From: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com (aml-list-digest) To: aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: aml-list-digest V1 #981 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, February 21 2003 Volume 01 : Number 981 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 13:27:07 -0600 From: pdhunter@wt.net Subject: [AML] Box Office Report Feb. 14 03 Feature Films by LDS/Mormon Filmmakers and Actors Weekend Box Office Report (U.S. Domestic Box Office Gross) Weekend of February 14, 2003 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 - --- ----------------------------- ----------- ----- ---- 7 Final Destination 2 5,662,148 2,238 17 A.J. Cook (2nd-billed actor) 36,137,621 49 The R.M. 56,876 16 17 Kurt Hale (writer/director) 367,216 John E. Moyer (writer) Dave Hunter (producer) Cody Hale (composer) Ryan Little (cinematographer) Actors: Kirby Heyborne, Will Swenson, Britani Bateman, Tracy Ann Evans Merrill Dodge, Michael Birkeland, Maren Ord, Leroy Te'o, Curt Dousett Wally Joyner, etc. 51 Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure 47,204 9 738 Scott Swofford (producer) 14,000,310 Reed Smoot (cinematographer) Sam Cardon (composer) Stephen L. Johnson (editor) 78 Jack Weyland's Charly 4,826 9 143 Adam Anderegg (director) 744,541 Jack Weyland (book author) Janine Gilbert (screenwriter) Lance Williams (producer) Micah Merrill (producer, film editor) Tip Boxell (co-producer) Bengt Jan Jonsson (cinematographer) Aaron Merrill (composer) Actors: Heather Beers, Jeremy Elliott, Adam Johnson, Jackie Winterrose Fullmer, Diana Dunkley, Gary Neilson, Lisa McCammon, Randy King, Bernie Diamond, etc. 86 Galapagos 2,340 3 1207 Reed Smoot (cinematographer) 13,933,922 94 Handcart 1,912 2 129 Kels Goodman (director/DP) 85,303 Dave Sapp (producer) Mark von Bowers (screenwriter) Eric M. Hanson (composer) Actors: Jaelan Petrie, Stephanie Albach Chris Kendrick, Shannon Skinner, Gretchen Condie 98 China: The Panda Adventure 585 1 570 Reed Smoot (cinematographer) 2,996,400 SHACKLETON'S HITS $14 MILLION - "Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure," whose Latter-day Saint makers include producer Scott Swofford, cinematographer Reed Smoot, composer Sam Cardon and film editor Stephen L. Johnson, hit the $14 million mark this week. The film is still performing very strongly for an IMAX film, playing in 9 theaters after 105 weeks in release (just over two years). This weekend, it took in $47,204, behind only "The Lion King" (special IMAX release) and "Space Station 3-D" among IMAX films reporting their box office gross. ROGERS' NEPHI CAST - Noah Danby is set to play Nephi in Gary Rogers' Book of Mormon feature film. Nephi is now cast and coming in the next couple of days the cast for Joseph Smith when he was younger and older. Previously cast as Sam (Nephi's brother) is Kirby Heyborne, star of the current hit "The R.M.", playing in theaters across Utah and coming soon to Idaho, Arizona, and more. Nephi's wife is played by Jacque Gray, the lead actress in "God's Army," which opened two weeks ago in Mexico. The movie also stars Richard Clifford ("Brigham City"), Brooks Utley (featured in the upcoming movie "Day of Defense"), Bruce Newbold, Jan Broberg Felt, and more. Shooting is scheduled to begin next month. See the official website for more information, including a bio of Noah Danby. THE R.M., Kurt Hale's second Latter-day Saint-themed feature comedy, took in another $100,000 during the week, bringing its total to $367,216 just 17 days after being released. The movie cost a reported $400,000 to make, with an additional $100,000 for P&A. "The R.M." remains in 6th place on the box office chart among LDS Cinema movies, but it passed by Sterling Van Wagenen's LDS-directed "Alan and Naomi" (1992) and James Merendino's Utah-based "SLC Punk!" (1999) this week. By next weekend "The R.M." box office total is expected to surpass the $405,182 grossed by Blair Treu's "Little Secrets," last year's nationally-released film which was made in Utah by a largely Latter-day Saint cast and crew. "Jack Weyland's Charly" is still in release, now with a box office total of $744,541. "Charly" is still scheduled to open in dozens of markets nationwide, and "The R.M." has not yet begun the bulk of its outside-Utah openings. It remains to be seen whether Hale's new comedy will overtake the Jack Weyland adaptation. Meanwhile, "Handcart" continues to open in new venues, playing in 2 to 4 theaters per weekend. Its box office total passed $85,000 over the weekend. CHARLY LISTINGS - "Jack Weyland's Charly" is currently playing or scheduled to play this month in the following locations: Arizona (Gilbert, Mesa); California (Brea, Irvine); Idaho (Boise, Idaho Falls); Nevada (Las Vegas); Oregon (Beaverton, Hillsboro, Ontario, Portland, Salem); Washington (Puyallup, Redmond, Renton, Spokane, Vancouver); Wyoming (Lyman). HANDCART LISTINGS - Idaho (Center Twin in Idaho Falls: Now playing as a double feature with "Charly"); Arizona (Towne Square Theater in St. Johns, opens Feb. 21; El Rio Theater in Springerville, opens Feb. 28); Virginia (Regal Virginia Center in Richmond: one week only starting Feb. 28; director Kels Goodman will be at the opening); Utah (Reel Theater in Richfield); Showhouse Theater in Othello, opens Feb. 28). SHAPE OF THINGS REPORT - A report on LaBute's "The Shape of Things", shown at Sundance and coming in May to theaters. Movies.com Sundance correspondent Cody Clark took in a press screening of The Shape of Things and offers this report: http://movies.go.com/sundance/ScreeningReportTheShapeofThing s.html SUDDENLY UNEXPECTED UPDATE - The editing is complete for "Suddenly Unexpected" Foley work and scoring is underway right now. Insiders report the cast was remarkable. Michael Judd and Jerald Garner are wonderful in the movie's starring roles as Elder Smith and Elder Jones, and they are surround by a strong supporting cast. Houston-based actress Junie Hoang gives a stand-out performance as the daughter, subsumed in a delightful pitch-perfect character role unlike any of her previous film characters. Our source tells us: "LDS audiences are going to enjoy 'Suddenly Unexpected'. Those that have seen parts of it always start laughing." LYDE'S NEW FILM/ACTORS NEEDED FOR NEXT - John Lyde's new film "In the Service of God" will soon be released in stores. Distributors are just waiting for it to be returned from duplicators. There are already pre-orders by stores. This is Lyde's second commercial release, after his phenomenal success with "The Field is White," which he spent about $100 to make (in addition to equipment he already had). "The Field is White" is currently Thomson Production's 5th best selling DVD and 8th best selling video, after films such as Ryan Little's theatrically released "Out of Step" and Mark Goodman's brand new "Someone Was Watching." Lyde's website also has completely new information about his upcoming feature film "The Collectors," whose D.P. is Kels Goodman ("Handcart"). WILLIAMS TO SCORE BIG SHIRA FILM - Alan Williams, most recently heard as the composer of "Miss Lettie and Me", the TV movie a few months ago starring Tom Selleck, is scoring the upcoming Bill Shira film with an all-star (at least as far as Utah is concerned) cast. Every day for many years now Alan Williams-scored movies have played in IMAX theaters, as he is the composer of "Kilimanjaro: Mountain of Many Faces" (2002), "Mark Twain's America" (1998), and the Academy Award-nominated "Amazon" (1997), and "Island of the Sharks" (1999), some of which are always playing in at least a few theaters. By our estimates, Williams-scored IMAX films have grossed more than $20 million nationwide, and more worldwide. Williams is also the composer of the animated feature film "The Princess and the Pea" (2001), coming soon to theaters. Two years ago his movie "Soul Assassin" (2001) was released in theaters in Europe. He has also scored direct-to-video movies, documentaries and TV series. Shira's film, which stars Tayva Patch, Rick Macy, Connie Young, Jaelen Petrie, Marvin Payne and many others has yet to announce a release date. The choice of Alan Williams for the musical score seems to be another indication that Shira is going all-out on his commitment to a quality project. We don't know if the story is audience-friendly or not (we know nothing of the plot), but this could end up being the most critically acclaimed LDS cinema movie of the year. POOLHALL JUNKIES - Very nice website is now online for the upcoming feature film "Poolhall Junkies." See http://www.poolhalljunkiesmovie.com/ The movies stars Rick Schroder, the actor best known for his starring roles as a child on the popular sitcom "Silver Spoons" and as an adult for 2 years opposite Dennis Franz on the popular police drama "NYPD Blue." Schroder, whose wife is a Latter-day Saint, lives in Colorado. "Poolhall Junkies" begins its theatrical release in limited cities on Feb. 28, then opens in more cities on March 21. The movie premired at the CineVegas International Film Festival. Prolific Utah character actor Frank Gerrish has a part in "Poolhall Junkies." Gerrish, who played the Hispanic contruction foreman in "Brigham City," was recently seen in the Sundance Film Festival screenings of Selma Hayek's directorial debut "The Maldonado Miracle." Latter-day Saint filmmakerSpanky Dustin Ward was a production assistant for "Poolhall Junkies." Ward was the first assistant director for the upcoming Latter-day Saint-themed feature film "Day of Defense." Ward's short film "Number 9" received an Audience Choice Award at the 2002 LDS Film Festival. A number of other Utah and/or Latter-day Saint film crew members worked on "Poolhall Junkies," including Steadicam operator Don Muirhead. Casting was assisted by Jeff Johnson, the Utah-based actor and casting director whose casting credits include Little Secrets (2002); Double Teamed (2002); Hounded (2001); Just a Dream (2001); The Poof Point (2001) and many more. Johnson played "Garcia", Tayva Patch's FBI agent-in-training partner in "Brigham City." The production budget was $4 million. * * * * * SAINTS OF WAR CASTING NEWS: The official website for the upcoming Latter-day Saint-themed war epic "The Saints of War," directed by critically acclaimed director Ryan Little, has been revamped. The cast has been announced, topped by Latter-day Saint Hollywood actor and recently returned missionary Corbin Allred. Allred, who starred in "Diamonds" with Kirk Douglas and Dan Akroyd, as well as in numerous made-for-video movies and TV series, thus becomes the best known active Latter-day Saint mainstream actor ever to star in an "LDS Cinema" movie. Wilford Brimley, who is a bigger star than Allred, previously starred in "Brigham City," but he is not a churchgoer. Actor Gordon Jump is better known than Allred, but his appearance in "The Singles Ward" was only a brief cameo. When "The Saints of War" hits movie screens, Allred will be the first actor to have appeared in a marquee/above-the-title role in BOTH a mainstream theatrically distributed movie ("Diamonds") AND an LDS Cinema movie. "The Saints of War", however, is NOT Allred's first Latter-day Saint-themed film. He previously starred in "Christmas Mission," a half-hour direct-to-video film produced by Greggory Peck. "Christmas Mission," along with the even better film "Only Once" (directed by Rocco DeVilliers) are now sold on a single DVD (both films feature directors' commentaries) available at LDS bookstores (as well as LDS Video Store for $17.45, free shipping). Receiving 2nd billing in "The Saints of War" is California-based Latter-day Saint actor Larry Bagby III. Best known for his regular role as GLBT highschool student "Larry" on the popular TV series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," Bagby has appeared on numerous other TV series and had a small (very small) role as a police officer in the opening drive-through-L.A. montage sequence in "God's Army." Bagby has starred in a few independent films which did not receive theatrical distribution. "The Saints of War" is his first major role in a theatrically released film. Listed 3rd on the site is already-announced "Saints of War" star Kirby Heyborne, returning to screens in the war epic after starring in the title role in "The R.M." and having a major supporting role in "The Singles Ward." Heyborne also has a small role in the Nathan Smith Jones/Richard Dutcher movie "The Work and the Story," opening August 15th, and he plays Nephi's brother Sam in Gary Rogers' Book of Mormon movie. Then there is Peter Holden, the talented actor best known for playing "Mr. Rigg" (Jenny's dance instructor) in Ryan Little's feature directorial debut "Out of Step." The leads are rounded out by "Alex Niver", who I've never heard of either, but apparently he had a lead role in the sitcom "Charles in Charge" and the "Starship Troopers" Animated Series. The "Saints of War" webiste lists his name as "Alex Niver," but IMDb.com lists him as "Alexander Polinsky." Listed as crew: Ryan Little is the writer/director. Adam Able is the producer. J. Bateman and Bart Hendrickson are the composers. If the "The Saints of War" is completed and gets into theaters by Fall 2003 (the site's stated release time), it would compete to become the most critically-acclaimed LDS Cinema movie of 2003. It will have to compete for such a title with Kurt Hale's "The R.M.", which, similarly to "Saints of War", was a director's sophomore effort. Among LDS Cinema, "The R.M." is currently second only to "Brigham City" (and just ahead of "Out of Step") when the grades given by movie reviewers are averaged. But ignoring the grades, many critical/literary types would probably put "Out of Step" ahead of "The R.M." One achievement that has so far eluded "Saints of War" director Ryan Little is box office success. Although "Out of Step" is selling briskly on video/DVD, the movie's theatrical release went largely unnoticed and "Out of Step" was the lowest or second-to-lowest performing LDS Cinema movie to date. Other movies which we expect will be released in 2003 are "Day of Defense", "The Work and the Story", "Suddenly Unexpected", and Gary Rogers' Book of Mormon movie, all from directors marking their feature film directorial debut. If judged purely on the director's experience, "The R.M." is the only 2003 release in the same league as "The Saints of War." Also in the works are "The Best Two Years of My Life" (starring Kirby Heyborne), "Baptists At Our Barbecue" (based on Robert Farrell Smith's LDS novel), and Tucker T. Dansie's "Love Logs On," any of which might be finished in 2003, but none of which are as far along in their production cycles. * * * * * LATTER-DAY SAINTS IN SUPERHERO MOVIES: With the release of "Daredevil" (starring Ben Affleck) we turn our attention to "superhero" movies. The Box Office Mojo website has compiled a list (see below) of superhero movies. Their list is a little broader than you might expect, as it features costumed heroes