“WHO LIVES AND REIGNS FOREVER AND EVER” BUT NOT ON ER: A TRUE STORY An actor friend of mine just completed a small role on an upcoming episode of ER. He plays a priest (he thinks he was supposed to be Catholic but then the script and crew kept referring to him as a minister, but then they dressed him in a collar and vestments…so it’s probably that the people producing the show have no idea of the diference between... Read more

JOAN OF ARCADIA TV Executive Producer, novelist and new Catholic, Barbara Hall (Judging Amy, I’ll Fly Away), has a CBS/Sony Pictures TV pilot going ahead. The Hollywood Reporter describes the show’s premise as “centering on a contemporary Joan of Arc who has God appear to her in a different form every week.” Cast in the pilot, so far, are Mary Steenburgen (Oscar winner for Melvin and Howard) and Joe Mantegna, who will play Joan’s parents. Amber Tamblyn (The Ring) will... Read more

FOX’S PURGATORIO Variety reports this week that Fox has ordered a pilot for a new digitally animated series called The Afterlife. Produced by Larry Kasanoff (Mortal Kombat), the show’s premise has to do with a family that accidentally dies and then ends up in purgatory, “which looks a lot like suburban Los Angeles.” This feels like an absurd premise on a lovely Southern California day like today. Now, maybe if it was set on the 405 freeway at 5:30pm…. Read more

OSCAR REDUX I’m back. I’ve gone through my annual post-Academy Award funk, in which I am so embarrassed and disgusted by my industry after the Awards, that I seriously fantasize about pursuing career options like selling shoes, or running a bed and breakfast in Fiji, or being a forest ranger somewhere without television sets…and, well, animals. All in all, however, the evening was less absurd than it usually is, thanks to the war in Iraq. (Reason to consider bombing vicious... Read more

AND THE OSCAR SHOULD GO TO…MY PICKS If Best Picture means the film that has the “most bests,” then Chicago wins. It certainly wins all the post-production awards – for editing and sound editing. The screenplay is the most clever, combining songs and images in a way that didn’t make us wince and in fact never dragged (except arguably during Bill Reilly’s song Mr. Celophane.) Renee Zellweger does a fabulous job, as does Catherine Zeta-Jones as supporting actress (although if... Read more

ACT ONE COMING TO WASHINGTON, DC Act One: Writing for Hollywood presents Writing a Great Movie: Story, Theme, Values Saturday, April 26, 2003 Pope John Paul II Cultural Center 3900 Harewood Road, NE Washington, DC 20017 202-319-4100 www.jp2culturalcenter.org Conference and Lunch – $85.00 Register online at: www.actoneprogram.com Story is one of the most vital components of a screenplay. Without a good one, even fantastic characters have no world in which to exist. While many people can cite a list of... Read more

CHURCH CCC INVITES FILMGOERS TO VOTE FOR 2002 FAVORITES (Somebody emailed me this. I think it is from Catholic News Service.) WASHINGTON-The Catholic Communication Campaign (CCC) is inviting movie fans to cast their own vote for the 2002 Movie of the Year from a list of the ten best films chosen by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Office for Film and Broadcasting. The CCC is the sponsor of 1-800-311-4CCC, a toll-free telephone number that provides viewers with... Read more

FOR CHRISTIAN ACTORS LIVING IN LOS ANGELES Actors Co-op is one of the most award-winning small theater companies in Southern California. It is composed of committed Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox actors who meet weekly for prayer and professional development. It is truly a godsend to young actors starting out in L.A. who have the opportunity in the company to gain credits and experience without being violated by the talent meat-market that is L.A. The Co-op only holds auditions once a... Read more

MORE CHICAGO One of my most esteemed screenwriter friends sent me the following email on Chicago. (Please feel to identify yourself in the comments if you so wish, O esteemed one.) Why do we all love the movie so much, even though there’s no redemption, there’s no one to root for ’cause they’re all moral reprobates, there’s not one good character? I think it’s because the movie exposes the notion of “celebrity” as a false god. There are movies that... Read more

CHICAGO VS. THE THEOLOGY OF THE BODY? A lot of my friends are troubled by the movie Chicago. It’s a hard film to recommend or dismiss for Christians. I think this is one of those films that good and thoughtful people can very well have differing opinions on (as opposed to movies like The Hours, Far From Heaven and American Beauty, about whose insidiousness I am intractably correct). Here is a message from one of my friends and former students... Read more