20th Century Fox Cowards

[cmotherofpirl]

:angry: ...Jewish leaders say a major film distributor has decided not to release The Passion, Mel

Gibson's movie on the crucifixion of Christ, and they hope others will follow suit. At a news conference

in New York, state Assemblyman Dov Hikind read an e-mail saying that 20th Century Fox will not

join with Gibson's company, Icon, in putting the film about Jesus' crucifixion in theaters. The

e-mail -- signed by Juda Engelmayer, a spokesman for News Corp -- said its Fox subsidiary and Icon

"have agreed not to partner on this project." While Fox held first rights to the film, Hikind said

Miramax, Paramount, and other distributors should also reject the picture because of the "potential

for violence" generated by its portrayal of Jews.

==================

[cantstopdancin9]

<_<

[Paladin D]

Where did you get this?

[cmotherofpirl]

Agapepress news service

[cmotherofpirl]

In defense of Mel Gibson

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Posted: August 29, 2003

1:00 a.m. Eastern

By Cynthia Grenier

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© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com

Nominally, we are supposed to be this Christian country, although even a glancing look over some of the media's recent treatment of religious themes in popular culture does make you wonder. Right now, Mel Gibson's getting it in the neck for, as Time Magazine of Sept. 1 refers to it, his "eccentric film project" – the "eccentric" project being of course, "The Passion," the filmed recounting of the last day in the life of Jesus Christ.

You get the feeling from the venomous tone of many of the articles written so far about the Gibson film (a number in the New York Times), many of those writing can't forgive him his Christian fervor, and his conservatism, which rather inDouche sets him apart from many of his fellows in Hollywood. So they're having something of a field day, nailing him for "anti-Semitism," getting real picky about details such as whether the Roman soldiers spoke Latin or Greek in the Holy Land in Christ's day. People magazine after running a cute picture of him frolicking on the beach at Malibu with his youngest child (of seven) devotes two pretty nippy pages to him and "The Passion."

Since when has anyone been given to such incredibly petty nitpicking over anything in any Hollywood production, I ask you? It's simply: "We're out to get Gibson." I like best the biblical scholar who found the film – judging from film clips – as too graphically violent. What else is a crucifixion other than graphic and violent, I would like to know?

Of course, I don't recollect anyone calling George Stevens' "The Greatest Story Ever Told" eccentric, back in 1965. Mind you, having a six-foot blond, blue-eyed Swede (Max Von Sydow, wonderful actor though he is) as the young Jewish preacher of the Gospels was a bit of a stretch, and the casting of John Wayne as the Roman centurion did come in for some gentle mockery, but still no one dreamed of calling that biblical project "eccentric."

The cast of Stevens' film was about as all-star as you could get in those days: Charlton Heston, Sidney Poitier, John Wayne, Carroll Baker, Shelley Winters, Jose Ferrer, Telly Savalas and Claude Rains. Leonard Maltin in his annual compendium rates it three and half stars, referring to "some of the most spectacular scenes ever filmed," although he did find John Wayne as the centurion supervising the crucifixion a little hard to take.

Four years earlier, Nicolas Ray, who gave the world "Rebel Without a Cause" and made James Dean the icon he remains to this day, had turned his hand to "King of Kings" with Jeffrey Hunter as Jesus, which provoked some wags in the trade to call it "I Was a Teen-Age Jesus." Still, Maltin giving it two and a half stars deemed it "intelligently told and beautifully filmed, full of deeply moving moments." Orson Welles lent his sonorous God-like tones to the voiceover. No talk of "eccentric" here.

The following year, the Italian director-poet Pier Paolo Pasolini made "The Gospel According to Saint Matthew" in black and white with non-professionals as his cast. Although a Marxist himself, he treated the text with dignity and simplicity, dedicating his film to Pope John XXIII. The film was received with respect and critical acclaim in Europe and the States.

Then, too, a few years later in 1973 we had "Jesus Christ Superstar," filmed by Norman Jewison from the Tim Rice / Andrew Lloyd Webber Broadway musical success. It may well be the only film on the life of Christ to have actually been filmed on his native land. I covered part of the shoot in Israel for the Los Angeles Times. Let me tell you: It was a very eerie experience inDouche to be strolling across the desert hills by the Dead Sea beside a young man clad in the robes of Jesus. The actor, Tim Neeley, was somewhat overawed by the role he was playing, I remember, and that he couldn't quite adjust to his mates on the set treating him with special reverence every day.

I think we can safely say Richard Corliss, Time writer and film reviewer, is not overly concerned with giving Gibson the most perfectly balanced of treatments. Incidentally he chooses to end his piece with a clumsy dig equating "The Passion" with "Gigli," a cheap shot if there ever was one. Corliss refers to films like "The Last Temptation of Christ" and "Priest" (who even knew that was made?) as having grossed less than $10 million at the box office, as if blaming Gibson for his lack of business sense. There is every reason to think Gibson in his personal life is a genuinely devout man, and when he says he wants his film to spread Christ's message of love and brotherhood, we might just allow him credit until we actually see the film on the screen.

Incidentally, although Mr. Corliss refers to the film being released later this year, Gibson and his associates have stated firmly their plan is to open it on Ash Wednesday. I mean, with all due respect, who's going to want to take the family to see a movie about the crucifixion after Christmas dinner? Whereas Easter?