not only from contemporary comics (Superman, Batman, Spider-Man), but also from yesteryear (The Lone Ranger, Zorro) and the future (Flash Gordon, Judge Dredd), and powered heroes who don't don costumes (Buffy the Vampire Slayer). But, by and large, the list is pretty much comic book-based heroes. "Daredevil," of course, is not at all a Latter-day Saint movie. But it DOES have religious themes. The title character is Catholic, and about a 4th of the movie takes place within a Catholic church. The movie's Daredevil routinely goes to the church to attend confessional. He isn't exactly a perfect Catholic, however, as he occasionally kills bad guys (or allows them to be killed when he could easily save them), and he seems to have not mastered the law of chastity. At one point he chooses to ignore a mugging victim's pleas for help so that he can sleep with Elektra (not so active Greek Orthodox) on their first date. Only one superhero movie on the list features a Latter-day Saint protagonist, and it's a movie many would prefer did not exist: "Orgazmo" written and directed by Trey Parker of "South Park" fame also stars Parker in the title role as a Latter-day Saint missionary serving a full time mission who becomes an "adult film" star and a superhero. It's second-to-the-last on the list in terms of box office performance, which means, thankfully, relatively few people saw it. One person who at least heard of it was Richard Dutcher, who has cited his dismay over "Orgazmo" as part of the inspiration for him to make "God's Army," the movie which sparked the modern LDS Cinema genre. Although he played one in his movie, Trey Parker is not and never has been a Latter-day Saint. The only Latter-day Saint actor to star in the title role in a superhero movie on the list is the ill-fated Klinton Spilsbury, who won the title role in "The Legend of the Lone Ranger" (1981). The movie and his performance were skewered by critics, and Spilsbury never had another movie role. He died young after becoming a lonely drunk known for spouting "I'm the #$@% Lone Ranger!" in bars. Latter-day Saint actress Michele Abrams had a the 6th-billed role as Buffy's friend "Jennifer Walkens" in the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" feature film (1992). Abrams received billing over Buffy's other friend, played by Hilary Swank. The "Buffy" movie later spawned an even more popular TV series, which would star non-churchgoing Latter-day Saint actress Eliza Dushku as Buffy's fellow slayer "Faith," and feature Latter-day Saint actor Larry Bagby III as Buffy's high school friend "Larry Blaisedale." (Bagby will soon be seen as the star of the Latter-day Saint-themed feature film "The Saints of War.") A number of Latter-day Saint actors had guest spots on the "Buffy" series, including Mark Deakins ("Star Trek: Insurrection", "How Rare a Possession") and Carlos Amezcua. Although Latter-day Saint actor Cam Clarke starred as "Leonardo" in the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle" TV series, video games, and a number of direct-to-video animated movies, he was NOT the actor behind Leonardo in the live-action "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle" movies listed below. Latter-day Saint actor Paul Tuerpe had a small role in the 1978 "Superman" movie, starring Christopher Reeve and Gene Hackman. "The Crow" (1994) and "The Crow: City of Angels" (1996) are listed below. Not listed is the direct-to-video sequel "The Crow: Salvation," which was filmed in Salt Lake City and featured numerous Latter-day Saint and Utah actors, including David Stevens ("Punch-Drunk Love"), Britt Leary ("Only Once"), Kylee Cochran ("Cage in Box Elder"), Aaron Yun ("Twice Today"), Tony Larimer, Joey Miyashima ("Little Secrets"), Gabrielle Woods ("Bug Off!"), Curley Green, and Jeff Olson. Latter-day Saint filmmaker Boyd Kirkland was also a sequence director for the animated feature film "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm" (1993), which grossed $5.6 million in theaters and was widely considered superior to the live action Batman movies. Not on this list -- because it was released directly to video -- is the animated feature film "Batman and Mr. Freeze: SubZero (1998), written, produced and directed Kirkland. Latter-day Saint movie star Terry Moore had a recurring role as the villainess "Venus" on the classic and campy 1960s "Batman" TV series. Latter-day Saint actress Marie Windsor had a recurring role as "Nellie Majors" on the same series. "Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie" is on the list below. Another Power Rangers movie was directed by Latter-day Saint director Blair Treu ("Little Secrets", "Wish Upon a Star", etc.), but went straight to video and so is not listed below. The 1998 movie "The Mask of Zorro" starring Antonio Banderas and Anthony Hopkins was NOT made by Latter-day Saints, but it is worth noting that Disney's "Zorro" TV series in the 1950s and the Disney live movies "Zorro, the Avenger" (1960) and "The