| HOLLYWOOD JESUS
NEWSLETTER #84
Pop Culture From A Spiritual Point of View
May 27, 2004
Greetings from David Bruce, Web Master
This page was last updated
May 27, 2004
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Greetings from David Bruce, Web Master
Main Topic: HOLLYWOOD HAS CHAGED!
Contents:
1. GARY MARSHALL TALKS ABOUT CHANGING VIEWS IN HOLLYWOOD CONCERNING RELIGION
An interview by David Bruce
2. WILL MEL GIBSON TAKE OVER OF DISNEY?
Some interesting rumors
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1. RAISING HELEN
-Why did director Gary Marshall do a romantic film about a Christian minister and orphaned children?
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—Review
—Trailers, Photos
—About this Film
—Spiritual Connections
—Forum
GARY MARSHALL was the executive director of Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, The Odd Couple and Mork and Mindy. He has directed such films as The Princess Diaries, Runaway Bride, The Other Sister, Frankie & Johnny, Beaches, Overboard, Nothing in Common, The Flamingo Kid, Exit to Eden, and Dear God.
It was my privilege to talk with Director Gary Marshall about changing attitudes in Hollywood concerning religion, families and children. Here is what he said:
Why did Raising Helen interest you?
"Actually this is what drew me to the picture. Usually you just don’t do pictures about ministers in a love story. But that's what made it interesting to me.
About about your Christian faith?
"I’m Italian, but I didn’t grow up Catholic, I was Lutheran and I was baptized a Presbyterian. I like to think that I covered most of my bases."
What motivated you to do Raising Helen?
"With all the negative stuff that was going on in the news about the (Catholic) church, I thought some where there needed to be a positive statement. I mean, religion has a good place. And it has good people."
 Was it difficult to do a film about faith?
"Putting together a film like this isn’t easy. Initially, John Corbett didn’t want to do it. He didn’t want to be a nice guy again; he had too many movies in a row where he was a nice fellow. But, slowly this project intrigued him."
How did the Disney Studios feel about backing a religious film?
"It also surprised me that Disney would take a shot it (a romantic film about a Lutheran pastor). We didn’t get any flack about doing it –except for one day when they thought that we should not show the minister touching the kids –you know, because of all the news at the time, they said. But, I told them that I didn’t think people thought about it that way. It was a minor thing. That was the only flack we got."
Have things changed in Hollywood?
You know, in the old days of television they would not let you do a show about a religious person, unless they flew –like the flying nun. They always felt that nothing bad could happen to a minister (therefore, no interesting stories could be developed). So you could not do stories about ministers or religious people because they wouldn’t believe them. In the sixties and the seventies you just didn’t do religious stories. But now that has changed. We can do films
like this now.
Did you use actual Churches?
"The Presbyterian Church that we used in the film was where my oldest daughter was baptized.
"By the way, the choir that we used in the film is an actual kid’s choir in a Los Angeles church."
 Families are important to you
"Yes, I did this film as a salute to parents and how hard it is to raise kids these days. I have three children. I have two sisters who have children. I watched them go through all this. It’s a hard job. Hollywood knows this too. That’s why Warner Bros and Disney, they all have child care centers for working parents."
It is a new era in Hollywood indeed.
Helen help us.
—Forum
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2. DISNEY TAKE OVER BY MEL GIBSON?
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I do not know if it is true, but here are the reports:
"Variety reports a rumor that Mel Gibson may be involved with a group looking to engineer a takeover of The Walt Disney Co. These investors were said to be impressed with Gibson's acumen at making a success of The Passion of the Christ, which has grossed more than $580 million worldwide."
"Goodbye, Michael Eisner! Hello . . . Mel Gibson? A consortium of mysterious European investors has approached Gibson about a possible takeover of Disney now that Comcast has thrown in the towel, sources told PAGE SIX. "We were very impressed with the way Gibson handled 'The Passion of the Christ,' " one insider said." Sources here:
Fox News
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,119533,00.html
New York Post Page 6
http://www.nypost.com/gossip/23749.htm
New Kerala
http://news.newkerala.com/world-news/index.php?action=fullnews&showcomments=1&id=15730
MouseNews.com
http://www.mickeynews.com/News/DisplayPressRelease.asp_Q_id_E_554Mel
GetReligion
http://getreligion.typepad.com/getreligion/2004/05/disney_eisner_g.html
FreeRepublic
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1130339/posts
NewsMax
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/5/5/134432.shtml
OTHER NEWS
Jim Caviezel (Jesus in The Passion) talks about life after the passion
Without a doubt, life after "The Passion" has been very different for the soft-spoken actor who is married and now lives in California. "Being anonymous is becoming more rare. When you go into a restaurant, it's hard to sit down and enjoy your meal now," he said, adding quickly, "People, most of the time, are really gracious." More here:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/movies/171262_caviezel30.html
Net pirates show passion for Mel Gibson film
London: Mel Gibson's box office smash "The Passion of the Christ" broke the ignominious record as the most-pirated movie on Internet file-sharing networks in April, an online piracy tracking firm said on Wednesday.
More here:
http://sify.com/movies/hollywood/fullstory.php?id=13474021
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=5121752
Mel Gibson #15 on Power List. But, Jesus is #100
THANKS TO the success of Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," he is No. 10 on Premiere magazine's "Power List" (up from No. 15 last year and the only actor in the Top 10). Of even more significance, Mel's muse, Jesus, is No. 100 on the list - last, but certainly not least. The Son of God wasn't ranked at all last year.
http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/news/entertainment/050604_APent_power.html
http://www.omnileonardo.com/premierelist02.html
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