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Cynthia Grenier, an international film and theater critic, is the former Life editor of the Washington Times and acted as senior editor at The World & I, a national monthly magazine, for six years.

[littleflower+JMJ]

why is it they are sooo scared to put out anything religious but yet dont think twice nor blink an eye when throwing out a complete immoral, filled-trashed movie?

why don't they listen when christian groups speak out and protest.....but anything else they heed to all commands?

some ppl...... will they ever get it?

but why am i not surprised? hollywood doesn't want to make room for God nor acknowledge him....

[revolutionoflove]

ugh! I did not hear about that change with Fox. Thanks for the heads up cmom!

This whole things drives me nuts - how can you tell the story of Jesus' death unless you portray that the Jews had a part of it (just as the Romans & gentiles)?

It's like Germans rallying up against stories of the holocaust because it paints them in a bad light. There's no other way to tell the story. And that does not mean that all Germans are bad or should be blamed for their ancestors actions.

And on top of that -- why doesn't everybody get worked up when the Catholic faith is being bashed? I just don't get it.

[Paladin D]

And on top of that -- why doesn't everybody get worked up when the Catholic faith is being bashed? I just don't get it.

It's called... hypocrisy.

[VeraMaria]

:angry: Grr.....I never had a grudge against FOX before.....grrrr...now I do..... <_<

Edited August 30, 2003 by VeraMaria

[VeraMaria]

It's called... hypocrisy.

REally!!

[Qamidalash]

::sigh::

I'd like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony...

[littleflower+JMJ]

I'd like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony...

naw they can't, they don't know their scales

[Paladin D]

::sigh::

I'd like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony...

I'm sueing Coke, they're not doing a good enough job.

[Luke2219]

...Jewish leaders say a major film distributor has decided not to release The Passion, Mel

Gibson's movie on the crucifixion of Christ, and they hope others will follow suit. At a news conference

in New York, state Assemblyman Dov Hikind read an e-mail saying that 20th Century Fox will not

join with Gibson's company, Icon, in putting the film about Jesus' crucifixion in theaters. The

e-mail -- signed by Juda Engelmayer, a spokesman for News Corp -- said its Fox subsidiary and Icon

"have agreed not to partner on this project." While Fox held first rights to the film, Hikind said

Miramax, Paramount, and other distributors should also reject the picture because of the "potential

for violence" generated by its portrayal of Jews.

Funny thing is, Hikind read this as if he had convinced Fox to not distribute the film. Fox had agreed not to distribute the film at least a week prior to this.

[cmotherofpirl]

Caution Greets Gibson's Jesus Film

By LAURA M. HOLSON

Philippe Antonello/Marquis Films

Mel Gibson directs Jim Caviezel as Jesus on the set of "The Passion." The film, which does not yet have a distributor, depicts the crucifixion.

OS ANGELES, Aug. 29 — Mel Gibson is expected to show some major studios a version of his controversial movie about the crucifixion of Jesus by mid-September in the hope of finding a distributor, Hollywood executives said today. But one studio, 20th Century Fox, which usually releases Mr. Gibson's movies, has already said no.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, which owns Fox, released a statement late on Wednesday saying it was not interested in distributing the film, "The Passion."

Many executives in Hollywood say that Mr. Gibson's movie, which chronicles in bloody detail the last hours of Jesus' life, is potentially inflammatory and not commercial enough for a high-profile mainstream studio like Fox. Mr. Gibson financed the film himself through his own film company, Icon Productions.

Last spring both Roman Catholic and Jewish groups began looking into the film, which was shot in Rome for about $25 million. Since then, many of them have spoken out against it, some charging that Mr. Gibson is an advocate of a more old-fashioned Catholicism than is generally practiced today. An early version of the movie, which has dialogue in Aramaic and Latin and no subtitles, was shown to religious and focus groups.

On Thursday, a small group of protesters led by Assemblyman Dov Hikind, a Democrat from Brooklyn, gathered in front of News Corporation's Manhattan headquarters on the Avenue of the Americas to protest the release of "The Passion," suggesting that it would incite anti-Semitic violence.

The threat of that protest prompted News Corporation to release its statement saying it would not distribute the film, said an executive who was briefed on the situation.

"Icon told us that it has a number of alternative distribution options that it is pursuing," Florence Grace, a spokeswoman for Fox, said today. "In light of this, Fox and Icon agreed late last week that Fox will not be involved in the release of the film."

Fox has the first right of refusal for all films produced by Icon Productions. "Rupert Murdoch doesn't need the aggravation," said an entertainment executive who spoke on the condition of anonymity because his studio might be considering the film himself.

Fox's declining to distribute the movie was first reported today in The Daily News in New York.

International Creative Management, the Hollywood talent agency that represents Mr. Gibson and is helping him find a United States distributor, has begun approaching some major studios like Warner Brothers and Miramax to see if they are interested in seeing the movie, the entertainment executive said. Executives for Icon have also been talking to smaller distributors.

Alan Nierob, a spokesman for Mr. Gibson, said that Fox executives had seen an early version of the film, but that the final version was still not complete. "He has to finish it first," Mr. Nierob said, referring to Mr. Gibson. "He's got to do the music. It's almost ready to be shown."

Mr. Nierob said the film might be best suited for a small boutique distributor. But he added, "Icon is going to dictate the terms." He said those terms have yet to be worked out by International Creative Management, which is handling the negotiations.

Edited August 31, 2003 by cmotherofpirl