Sign of Zorro" (1960) -- all of which played a major role in popularizing the character -- were produced by none other than Smithfield, Utah native Bill Anderson. So if Zorro's clean-cut attire and ultra-honorable code of ethics has ever seemed rather Mormon to you, there's a good reason for this. Finally, Latter-day Saint artist James Carson was an illustrator for the highest-grossing superhero movie, "Spider-Man," and he is now working on its sequel, "The Amazing Spider-Man" (2004), and Ang Lee's "The Hulk." He also worked on "Batman Forever" (1995). http://www.boxofficemojo.com/genres/superhero.htm 1 Spider-Man $403,706,375 2 Batman $251,188,924 3 Batman Forever $184,031,112 4 Batman Returns $162,831,698 5 X-Men $157,299,718 6 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles $135,265,915 7 Superman $134,218,018 8 Superman II $108,185,706 9 Batman and Robin $107,325,195 10 Unbreakable $95,011,339 11 The Mask of Zorro $94,095,523 12 Blade II $82,348,319 13 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles $78,656,813 14 Blade $70,095,974 15 Superman III $59,950,623 16 Spawn $54,969,564 17 The Crow $50,691,685 18 The Rocketeer $46,704,056 19 Daredevil $43,500,000 20 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III $42,273,609 21 Mighty Morphin Power Rangers $38,187,431 22 Judge Dredd $34,693,581 23 Darkman $33,878,502 24 The Shadow $32,063,435 25 Mystery Men $29,762,011 26 Flash Gordon $27,107,960 27 The Crow: City of Angels $17,917,287 28 The Phantom $17,323,216 29 Buffy the Vampire Slayer $16,624,456 30 Hero at Large $15,934,737 31 Superman IV: The Quest for Peace $15,681,020 32 Iron Monkey $14,694,904 33 Supergirl $14,296,438 34 The Legend of the Lone Ranger $12,617,845 35 Black Mask $12,504,289 36 The Powerpuff Girls $11,412,414 37 Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie $8,363,899 38 The Meteor Man $8,016,708 39 Blankman $7,941,977 40 Sheena $5,778,353 41 Batman: Mask of the Phantasm $5,617,391 42 Tank Girl $4,047,846 43 Barb Wire $3,793,614 44 Steel $1,710,972 45 Orgazmo $602,302 46 The Specials $13,276 * * * * * AUDITIONS AND OTHER TMACCESS NOTES - TMAccess, 13 February 2003 Wolf Productions presents "War in Heaven." Need 300 EXTRAS! Extras need to provide their own white clothing (and black clothing for "evil spirits"). Major roles still available: Christ, Archangels, Adam and Eve, an Heavenly Father (35+ years old). Shooting will be on July 12. Please contact Stephen Groo for audition or more information at film99@juno.com or call 356-3468 before 9:30 p.m. Congratulations to the Irene Ryan Semi-finalists from BYU! Our department has 4 semi-finalists advancing at ACTF this week: Clay Bunker, Janel Crane, Cameron Hopkin, and Laura Reyna. Media Arts Students: The documentary "Truth and Conviction: The Helmuth Hubener Story" will beon BYU TV on Feb. 21 at 9 p.m. This film was partially funded by a CFAC Production Grant and MA faculty advised. We invite you to view this film. Brad Barber's "Troy through a Window" wil be presented at a special one-time screening at the Tower Theatre in Salt Lake (876 E. 900 S.) on Saturday afternoon, March 1, at 1 p.m. Admission is $5 and there will be a Q and A session to follow. The film explores a Mormon family's attempt at understanding the homosexuality of one of its members. American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theatre in L.A. presents The Best of the 2003 Slamdance Film Festival on February 13 featuring "The Snell Show," directed by BYU student Andrew Black, winner of the Grand Jury Award for Best Short. "The Last Hope" is the winning script of the Feature Script Competition of the LDS Film Festival. Congratulations to writer Emily Stephens -- recent BYU graduate now living in Los Angeles. 2nd and 3rd place went to Ben Gourley and Hubbel Palmer. LDS Independent Production Company is looking for full-length feature LDS screenplays. Please send a treatment by mail to: 1424 South Stapley Drive, Suite 222, Mesa, AZ 85204, Attn: Kimberly Nelson First Annual Ruth and Nathan Hale Comedy Writing Awards are calling for entries. The competition, designed to inspire playwrights to pen new three-act family-friendly comedies, offers a $1,000 top prize and a reading of the winning entry. We are hoping that the competition will help supplement the creative work taking place at BYU. All scripts must be turned into the Hale Center in West Valley by April 30. Questions? Call 801-984-9000. - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 16:42:04 -0700 From: "J. Scott Bronson" Subject: Re: [AML] Slate Commentary on CleanFlicks Lawsuit On Fri, 7 Feb 2003 14:07:28 -0700 "Clark Goble" writes: > You do realize that this has been done, right? [snip] > The question is, as with the CleanFlicks, how it is marketed. That is NOT the question. Marketing is the last phase of selling a product. YOUR product, not one you appropriated. The examples you gave of one artist using someone else's work to create something new undoubtedly all involved a monetary