HIATUS REPORT…FROM HELL… Okay, so everybody was telling me I needed to take a vacation. So I invited my sister Alison and my nephew John Thomas to come out from CT and do fun Southern California things with me. They got here last Tuesday… And then Alison started coughing. We did Disneyland and the La Brea Tar Pits, all the while with Alison coughing. By Friday morning, I had a sore throat and Alison was wheezing and dragging. But we... Read more

ME AT UNIVERISTY OF MI Sorry this is late for most of you. Tis is mainly for those I have been meeting all weekend here in MI who might want to come to my speech today at the University of MI. I am speaking at the campus chapel at 3pm. Directions are: The Campus Chapel is located on the eastern edge of the central campus. The Chapel’s easily-recognizable building is just south of the Central Campus recreation building, and adjacent... Read more

THE BODY IN ART Here’s an interesting article comparing the use of the human body in Chicago to that in The Passion. The fact that the author uses a citation from this blog has nothing to do with the fact that I am linking to it. Read more

WHAT KIND OF A SUPER-HERO DOES IT TAKE… …to run an interdenominational screenwriting program to teach Christians artistry, professionalism, creative ethics and the keynotes of a vocational media spirituality? Click here to see who I came out to be [humble cough]. Read more

MORE PASSION TO COME So, the word is, Mel and crew are back in Italy shooting some more scenes for The Passion. I imagine this is in response to all the feedback he got during the test-screenings. It’s odd, for a film of the scope of The Passion. Very hard to reassemble all the people involved, for continuity’s sake, I imagine. Could be the studio distributor wanted some changes. But the fact that they are still shooting could be keeping... Read more

WE INTERRUPT THIS TRIP TO JACKSONVILLE, FL TO EMOTE…. The Sox made it to the play-offs! This could be the year!!! I believe! I believe! Read more

BLOG-BITS Did I say a few weeks back that my schedule would be getting back to normal in September? I guess it has, only “normal” now seems to mean plain old inconceivably hectic. Life is leaving very little time for blogging…which is unfortunate, because, in being so busy, life is giving me lots of cool things to blog about. Tonight is also one of the high holy days here in L.A. – Emmy night – and as my friend Rob... Read more

act one: writing for hollywood and reel spirituality present, MERE ENTERTAINMENT THEORY MEETS PRACTICE A two-day seminar, Oct. 23 and 24, 2003, in conjunction with the Tenth Annual CITY of the ANGELS FILM FESTIVAL and featuring: John Tinker (Writer, St. Elsewhere, Executive Producer The Practice) William Romanowski(Author, Pop Culture Wars, Eyes Wide Open) Steve McEveety (Producer, The Passion, Braveheart) Todd Komarnicki (Producer, Elf, The Flash) …And many more! Within the church, there is a divide between those who study film... Read more

FLOGGING THE AUDIENCE WITH A MATCHSTICK There’s a lot to like in Matchstick Men, but it is really all in the performances. This film is essentially a star vehicle for Nicholas Cage and company and they certainly deliver, but, in the end, I wanted to stand up and yell at the screen, “Okay, you’ve all had fun, can we play too?” The problem with this film is the lack of any delightful pay-off for the audience. We get set-up for... Read more

“I write the way I do because and only because I am a Catholic. I feel that if I were not a Catholic, I would have no reason to write, no reason to see, no reason to fell horrified or even to enjoy anything.” Flannery O’Connor Read more