{"id":1951,"date":"2006-10-26T11:10:00","date_gmt":"2006-10-26T11:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2006\/10\/los-angeles-times-on-matthew-crouch\/"},"modified":"2006-10-26T11:10:00","modified_gmt":"2006-10-26T11:10:00","slug":"los-angeles-times-on-matthew-crouch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2006\/10\/los-angeles-times-on-matthew-crouch.html","title":{"rendered":"Los Angeles Times on Matthew Crouch"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

I\u2019ll get around to reviewing One Night with the King<\/a><\/i> soon, really I will. In the meantime, today\u2019s Los Angeles Times<\/a><\/i> has an interesting \u2014 and long \u2014 expos\u00e9 on producer Matthew Crouch:<\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a lot to be thankful for. His televangelist parents have authorized more than $32 million in tax-free donor money for the funding of three of his movies, TBN officials say. In addition, $16 million was given to a ministry that funded \u201cOne Night.\u201d . . .<\/p>\n

Matthew Crouch, 44, could use a box-office hit. Of his first three movies, none has turned a profit, although his 1999 movie, an apocalyptic thriller called \u201cThe Omega Code<\/a>,\u201d is credited by some for showing Hollywood the potential of Christian-themed films, leading to such hits as \u201cThe Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe<\/a>\u201d and \u201cThe Passion of the Christ<\/a>.\u201d Crouch\u2019s small, publicly traded company is struggling, having lost nearly $3.7 million last year, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. . . .<\/p>\n

In many ways, Crouch and his company, Gener8Xion Entertainment<\/a>, are Hollywood anomalies. He hasn\u2019t had to look further than his parents \u2014 with their tax-free donor base and worldwide television reach \u2014 to bankroll and market his movies. In other ways, the stereotype of a Hollywood producer fits snugly. Friends and foes describe him, by turns, as charismatic, arrogant, charming, ruthless, visionary and greedy.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s one of the most creative and innovative people in my industry,\u201d said Stephen Strang, president of Strang Communications, a Florida-based Christian media company. \u201cI know there\u2019s many people out there trying to make a difference, but Matt\u2019s someone out there doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other entertainment-industry veterans who have worked with Crouch \u2014 a diminutive figure who sports a modish crew cut \u2014 say he would have been drummed out of the business if not for his TBN ties.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he would be a laughingstock if he was a penniless evangelical, going cap in hand, office to office, trying to raise money and projecting the same personality he does,\u201d said Brian Trenchard-Smith, director of \u201cThe Omega Code\u2019s\u201d 2001 sequel, \u201cMegiddo: The Omega Code 2.\u201d<\/p>\n

Associates also say that Crouch\u2019s impulsiveness \u2014 and perhaps a desire to escape his father\u2019s long shadow \u2014 has prompted him to take shortcuts that have led to risky decisions. During the production of \u201cOmega Code,\u201d his key personnel included a former adult-film actor and a novice screenwriter who was arrested and convicted of soliciting a child for sex. . . .<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

FWIW, this story seems fairly well researched, but it does repeat the falsehood, promulgated by the One Night with the King<\/i> publicity materials, that that film represents the first reunion of Peter O\u2019Toole and Omar Sharif since Lawrence of Arabia<\/a><\/i> (1962). It doesn\u2019t<\/a>. It is, in fact, the fourth<\/i> film they have co-starred in since then \u2014 and they don\u2019t even share any screen time together.<\/p>\n

(Hat tip<\/a> to Rod Dreher at his Crunchy Con blog.)<\/p>\n

OCT 28 UPDATE: Terry Mattingly posts his two bits here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ll get around to reviewing One Night with the King soon, really I will. In the meantime, today\u2019s Los Angeles Times has an interesting \u2014 and long \u2014 expos\u00e9 on producer Matthew Crouch: There\u2019s a lot to be thankful for. His televangelist parents have authorized more than $32 million in tax-free donor money for the […]<\/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-1951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nLos Angeles Times on Matthew Crouch<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I'll get around to reviewing One Night with the King soon, really I will. 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