exchange. You have to PAY for the privelage of using someone else's labors. Back to my first point -- you can only do what you're licenced to do. Stories from history, or public domain are up for grabs. > Anyway, I know you were trying to make a big "counter-argument." Wrong. I am simply trying to make the point that many people are simply unwilling to comprehend, which is that nobody who makes something out of someone else's work without permission has any moral ground to stand on. > Yet the problem is that there is already a > great deal of precedence on this matter. Someone invoked Shakespear I believe. Well, what did Will do? He took stories from legend, history or other parts of the public domain and remade them in his own image. He didn't take the texts of others' labors and cut and snip here and there; he answered their stories with a version of his own. Did a pretty good job of it too. I've done the same thing myself. "The Whipping Boy" is in a very oblique way an answer to Scott Card's "Lost Boys." "Stones" is, in part, my version of the Akheda with plot points borrowed liberally from the Book of Jasher. > Put an other way, do you think MST3K was evil and wrong for > making jokes over a film? Nope. I do it all the time. But if I'm going to make money at it, I will expect to pay for the privelage of doing so. scott bronson - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 16:31:14 -0700 From: "J. Scott Bronson" Subject: Re: [AML] Why Not PG? On Mon, 20 Jan 2003 12:00:53 -0800 (PST) Matthew Lee writes: > What about the excellent non R movies? Why focus on > the exceptions? Because, as others have pointed out, that's the topic of this thread. > Isn't it better to learn to live by the rule and > let the exceptions work themselves out? Not quite sure what you mean by that, but I'll take a stab at it. As far as I'm concerned there are exceptions in every catagory (I will illustrate later). When I was an adolescent youth I went to the Clairemont Theater in San Diego nearly every Saturday for a couple of years because my folks could get rid of me and gain for themselves a few hours of peace and quiet for a mere 49 cents. Double features of G and GP movies -- all safe, right? The fact is, the ratings board was much more lenient back then, than it is now. I saw Lee J. Cobb blow out the back of his neck by putting a gun to his throat. I saw blood spurt out of a guy's stomach in a four foot arch in slow motion. I saw naked women and heard lot's of swearing (the most offensive kind to me being the Lord's names taken in vain) -- all in GP rated films. Some of that stuff would get an R rating now I think. At the very least a PG-13. The point I'm aiming at here is that some "rules" are perhaps intentionally vague because there are so many people that must be guided by them and all those people are so very varied in their constitutions. I knew a man who became violently ill at the mere thought of blood and gore. Even if he knew that it was Karo syrup with red dye, it bothered him. None of the violence that I have described above or that I have seen in any number of other movies has had even a slightly adverse affect on me, whereas, the real sound of a man punching another man in the face, that sickening thudslap of flesh on flesh, is quite disturbing to me. I think D & C 89:3 has application here. "Adapted to the capacity of ... the weakest of all saints." If you know what bothers you, stay away from it. I know that seeing naked women in almost any context is not a good thing for me. So, "Titanic," "Gotcha," "THX 1138," "Airplane," "Nell," and several other films I have seen that contain female nudity are all films that I should avoid. Those five I named are all PG or PG-13. At the same time, since violence, as a concept (especially as a valid story-telling tool), is not offensive to me when it is used wisely and well, I feel no need to restrict myself from such movies as "Glory," "The Matrix," "Saving Private Ryan," "The Negotiator," or "Rob Roy" simply because they are rated R. > How about listing some of the non R rated films > that contain messages equally as powerful and well > presented, but without those elements that we have > been counseled to avoid? How 'bout this? I'll tell you what my top ten movies are and why I like them so much. The one thing they all have in common is that I can watch any one of them at any time any number of times and never be bored. Then I'll tell you what my ffive bottom movies are and why I hate them. Let me warn you though, the ratings run the gamut on both lists. 1. Gallipoli (pg) Western Australian youths caught up in patriotism and, while fighting a pointless battle, are still willing to die for something bigger than themselves. Harrowing. 2. Ordinary People (r) A family unaware that they are torn apart bloodying their souls as they strive to come back together. Real. Very real. And I love seeing stories about growth and healing. 