SPELLBOUND: S – T – E – L – L – A – R Spellbound, a feacher-length documentery was releesed in 2001 and nomminated for an Academy Award (Can’t imagen why it didn’t win!.. Sum pc matchinashuns probebly afoot….Ooooh, am I turning into a sinic?). The film has been makeing the rounds of varioss film festivals looking for disstribution for the last two years, and is finally in a limited theatrickle releese. Go find it, whereever it is. It is... Read more

“I guess I’d like to prove there’s something pure in me, you know? They say the soul is part angel and part monster. Sometimes I think life is a chance to set the angel free.” from The Iron Giant Read more

MORE PASSION Disclaimer: There is a lot of scuttlebutt flying around about this movie. Here’s some news someone (who is in a position to know) shared with me yesterday. It may not be true. So, Icon Productions – the production company of note for The Passion – has had no luck in finding a studio to distribute the film. They have hired Paul Lauer, the former editor of You! magazine to distribute the film. Paul, who seems to be a... Read more

“A TRUE BRAINIAC’S FILM FEST!” (LA WEEKLY) My favorite weekend of the year is always somewhere in late October or early November when my friends and I all get together to bring-off the amazing City of the Angels Film Festival. I am honored to be on the Executive Committee of this very cool event, which is a retrospective film festival that features fascinating forums and panels after every screening with filmmakers, theologians and academics. The festival looks at well-crafted films... Read more

“Found a culture, have you, Rita? Found a better song to sing, have you? No–you have found a different song, that’s all.” From Educating Rita, 1983 I love this film. It’s all about sophos-moros, an affliction that has just about killed the Academy. Check it out. Here is a thoughtful review to whet your cinematic appetite. Read more

AND THE DEVIL SITS BACK AND LAUGHS… Sigh. Read more

NBC’S COUPLING: PUSHING THE ENVELOPE, THE MAIL BOX, THE POST OFFICE…. So, NBC has a new show on the schedule in the Fall, Coupling, that is based on a British hit of the same name. In the words of the Hollywood Reporter, the show is libidinous enough “to make the Sex in the City girls blush.” Peachy. I know some of you are tempted to ask, “Why?” Just when it seemed like the industry was seriously starting to question itself... Read more

SO YOU THINK YOU OUGHT TO WORK IN HOLLYWOOD? By Francine Russell, Barbara Nicolosi, and Zena Dell Schroeder [NOTE FROM BARB – We at Act One wrote this to have something more pastoral to say than just, “Good luck” to the hunderds of inquirers who approach us every year for advice about working in the entertainment industry. Sharing it here for those of you who have yet to inquire…] Ever since you were a little kid, you’ve dreamed of moving... Read more

BE NOT AFRAID: PART I – WHY ARE CHRISTIANS SO AFRAID OF HOLLYWOOD? Already, a few of you are scoffing. “We’re not ‘afraid’ of Hollywood, we just disdain it.” If you need to say that, fine. But how about if I asked you, “Are you afraid of Hollywood’s influence on your children or grandchildren?” Okay, then. Some anecdotes… – I spoke at a NC Christian Writers Conference recenty and met with a man who has published many successful novels that... Read more

NOT A JOB WELL DONE I saw The Italian Job last night. The word in the pews is that actor Mark Wahlberg has become quite the serious Catholic, and I like to support our own. I also like a good heist movie. Oh well. The only good heist here is the one perpretrated on the audience. The film is refreshingly free of sex and crass language, and there are only a couple of moments of violence. I don’t want to... Read more