1. Ted Haggard, the former pastor of New Life Church in Colorado Springs and former president of the National Association of Evangelicals, had to resign from those positions just over two years ago when it was revealed that he had been involved with a gay male prostitute for three years. He is now promoting a documentary designed to rehabilitate his public image, called The Trials of Ted Haggard; it premieres on HBO next Thursday. But now there is a new wrinkle to the story, as it has just been revealed that Haggard was also involved with a male church volunteer for “a long period of time”. Brady Boyd, Haggard’s successor at New Life, says he got the impression the former church volunteer was going public with his story now because of the documentary: “I think what caused this young man to be a bit aggravated was Ted being seen as a victim, when he himself had experienced a great deal of hurt.” Haggard, who had already arranged to do some high-profile interviews next week, has so far refused to comment on this latest revelation. — Associated Press
2. David Di Sabatino’s documentary Fallen Angel: The Outlaw Larry Norman will have its premiere at the Cinequest Film Festival in San Jose, California on March 1. — Facebook
3. The newest IMAX movie takes the viewer on a pilgrimage to the holiest site in all of Islam: the Grand Mosque in Mecca. Journey to Mecca combines the true story of a 14th-century pilgrim named Ibn Battuta with footage of modern-day Muslims performing the Hajj, i.e. the pilgrimage to Mecca that every Muslim is supposed to make at least once if they are able to do so. This film marks the first time that an IMAX team has been admitted into the Grand Mosque — a site that is generally off-limits to non-Muslims. — Reuters
4. A new movie called Zen tells the story of Dōgen, the Buddhist monk who brought Zen meditation from China to Japan in the 13th century. — Variety
5. The LDS Film Festival, which specializes in Mormon films, is now in its eighth year and is still experiencing some growth — despite the fact that Mormon films have lost some of the momentum that they had earlier in this decade. Festival founder Christian Vuissa says the Mormon market may be just as cyclical as that of any mainstream movie genre. — Associated Press
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