3. It's a Wonderful Life (nr) Best actor ever (favorite at least) in a classic fable that moves me EVERY SINGLE TIME I SEE IT. I know -- I just KNOW that heaven is going to be a house crammed with people all smiling and laughing and singing. 4. Glory (r) Extremely powerful story about a group of men who learn to honor and defend a beloved ideal as comrades and brothers. If it were up to me all missionaries in the Church would watch this movie before entering the field. 5. The Right Stuff (pg) The story of America's race to space. Engaging and likable characters in a fascinating tale told with humor and pathos. 6. Anne of Green Gables/Anne of Avonlea (nr) Fabulous character study and homage to a time and place that I believe really did exist. So many people striving to live Christ-like lives, all bothering and loving and hurting and forgiving one another. 7. Toy Story 2 (g) Great film making on every level. Should have won for best picture. The only thing that could have made it better than it was would have been if Andy's mom had turned out to be that girl who had been Jessie's owner. 8. The Sound of Music (g) Great songs, great actors, great story, and the best screen kiss ever. Julie Andrews makes me cry every time she she sings. And the screenplay is SO much better than the stage play. 9. The Matrix (r) Just cool, man. So very cool. And religious. 10. Return to Me (pg) Best chick flick ever. David Duchovny at his absolute best. He's human after all. Bonnie Hunt is brilliant. My wife saw this with a friend and when Jim Belushi did that whole "clean-my-shirt" scene, this friend turned to Lynne and said, "That's Scott, right?" Yep. 1. The Little Mermaid (g) This is a story about a teeneage girl who carelessly endangers her community by breaking the rules and when she gets caught she rebells by signing a pact with the Devil. When someone else saves her scaly little butt, she doesn't repent and still inherits eternal glory. All for lust. Give me a stinking break. 2. Titanic (pg-13) Completely offensive, but not for the reasons you're thinking. I actually thought the "nude" scene was kinda cute -- and it was I suppose safe nudity as it was okay for those of us thirteen and older. No, it was Old Rose's line, "He saved me. In every way that a person can be saved, he saved me." Whale dreck. Apologies to Richard's friend, but Jack was NOT a Christ figure in my estimation. He was way too hedonistic for that. 3. Bugsy (r) I felt ... empty at the end of that film. There wasn't a single character that inspired me to root for them. It was instructive in a way I suppose, but there is a difference between "I'm glad I don't know you" and "I wish we had never met." 4. Some-Chevy-Chase-Movie-Wherein-He-Had-Telekinetic-Powers (pg) Just boring and stupid. I stayed in the theatre simply to see if there might be some redeeming quality in it somewhere. Nope. I was way angry as I left the theatre. 5. Born On the Fourth of July (r) Pointless. Woulda walked out except that I had been fiddling with my wedding ring and had dropped it and couldn't find it until the lights came up. For what it's worth. scott bronson - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 18:04:50 -0700 From: "Susan Kroupa" Subject: [AML] Re: _The Way We're Wired_ I'd like to add my voice to what others have said: THE WAY WE'RE WIRED is a wonderful play and the production at the Center Street Theater is really an excellent one. All the actors do a fine job, and the melding of script and characters is so good that by the end of the play I felt I had come to know and love the people onstage. In fact, I liked it so well I went back to see it a second time. I'll confess that the first time I went mainly to support Scott and Thom in their endeavor. In fact, I whispered to my husband as the play started, "If this isn't any good, we can slip out at intermission and go to a movie." I was delighted to find the play not only "good" but one of the best I've seen in some time. The second time I went because once isn't enough for me when I really like a book or play. It only runs through March 1, so if you're thinking about seeing it don't put it off. Sue - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2003 09:10:21 -0500 From: Justin Halverson Subject: Re: [AML] Gospel in Art At 11:40 PM 2/17/2003 -0800, Harlow Clark wrote: >Are you saying it's not possible to talk about what makes one work of art >more essentially meaningful than another? That a 2500 year body of >literary criticism and theory aimed at just that is to be shrugged off? I'm not saying it's not possible. I'm just saying that no one seems to have gotten it done, even after 2500 years, at least not in a very global sense. An absolute aesthetics seems to me something like a utopia--something that's not happening despite the best efforts of a lot of really good, really smart, really motivated individuals. Perhaps this is why the injunction pointing us toward the best books is so open-ended. And I'm not even saying that some works of art aren't inherently more valuable than others. Like