GOOD AND GROSTESQUE So, I recently met screenwriter Benedict Fitzgerald, who co-wrote The Passion of the Christ with Mel Gibson. It was a funny encounter, because as cool as it was to congratulate him on his achievement in TPOTC, I was preoccupied for information about something EVEN MORE COOL AND EXCITING…. ME: So, I have heard that your mother is THE Sally Fitzgerald. Benedict F. responds with a nod and a knowing chuckle that says “Oooh, you’re one of them,... Read more

PARENTING WITH THE MEDIA Here is my latest column for Nat’l Catholic Register. Here’s a snippet forewith to whet your interest. It wasn’t a proud moment. There I was in the Toys “R” Us checkout line clutching “the thing’s” face to my thigh, trying desperately to avoid eye contact with any of the other shoppers. As I slid the object onto the checkout counter, I deftly obscured it with a box of dominoes, just so anyone watching would be confused... Read more

SEE ME IN DC I’ll be in DC for some meetings and talks from 3/17-3/21. Here is one presentation that will be open to the public. Feel free to cut, paste and email to anyone you think might want to come. “THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST: WHAT IT MEANS TO THE CHURCH AND TO HOLLYWOOD” Saturday, March 20, 2004 1:00pm – 3:30pm Pope John Paul II Cultural Center 3900 Harewood Road, NE Washington, DC 20017 The afternoon will include two... Read more

“THAT’S ME IN THE BEST-BUY, LOO-ZIN’ MY RELIGION –“ So, I am having to buy a new lap-top. A couple of my friends are encouraging me to, well, go MAC. It struck me immediately as a shocking suggestion. So, well, menacingly mad cap….or even treacherous. Like dating a Yankee fan. I’ve always been so absolutely PC….ask anyone who knows me. [coy cough] Anyway, I keep trying to have conversations with people who can only be referred to as the Stepford... Read more

MAINSTREAMING GEEKDOM There is an interesting piece witten by Sandy Starr over on Arts and Letters Daily about the dark side of sci-fi/fantasy entertainment. I wish it didn’t feel so right on. But I admit to having a high degree of anti-sci-fi/fantasy bias due, no doubt, to the large number of screenplays and books I have read in the last few years that fall into the category of “too weird to live.” I am always trying to figure out why... Read more

THE REAL POTC CONTROVERSY: THAT CREEPY BABY? Christianity Today goes right to the source to get to the bottom of the creepy baby moment in POTC. “Again,” said Gibson, “it’s evil distorting what’s good. What is more tender and beautiful than a mother and a child? So the Devil takes that and distorts it just a little bit. Instead of a normal mother and child you have an androgynous figure holding a 40-year-old ‘baby’ with hair on his back. It... Read more

WHAT DOES IT MEAN? I will be participating in a panel discussion on The Passion of the Christ at USC’s Annenberg School of Communications this evening. I have seven minutes to lay out some of my thoughts regarding the project. Excuse me while I collect my thoughts here… I thought I would work off the question above, distinguishing between what does the project mean to Hollywood, to the masses who are flocking to it, and then what does it mean... Read more

DEATH, TAXES AND OSCAR They didn’t make me sick. That’s not something to take for granted because most years the Academy Awards broadcast reduces me to ritualistic flailing and the screaming of epithets at the television. This year, however, only a few ridiculous actors and one producer tried to tell us what to think about politics while waving their golden statues like scepters. “I’m not just talented – I’m IMPORTANT!” The paucity of “Moore-ishness” this year made for a happily... Read more

ALL HAIL THE MAVEN! Welcome to the Blog-o-sphere friend and colleague, Jan Batchler! Jan and her husband Lee are real live studio screenwriters. Along with being two of the core members of the Act One Board and faculty, they have written features for Disney, Miramax, Paramount, Warner Bros. They were two of the writers behind Batman Forever which grossed a mere $784 million at the box-office. Check out her blog Quoth the Maven (A title taken oh so cleverly from... Read more

PASSION DOMESTIC BOX-OFFICE FIRST FIVE DAYS = $125,185,971 “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.” (Jn. 10: 27) For a sense of how huge this opening is, check this comparison with the two previous largest studio releases, ROTK and The Phantom Menace. Read more