The religulous trailer film political films

It was interesting to be in Canada for the Toronto International Film
Festival and see media coverage there of events happening here.

Both political conventions (and Hurricane Gustav) filled the news and
opinion pages of all the Canadian papers with the bulk of the coverage
tilted in favor of Obama, but with a spirited rebuttal from readers
and columnists alike.

The announcement of their own elections stole the spotlight from all
this, and shame on me for not caring enough to pay attention.

Back home, the relief I sought in the sports pages from the U.S.
media’s obsession with political minutiae and trivia was as short
lived as Milwaukee Brewer’s wild card hopes.

And now I find that escapism in film entertainment is also futile,
because the multiplex is as polarized as the rest of the country.

People turned to political films during the last election for
information that was often not reported anywhere else. And one of
those films – “Fahrenheit 9/11” by Michael Moore – became the highest
grossing documentary of all time.

It was written and directed by Shorewood native David Zucker, who
directed “The Naked Gun” and “Airplane!,” and stars Kevin Farley – the
late Chris Farley’s brother – as Moore.

“An American Carol” was funded by Beloit resident Diane Kendricks and
her late husband Ken Hendricks. In the film Farley’s character is
visited by several historical characters – ala Charles Dickens – when
he proposes banning July 4.

The Hendrickses are investors in the production firm founded by
Stephen McEveety, producer of Mel Gibson’s “Braveheart,” “The Passion
of the Christ” and “What Women Want.” A release said the firm
specializes in “high impact, socially relevant films.”

The Hendrickses are also major supporters of the Beloit Film Festival
and McEveety has been named honorary chair of the 2009 event.

Bill Maher, of course, comes from the polar opposite viewpoint, and
his new documentary is the anti-“The Passion of the Christ.”

The comic and HBO talk show host is a caustic and outspoken liberal
and his film – by “Borat” director Larry Charles – disputes the
notions of God and faith and ridicules the sorts of extreme elements
like ganja worshippers and Scientologists, that gather in his name.

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Film theaters weeks in religulous movie

New This Week • • • • • Also in
Theaters • • • • • •
• • • • • • • •
• • • • • • • •
•

Fireproof, the new Christian film from the makers of Facing the
Giants, opens this week. When do you plan to see it?
• Right away • Within a few weeks • Within a few
months • I’ll wait till DVD • Never

Michael Silberman, head of distribution for Samuel Goldwyn, called the
Fireproof numbers and said the film will expand to over 1,000 theaters
in the coming weeks. (By contrast, Facing the Giants earned just $1.3
million in its opening weekend two years ago, in 441 theaters. But it
was a film with “legs,” and hung around theaters long enough to earn
over $10 million in its 4-month run.)

But the movie isn’t just generating buzz among Christians; mainstream
publications are also talking about the film and the Kendrick
brothers, Alex and Stephen, the men behind the movies.

USA Today that the Kendricks employ their faith not just in the
content of their movies, but also in the way they make those movies:
“They don’t pay their actors. Volunteers build the sets. Sunday school
kids cater. And when production hits a snag, they don’t ask for more
money. They pray.” The article also notes their successful they are.
“And they’re getting the kind of return on their films that would make
Spielberg envious. Their first theatrical release, 2006’s Facing the
Giants, about a struggling football coach, cost $100,000 and raked in
$10 million in theaters.”

Kirk Cameron, who plays the lead role in Fireproof, has been getting a
lot of ink too. He spoke of love and family in .

Meanwhile, the film is receiving some positive reviews, even from
secular critics. The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal married
couples to see the film, and to bring other couples with them, citing
the movie’s positive insights about marriage as well as its
“compelling storyline.”

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