Hume and Kant said way back when, though none of us can say exactly why, we all recognize crap when we see it. It's just that since we can't seem to agree, and since our value judgments about art often seem to get either transferred onto the artist or the audience, maybe we should, in the interest of community, back up a little from our need to say, "This is (absolutely) good and that is (absolutely) bad." For me, the more interesting--and perhaps more urgent--angle on the question of aesthetic value is not so much figuring out what makes one work of art more essentially meaningful than another (something we'll no doubt still be arguing about 2500 years from now, barring any other more pressing concerns), but rather how our attitudes about aesthetics--the assumptions we make about the definitions of art and its links (or just parallels, maybe?) to the gospel, the similarity (conflations, or convergences?) between aesthetic and religious experience--affect the increasingly global community Mormons, to cite just one group, are working to create. I really like your idea about cities of refuge; I'd love to hear what you have to say in your AML paper. Does anyone know if allowances are made for those of us outside the shadow of the everlasting hills--will there be a proceedings published, or maybe put on CD-ROM, at least? Justin Halverson - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2003 16:53:44 -0700 From: "D. Michael Martindale" Subject: [AML] D. Michael's Film Lab I'm going to try something that I've been wanting to do for some time. I've always enjoyed reading and I've always wanted to be a writer. But my true love is film. What I really enjoy is telling and hearing stories, and although the written word is a wonderful way to do that, film is by far my favorite method. There are reading groups all over the world--people who get together to discuss a piece of literature they have all recently read. Reading is a solitary activity, so there's no reason to read together, just discuss together. Well, I'd like to do the same thing for film. Except viewing a film does not have to be a solitary thing--in fact, it can be an enhanced experience when done together. So I'd like to start up a "reading group" for film. Periodically, a Saturday afternoon/evening will be scheduled with a theme to it, and two or three films will be viewed that fit that theme, then discussed for their artistic and technical merits, for their intellectual and emotional impacts, and for any cultural significance they may have. Heck, you can even discuss if they're "spiritually uplifting" or not. By the way, don't tell me three films is too much. My friends and I used to go to triple features at the drive-in all the time. Obviously this will be a significant investment of time for that day (but not overly significant, I think), but then the point of this whole thing is for people who love films and want to talk about them, not for causal viewers. Attendance will cost nothing (almost--see below). I will provide the films and they will be viewed in our sizeable basement family room on our big screen TV. I have an impressive collection of films to choose from myself, and belong to Netflix so I can rent anything available on DVD without extra charge to me (a flat monthly fee). Since the time involved will be significant, and I'm sure we'll all get hungry, I'd like to make a party out of it each time with a potluck meal. Everyone who comes brings something to share. I'll provide the utensils. I'd love to do this twice a month because there are so many films I'd like to examine that it would take years and years to go through them all. And an argument could be made that twice a month might not be overwhelming: the same people won't necessarily attend every time because of interest or scheduling conflicts. But it might become overwhelming to me, and I'm not sure just how many people will be interested in doing this. Maybe twice a month will spread attendance too thin. Perhaps once a month would be plenty. So I'll start out with that frequency in mind and see how things go. Furthermore, my "film lab" series will NOT be Deseret Book approved. There will be no attempt to avoid "inappropriate" films or certain ratings. Some themes will be better than others--some themes will even be "family friendly." But you are responsible for yourselves to avoid whatever films you care to avoid. I hope you would consider being a little more liberal in your judgments than usual, because this is intended to be much more than mere entertainment: it's intended to be educational. I'd like to hear what people think of this idea, and especially who'd be interested in participating. At any rate, I'm going to go ahead and schedule the first of D. Michael's Film Labs and see what happens. The announcement for that will be quickly forthcoming... - -- 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 ------------------------------ End of aml-list-digest V1 #981 ******************************