Day 8- Thursday May 11, 2000

Hi Everyone:
Greetings from New Hope Church! Imagine being a pastor and sharing the Word of God every single week. Then imagine being left behind because you never truly believed the gospel in your heart of hearts. Imagine your entire family and most of the congregation gone. How would you feel? Well, that was the setting for today’s shoot with Clarence Gilyard as Bruce Barnes. Of everything we’ve done I think this touched me the most today.

In a powerful display of raw acting talent, coming from the soul of a man who has himself wrestled with the Lord, Clarence blew us all away. I just wish you could all be here to see it actually unfolding. The teamwork and the talents of everyone working on this project are extraordinary. Despite all the battles, and they are some huge spiritual attacks on this project, I have never felt more at the center of God’s will. I know that God has placed us where we are and it gives me great resolve to just keep my hand to the plow, because when I do that, the Lord works everything else out!

I also did an interview with USA Today, along with Kirk Cameron for an article that will run in Friday’s paper. Here is the actual copy of the article, but I do believe there is to be a picture as well in the actual print edition:

What a revelation Here's a question even the Bible probably can't answer: Can movies with fundamental Christian messages have a reliable following at the box office? In October, The Omega Code, a $7.2 million film about apocalyptic prophecies and biblical mysteries, surprised the industry by making the box office top 10 and eventually grossing $12.6 million.

The makers of Left Behind - based on the first in the best-selling post-Rapture novel series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins - are counting on Omega's success being a sign of an untapped market. Now filming in Toronto, the $17 million-budgeted movie stars former teen heartthrob Kirk Cameron as a journalist trying to find out why millions of people have disappeared and the world has descended into chaos. ("This gives me an opportunity to do something wildly different from Growing Pains," he says.)

Unlike Omega, which had the support of the influential Trinity Broadcasting Network, Left Behind has no ties to a Christian media outlet. But producer Peter Lalonde believes that the book series' success (12 million copies are in print) will compensate for that. (Lalonde and his brother, Paul, are financing the film.) Plus, Lalonde plans to approach the most prominent Christian leaders in major U.S. cities about getting the word out on the film by "sponsoring" it in their area.

The producers have ambitions loftier than Omega. "We want to win the box office the weekend we open, and we want to open on more screens than any movie ever has," Peter Lalonde says. Left Behind, which is aiming for a February release, would need about 10 times the 405 screens of Omega's widest release to pull off such a miracle. But have faith. "During parts of February, it is possible," says Dan Marks of box office tracker ACNielsen EDI. Left Behind has to be good, though. "The Ten Commandments is a religious film," Marks says, "but it was also a good film, so everybody went to see it."

(end of article)

Let’s start praying that we can achieve our ambitious goals – so ambitious in fact that there was a sense of embarrassment (just for a moment) when I told the USA Today reporter our vision of winning the box office on our opening weekend and opening on more screens that any movie in history? But, I was quickly reminded of Noah building a ark when it had never before rained and I realized that this is one of the most exciting things about this whole vision – "if God be for us, who can be against us?" – Now that get’s me a little excited just to think of it.

I am reminded this day of David when he met Goliath. All the counselors tried to hand him armor and weapons, but he said I don’t know how to use those. I haven’t tried them. But then he said the great thing. He said I remember I faced a lion and the Lord delivered him into my hand. Then I faced a bear and he delivered him into my hand as well. So now I am ready for this giant. Well, that’s how I feel today. I am ready for this giant challenge. So are my brother Paul and Joe and Bobby over at Namesake Entertainment, so are Kirk and Chelsea Cameron and so is Clarence Gilyard. They have lined up to do everything in the their power and in their faith to make it happen.

Do I believe we can we achieve our lofty goals Yes, yes I do. I do because I know the great strength that Cloud Ten brings to this project is the knowledge that while we have to be faithful to plant and water, it is the Lord that will give the growth! We actually ended the filming today filming the final moment in the movie. Of course, we are far from done, but the last scene is there.

Wait – hold the presses. Just as was writing the last sentence, Paul just walked in and advised me that he and Kirk had just spent an hour going over that final scene and we are now going reshoot it tomorrow. It is expensive but when I heard their concerns I agreed. We’ve got to get these things just right. Please pray for us tomorrow, it is very big day with a lot of set-ups (means moving everything and resetting the lights and cameras). Plus we are now a bit behind and while we can go into overtime tonight (you have no idea how hard it is for a producer to say the word overtime without totally freaking out) we can’t go to far because of something called turnaround. What that means is that the cast and crew must have a 10 hour break between leaving and returning to set. And tomorrow is our big airport scene which is a day scene in location with millions of windows. If we go too late tonight and have to start too late tomorrow, then is could get dark and cause continuity problems.

The other alternative is a ‘forced call’ where you get people to come back before the 10 hours time has passed. If you don’t do it too often the crews love it because you’re paying them just about enough to go buy a new car! It reminds of the credits to a movie I saw lately where the credit for the continuity director came up as follows: Continuity: Hardly Any Hopefully, we will fair better than that. BTW, if you are coming to an extra tomorrow come exactly at the time you have been requested unless otherwise notified.

Your Private Comments.
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