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HOLLYWOOD
JESUS
NEWSLETTER #51
Pop Culture From A Spiritual Point of View
March 26, 2003
Greetings from David Bruce, Web Master
This
page was last updated March 26, 2003
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Main
Topic:
MOVIE NEWS AND UPDATES
CONTENTS:
1. Rivers and Tides -Beauty of God's Creation in War Time
2. War sinks the Oscars, NCAA and the Box Office
3. The Culture Shift is Surprising to Eminem
4. Is VHS dead? DVD Now #1
5. Tobey is 'Back' as Spider-Man (pardon the pun)
6. Another Super Hero is on the Way
7. CS Lewis' Narnia pushed to 2005
8. Joshua Returns In The Name Of God
FORUM
BULLETIN BOARD
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1. RIVES AND TIDES
Celebrating the Beauty of Creation in the Midst of War
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In
the midst of war it is good to remind one's self of the hand
of God in our midst. One way to do this is to look at the beauty
of creation. War is ugly. Creation is beautiful. It reminds
us of a God who is love. With this in mind I recommend to you
this wonderful film, Rivers and
Tides. -David
Review
By Darrel Manson
The last few years have given us some very good films about
artists: Pollock, Frida and Chi-hwa-seon (a lovely Korean film
about Jang Seung-up, a 19th Century Korean painter). These films
focus on the artists and their struggles and give us some exposure
and insight into the art they produced.
Rivers
and Tides focuses more on art produced by Andy Goldsworthy than
on the artist. And that art is fabulous.
Goldsworthy
is an environmental artist. He makes his art from the materials
he finds in nature and uses those materials to draw our attention
to natural setting he makes his art.
Some
of his art (such as a wall winding through a field) is built
to withstand to forces of nature. Some of it (like a dome built
from driftwood on a rivers edge) is made to last only a short
time and be destroyed by the same nature that it celebrates.
In
Rivers and Tides we watch as Goldsworthy labors to create
his art. It may be a simple project or very involved. Much of
his art is only seen by those who might stumble upon it in the
wild, or by his photographs of what he has made. This film gives
us a chance to see the creation of the art and the beauty of
it. Some of the works in this film are movable art that because
they are made for this film, we get to see in their fullest.
While
watching the film, it is difficult to remain silent. The oohs
and ahhs just come out. The works are in deed breathtaking and
awe inspiring.
Like
Goldsworthy’s art, Thomas Riedelsheimer’s film gives
us a fresh way of seeing the nature around us and appreciating
not only the creation of art, but God’s creation.
For
a full review of this movie: Rivers
and Tides.
Post
your comments about this film here:
Forum
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2. WAR SINKS OSCARS, NCAA AND THE BOX-OFFICE
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The 75th Anniversary Academy Awards has turned out to be the
lowest-rated Oscar show in history. The public did not tune
into the Oscars, nor the NCAA basketball tournament as
was hoped. Television coverage of the war in Iraq is responsible
for a 29-percent drop in the box office this weekend from a
year ago. Dreamcatcher, the film many predicted to do
well did a dismal $15 million. In fact, all new films tanked.
View from the Top with Gwyneth Paltrow opened to a mere
$7.6 million. Even Disney's Piglet's Big Movie opened
to only $6.1 million, with Boat Trip literally sinking
at just $3.7 million. The public continues to support Bringing
Down the House, starring Steve Martin and Queen Latifah,
which remained at the top of the list for the third straight
week with an estimated $16.2 million.
Bulletin
Board -Your
Comments Here
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3. THE CULTURE SHIFT IS SURPRISE TO EMINEM
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Rap superstar Eminem slept through his Oscar win on Sunday while
his "Lose Yourself," was awarded the Best
Song Academy Award for from the soundtrack to his movie
8 Mile. His co-writer Luis Resto, who stepped up on stage to
accept the statuette says he called the rapper to congratulate
him - and found him fast asleep. Resto explains, "He was
asleep. It wasn't out of any disrespect. We just didn't expect
to win."
Rap,
Hip Hop and Urban culture have so quickly become such a significant
part of culture that insiders, such as Eminem, are surprised
by main stream acceptance. This was the first Academy Award
to a rapper.
In
addition to all this, hip-hop star Eminem has set a new record,
after sales of his 8 Mile DVD generated a whopping $40 million
- on its very first day of release. The DVD set a record for
an R- rated film. More than 2 million DVDs were sold in a single
day.
Watch
for upcoming HJ Newsletters on the culture shift from
Modernity to Post Modern to the Creative Age. Spiritual leaders
need to take careful note of the amazing culture shift that
we are in the midst of.
Bulletin
Board -Your
Comments Here
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4. IS VHS IS DEAD? DVD NOW #1
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History has been made. Rentals of DVD releases surpassed those
for VHS for the week ending March 16, according to the Video
Software Dealers Association. The totals are: DVD rentals at
$80 million, while VHS rentals at $78 million. "We're real
excited about this, VSDA spokesman Sean Bersell told the Los
Angeles Daily News."This shows the tremendous impact of
DVD on the home video industry. It continues to exceed everyone's
expectations and continues to drive the growth of the home video
industry."
The
times they are a-changing!
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5. TOBEY IS BACK AS SPIDER-MAN
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Tobey Maguire says he's definitely reprising his role as Spider-Man.
Reports emerged on Tuesday that a bad back would prevent him
from returning as the webslinging superhero. Jake Gyllenhaal
was reported to be up as the replacement. Interestingly Gyllenhaal's
real-life girlfriend is Kirsten Dunst. But, as it turns out,
Gyllenhaal has never been offered the role, and Maguire never
had intentions of pulling out. Spider-Man was the biggest box
office smash of 2002. The Amazing Spider-Man, which is
set for a May 2004 release, will begin filming next month.
Why
was Spider-Man such
a big hit?
Why are super hero movies doing so well?
Why are Superman, Spider-Man
and Daredevil so connected
to Christian faith?
Bulletin
Board -Your
Comments Here
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6. ANOTHER SUPER HERO IS ON THE WAY
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New Line Cinema has hired two-time Academy Award-winning screenwriter
William Goldman to write the big-screen version of DC Comics'
Shazam! He is best known for such screenplays as The
Princess Bride, Marathon Man and Butch Cassidy
and the Sundance Kid.
Remember
the 1970s Saturday morning series? Shazam! was the 1970s
revival of the 1940s Fawcett Comics character Captain Marvel
-you remember him right? The story centers around a mild-mannered
boy (sound familiar?) named Billy Batson who discovers that
he can call on the powers of an ancient Egyptian wizard.
The
Shazam name is an acronym for the six positive attributes of
the famous heroes and gods of the ancient world:
The wisdom of Solomon.
The strength of Hercules.
The stamina of Atlas.
The power of Zeus.
The courage of Achilles.
The speed of Mercury.
Shazam!
The
project is headed by Batman executive producer Michael
Uslan (interesting, uh?).
Bulletin
Board -Your
Comments Here
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7. CS LEWIS' NARNIA PUSHED TO 2005
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We are told that Narnia has been pushed back to Christmas
'05...
The hope is that this series will be successful and that all
7 parts of Narmia to be released, one each year, as The
Lord of the Rings has been. CS Lewis and JRR were best
friends.
Bulletin
Board -Your
Comments Here
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8. JOSHUA RETURNS IN THE NAME OF GOD
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An insider informs us that Joshua 2 will be directed
by Jonas McCord (The Body) and will be called "In
The Name Of God." The first Joshua
(2002) had a budget of $9 million and did $2 million
in box office, but had done amazingly well on video and DVD.
Bulletin Board -Your
Comments Here
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