{"id":1866,"date":"2006-12-03T23:34:00","date_gmt":"2006-12-03T23:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2006\/12\/newsbites-nativity-church-boy-monastics\/"},"modified":"2006-12-03T23:34:00","modified_gmt":"2006-12-03T23:34:00","slug":"newsbites-nativity-church-boy-monastics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2006\/12\/newsbites-nativity-church-boy-monastics.html","title":{"rendered":"Newsbites: Nativity! Church Boy! Monastics!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Here\u2019s a fresh batch of news and reviews.<\/span><\/p>\n

1.<\/a> Why did The Nativity Story<\/a><\/i> do so poorly at the box office this weekend? New Line Cinema blames the weather, first in the Associated Press<\/a> \u2026<\/p>\n

Snow in the Midwest kept many movie-goers at home, undermining the film\u2019s opening, said David Tuckerman, New Line\u2019s head of distribution.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe storms in the middle of the country couldn\u2019t have hurt us more,\u201d Tuckerman said. \u201cIt\u2019s a movie made for the heartland, and it killed us in the heartland.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2026 and then in Variety<\/a><\/i>:<\/p>\n

As for the \u201cNativity\u201d bow \u2014 coming as Hollywood more aggressively aims to target faith-based demos \u2014 New Line\u2019s Tuckerman said the pic possibly suffered from winter weather in the Midwest. \u201cThis movie was made for the red states,\u201d he said. But he also mentioned that the studio wanted to plant their Christmas flag early in anticipation of a busy December and that he expects buzz to build in smaller markets and buoy biz.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

For what it\u2019s worth, David Poland<\/a> comments:<\/p>\n

The Nativity Story<\/b> was not saved by a massive wave of Christians. But we\u2019ll see if it picks up. I think the endless media obsession with marketing to Christians has perhaps become a serious problem for distributors who are looking to go after that audience with anything more than the smallest, most subtle campaigns.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Meanwhile, composer Mychael Danna<\/a> talks to ScoreNotes.com<\/a> about his work on the score<\/a>. The interview is available as an MP3<\/a> or as a Real Audio<\/a> file. You can also sample the score \u2014 which makes heavy use of melodies from Christmas carols \u2014 here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

DEC 4 UPDATE: Cinematical<\/a> notes something which had not yet occurred to me to look up: namely, of the 238 films<\/a> that have ever been released on over 3,100 screens, The Nativity Story<\/i> had the second-lowest opening weekend of all time, grossing only $7.8 million; it is \u201cbeaten\u201d only by the cartoon Quest for Camelot<\/a><\/i>, which grossed $6 million on its opening weekend in May 1998.<\/p>\n

2.<\/a> The Hollywood Reporter<\/a><\/i> and Variety<\/a><\/i> report that Lionsgate, the studio responsible for the films of Tyler<\/a> Perry<\/a>, is now at work on Church Boy<\/i>, in which gospel-music star Kirk Franklin<\/a> will relive his own life story:<\/p>\n

\u201cChurch Boy\u201d follows the singer from his abandonment by a young mother to his direction of a Texas choir at age 11, a teenage dive into sex and drugs and his ultimate redemption and success.<\/p>\n

Paul Hall, Bobby Smith Jr. and Robi Reed are producing the project with Franklin, and Will Young is serving as co-producer. Lionsgate president of production Mike Paseornek will oversee the project, which is expected to begin principal photography this spring and be released theatrically in 2008.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Could be interesting to see how good an actor Franklin is when he plays himself. Casting non-actors as themselves has certainly worked quite well in the past, in films as diverse as Joni<\/a><\/i> (1979), starring author Joni Eareckson as herself, and United 93<\/a><\/i>, in which quite a few of the FAA and military types play themselves.<\/p>\n

3.<\/a> Awards, awards, awards. Variety<\/a><\/i> reports that The Lives of Others<\/a><\/i>, the excellent Cold War drama by German director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, won best picture at the European Film Awards<\/a>, while Philip Groening\u2019s Into Great Silence<\/a><\/i>, about a monastery in the French Alps, won best documentary.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Variety<\/a><\/i> and IndieWIRE<\/a> report that Pernille Gronkj\u00e6r\u2019s The Monastery: Mr. Vig & the Nun<\/i> \u2014 which has its North American premiere next month at Sundance<\/a> \u2014 won the top prize at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam<\/a>.<\/p>\n

4.<\/a> Variety<\/a><\/i> reviews Canadian director Thom Fitzgerald\u2019s three-part AIDS drama 3 Needles<\/a><\/i>, which played some festivals over a year ago and opened in some American theatres this weekend:<\/p>\n

Thom Fitzgerald\u2019s \u201c3 Needles\u201d bowed at Toronto last year to lukewarm response in a producer-mandated edit that awkwardly intercut its three separate globe-spanning stories about the ongoing AIDS pandemic. The U.S. release, however, is a new director\u2019s cut that arranges the narrative panels consecutively. Result is still flawed, but greatly improved in the coherency of individual parts and as an engrossing whole. Aptly launched Stateside on World AIDS Day, Dec. 1, the sprawling drama\u2019s arthouse pull should benefit from critical support and tie-in educational efforts. . . .<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Never saw the original, doubt I\u2019ll see the new version, but still, I wonder if both will be made available on DVD some day.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here\u2019s a fresh batch of news and reviews. 1. Why did The Nativity Story do so poorly at the box office this weekend? New Line Cinema blames the weather, first in the Associated Press \u2026 Snow in the Midwest kept many movie-goers at home, undermining the film\u2019s opening, said David Tuckerman, New Line\u2019s head of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1116,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1866","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nNewsbites: Nativity! Church Boy! Monastics!<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Here's a fresh batch of news and reviews.1. Why did The Nativity Story do so poorly at the box office this weekend? 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