Remember how, six months ago, I linked to an article which mentioned in passing that some South African filmmakers were completing “a modern day take on the life and death of Christ, billed as the first black Jesus film”? IndieWIRE‘s new article on the films that will be playing in competition at Sundance in January concludes with this paragraph: “Son of Man,” directed by Mark Dornford-May, written by Mark Dornford-May, Andiswa Kedama and Pauline Malefane (South Africa)A gripping journey of... Read more

The newest issue of BC Christian News is now online, and with it, my film column, which is mostly a brief review of Walk the Line but also includes an even briefer item on The Big Question. Read more

Here are the figures for the past weekend, arranged from those that owe the highest percentage of their take to the Canadian box office to those that owe the lowest. Maurice Richard — CDN $347,765 — N.AM $347,765 — 100%Derailed — CDN $3,390,449 — N.AM $29,415,000 — 11.5%Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire — CDN $20,376,744 — N.AM $201,089,000 — 10.1%Pride & Prejudice — CDN $1,381,940 — N.AM $15,901,000 — 8.7%Chicken Little — CDN $7,717,920 — N.AM $118,235,000 —... Read more

So today I get into a car with a monk and one of our priests, and the monk sees the priest’s copy of The Great Book of Needs. In this book, there is the text for a short service that the priest will perform when he serves communion to my wife in the hospital. The monk pages through the book and remarks that there are lots of blessings in it. The priest replies that there are blessings for practically everything... Read more

Click here for the latest QuickTime “production diary” on James Newton Howard’s last-minute replacement score for Peter Jackson’s upcoming remake of King Kong (which opens December 14). One of the more interesting revelations is that Jackson and Howard have never actually met, face-to-face — they’ve been relying completely on trans-oceanic communications technology. Read more

From Mark Steyn’s latest Chicago Sun-Times column: The average multiplex is surely not long for this world. Already, 85 percent of Hollywood’s business comes from home entertainment — DVDs and the like. Suits me. Or so I thought until, on the way home from the hell of Harry Potter, I stopped to buy the third boxed set in the ”Looney Tunes Golden Collection.” Loved the first two: Daffy, Bugs, Porky, beautifully restored, tons of special features. But, for some reason,... Read more

Abel Ferrara’s Mary opens in France a few days before Christmas, and you can click here or here for links to QuickTime files for a trailer and three clips from the film (all in English, with subtitles). It is interesting to see how the subtitles to the second clip translate Mary’s use of the Greek word “nous” into the French word “L’Intelligence” — capitalized, even! Since the Greek word is itself foreign to English ears, one could argue that it... Read more

My article on the paganism of Narnia is now up at BC Christian News. It was written in a bit of rush, due to certain unforeseeable complications in my life the past few weeks, and my word count was hacked shortly before I wrote the article, so it’s more of a compilation of evidence than a detailed argument, and I don’t tie the subject into related issues (such as Christian responses to Harry Potter) the way I might have liked... Read more

Time for a few quickies. 1. The Hollywood Reporter says shooting on Amazing Grace, starring Ioan Gruffudd and Albert Finney as 19th century abolitionists William Wilberforce and John Newton, has begun. And it looks like the supporting cast will be decent, at least: Ramola Garai (who, as Jeffrey Overstreet rightly notes, “stole every scene she visited in last year’s Vanity Fair“ Michael Gambon (the current Albus Dumbledore) Rufus Sewell (Dark City, Cold Comfort Farm) Ciaran Hinds (Persuasion, The Sum of... Read more

I just checked the mail, and lo and behold, at long last, my two copies of Scandalizing Jesus? have finally arrived! I’ve already spotted one editing error in my chapter, but hey, it’s a book with my name on the cover, and my name is practically right next to Martin Scorsese’s — so stop complaining, right? It’s funny, but my essay for this book concerns the treatment of sexuality in Christian theology and art, including Jesus films, and I wrote... Read more