PREACHING ON PREACHING Thanks to all of you who have kindly swamped me with names of priests from L.A. (and as far away as Australia!) whom we could invite to our entertainment industry retreat. Without seeming ungrateful, I have been somewhat astounded by some of the referrals, because I have heard many of the men being recommended and they, in no way, fit the definition of “really good preacher.” A lot of people recommended preachers with phrases like “he is... Read more

ACT ONE AND AMERICA’S FUTURE I’ll be speaking at the America’s Future Foundation in Washington, DC on Wednesday, November 12 at 7:00pm. Check here for more info. Read more

“MANY A MEANDERING SERMON ONE HEARS, IN WHICH THE PREACHER AIMS AT NOTHING – AND HITS IT.” Richard Whately I promise this isn’t “Nark on the Clergy” week, but something happened last night that just begs to be shared, principally because it seems to me part of the reason the Church – at least here in Los Angeles – is in such a slumber. “The world looks at ministers out of the pulpit to know what they mean when in... Read more

NOTHING FISHY ABOUT FINDING NEMO My latest reprinted on Catholic Exchange… Read more

MYSTIC SLITHER Critics have been showering the project with their most pre-Oscarish adjectives like, “Important,” “Thoughtful,” and “Provocative.” A legion of my friends – many of them Christians – have told me, “You MUST see Mystic River!” Now, in the morning after wake of the film, I’m sitting here shaking my head wondering, has everybody lost their minds?!?! I am told that the book, Mystic River was great. I haven’t read it. The adaptation is a mess. It is a... Read more

“EVERYBODY CALLS ME JOE.” This has nothing to do with Hollywood, but everything to do with the collapse of the sense of reverence and beauty in the Church. I have been going through a dark, uncharacteristic anti-clerical phase for the last couple of years, largely because the recent scandals and consequent ecclesial rationalizations used up all of the respectful resignation with which I have been enduring terrible homilies, sloppy liturgies and pastoral sloth for the last quarter of a century.... Read more

MORE SPICY (OR COMPLETELY IRRELEVANT) BITS… Sorry about the sporadic blogging. Blame it on the pneumonia. Or else blame it on the wildfires which just make the pneumonia that much more blameworthy. Or else blame it on the recent proliferation of conferences and trips. Just don’t blame it on the insidious computer game Pharaoh – because I’m not ready to give that up yet. Anyway, here are more bits and pieces of news… …I saw the upcoming release Resistance last... Read more

FROM TODAY’s HOLLYWOOD REPORTER… “HBO has signed comedian Doug Williams to a development deal for a darkly comic series about a relationship rocked by domestic violence.” HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Read more

ACT ONE’S ACT TWO IN THE NEWS The Sunday Los Angeles Times had a very nice article about our Act Two program for advanced alumni. The link is here, but you may have to subscribe to access it. (Hate that…) Here’s an excerpt: Sitting before an audience of 16 students in the Act Two program for Christian screenwriters, Dean Batali (writer/co-executive producer, “That ’70s Show”), Lee Batchler (co-writer, “Batman Forever”), Jack Gilbert (former workshop director of the Warner Bros. Writers... Read more

PASSION DISTRIBUTION The word is that The Passion of Christ (note name change due to the fact that Miramax has another film previously registered as The Passion) will be distributed by Newmarket Films. This seems to me an odd choice — but I know nothing about it. Newmarket is a small distributor. Their biggest films of the last couple years have been Whale Rider and Memento. The Passion of Christ will do for Newmarket what Blair Witch did for Artisan... Read more