibly true story about remarkable events at a piano lesson. This is a departure for Dansie, whose short films have previously been comedies. Dansie will soon be shooting "The Dougs." He says the film is about "three Mormon guys named Doug who are all best friends. And they all have these girlfriends, but they decided that they are bored with their girlfriends so one night they decided to all swap with each other. But will the girls agree?" "The Dougs" will star Todd and Lisa Ruitman, and Nate Anderson from Dansie's "Chick Magnet," along with newcomers Dan and Rebecca Barton, and Nate's fiancee Laura. "The Lesson" and "The Dougs" will premiere this summer as part of Unwound 2002, held in Salt Lake City. EXCITEMENT AT THE POLLS: Things continue to heat up at the unbelievably LDSFilm.com online poll page (http://www.ldsfilm.com/polls.html). Currently, in the "favorite LDS Cinema movie" poll, "The Singles Ward" is ahead, followed closely by "Brigham City," with "God's Army", "The Other Side of Heaven" and "Out of Step" only a few votes behind. In the "most looking forward to" poll, "Handcart" is currently ahead of "Jack Weyland's Charly." But the polls are still open, and these results can all change with just a few votes from people visiting the site. BEN KENOBI, MEET JOHN GROBERG: No word yet on whether or not the "Star Wars: Attack of the Clones" DVD will be combined with "The Other Side of Heaven" in a package called "Recent Movies About Lone White Religious Guys Traveling to Remote Islands Inhabited by Polynesians." NELEH WATCH: As the whole country must know by know... "Survivor: Marquesas" has come and gone, and Neleh Dennis came in second place. It's an amazing feat, really, considering she was an underdog from the start, and the youngest in a field of 16 competitors. But the 21-year-old Latter-day Saint college student from Layton, Utah kept her cool, had some luck, played hard, and ALMOST won the million dollar grand prize. Her $100,000 2nd place consolation prize should help ease any pain that may have stemmed from coming so close, only to lose in the final seconds of the contest. The 2-hour final episode of "Survivor: Marquesas", which aired Sunday, 19 May 2002, contained a number of direct references to Neleh being a Latter-day Saint, and showed her praying a number of times. Vecepia, a devout Evangelical who along with Neleh was probably the most openly religious and spiritually-oriented competitor on the show, was the winner by one vote. In a side interview shown during the show, Paschal English (a judge from the deep South who came in fourth place) said "It's great to have two nice Christian girls in the final two." In an interesting coincidence, Neleh Dennis is the SECOND Mormon woman to come in 2nd place on "Survivor." Three years ago, on the FIRST "Survivor", Kelly Wiglesworth, a Mormon but not an active churchgoer, came in 2nd place, losing out (also by just one vote) to Richard Hatch. - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ End of aml-list-digest V1 #720 ******************************