Nell Minow: September 2008 Archives

The faith-based film Fireproof, starring Kirk Cameron, is enjoying impressive advance ticket sales this week according to Harry Medved of Fandango. It is the story of a firefighter who finds that his most difficult challenge is finding a way to give his wife the love and intimacy necessary to keep their relationship strong. It is not until he turns to God for help that he begins to find a way to let her know how much she means to him.

It opens in more than 800 theaters this Friday, small in Hollywood terms but an extraordinary achievement for a film that cost only $500,000 and was made mostly by amateurs from a film-making ministry in Albany, Georgia. "No one is expecting it will rule the box office," Medved told me, "but it has made an impressive beginning."

Church-based "action squads" have been buying tickets in bulk, a powerful reminder to Hollywood that an under served audience will respond positively to a film like this, even without a lot of ad support. "It's a great couples' movie," said Medved. "When's the last time a movie improved your marriage? We get a lot of movies about falling in love or about temptations away from marriage but this is a film about making a marriage work." Couples can learn from this film about how to give fully of themselves for a strong and lasting relationship, no matter what their religious beliefs.

"For moviegoers who plan to see a smaller release on opening weekend, online ticketing is the way to go," says Fandango Chief Operating Officer Rick Butler, who adds that advance ticket sales for "Fireproof" continue to be "healthy."

A little-seen 1933 film called "Gabriel Over the White House" has some themes that are particularly resonant in this time of unprecedented economic uncertainty and this historic Presidential campaign. Walter Houston (father of director John Huston and grandfather of actress Anjelica Houston -- three generations of Oscar winners) plays the newly elected President of the United States, a cynical and apathetic man who has an affair with his private secretary and refuses to meet with the leader of the homeless. But then he has an automobile accident and is seriously injured. When he comes out of his coma, he is transformed. As he becomes an outspoken advocate of integrity and economic justice, he makes some powerful enemies. But it becomes clear that he has been inspired by a visit from the angel Gabriel.

This has been a controversial film since it was made for its frank acknowledgment of political policies based on scripture and for its association of policies some people consider "liberal" with religious beliefs some people consider "conservative." Audiences have argued about whether the President is a visionary or a dictator. But it seems astonishingly prescient in its portrayal of the failures of Wall Street and government and its sincere commitment to Biblical principles is still fresh and appealing.

Director Irena Salina talked to me about her new documentary, "FLOW: For Love of Water," about the problems of contamination and scarcity in water systems throughout the world.

What kind of water do you drink?

Tap water! We need to get back to fall in love with tap water. If you're concerned about chemicals, until we put state of the art filtration in place, look at the "get the tap back" information at Food and Water Watch.

What led you to this project?

My first film was "Ghost Bird: The Life and Art of Judith Deim." She was a painter who lived in a remote village in Mexico and had known John Steinbeck when he was young and lived with gypsies in Spain. She was an inspiration to her daughters and granddaughters. I had been collecting articles about this issue. I heard Robert Kennedy, Jr. speak with Riverkeepers about fighting companies dumping chemicals in the Hudson. I responded to this like a mother, the idea of those chemicals coming into our bodies.

Then I saw an article in The Nation: "Who Owns Water?" by Tony Clarke and Maude Barlow. They asked, "Is water going to be the oil of the 21st century -- could it become a monopoly?" Within the article was a small story about New Orleans, the biggest privatization project in the US and I decided to cover it. US Filter and United Water, Mayor Nagan, ACORN, a labor guy -- every civil society representative was there. I brought a good friend with a camera. I covered the whole story interviewed everyone -- it will be on the DVD extras. I contacted Steven Starr in LA and said, "I want to make a documentary about water." He immediately believed in it. Then off I was going to Japan and the World Water Council, meeting all the players and the people, doing the sound, camera, everything. Next, Steven was giving me his mileage to go to Bolivia. Five years, on and off, and now it is here.

I was privileged to attend the very first showing of the upcoming film "Not Easily Broken," based on the book by the Bishop T. D. Jakes and starring three of my favorite performers, Morris Chestnut, Taraji P. Henson, and Jennifer Lewis. It is the story of a young couple struggling to keep their connection to each other and to God in the early years of marriage. And it is the first of what Bishop Jakes hopes will be a series of films with compelling stories told with heart and without crassness, profanity, or violence. It was made for a very small budget as a labor of love and they are trying to get the word out now so that the opening week's box office will be big enough to persuade Hollywood to make some more.

There was a half-hour delay in getting the film started, which was fine with me because Bishop Jakes picked up a microphone to talk to us. It was a great pleasure to see his extraordinary ability to bring an audience together. It took him just a couple of seconds to turn to Washington's largest movie theater into a congregation and to make us feel involved and connected. After the film, Jakes, director Bill Dukes, and producer-star Morris Chestnut spoke about the project and answered some questions.

I can't post a review until the film opens in January, but I can say that I very much appreciate their effort to create meaningful stories with good values that are unapologetically positive about spirituality and to create roles with some depth for these talented actors. It made me think again of how few movies there are that begin where most movies end -- with a wedding -- and talk about what marriage and happily-ever-after really mean. I'll have another post on that topic soon.

The Washington Post Metro section has an article about a pastor who uses movies to bring spiritual lessons to his congregation.

For a special series of sermons this summer, Senior Pastor Rob Seagears at Christ Chapel Mountaintop in Prince William County tied his sermons to whatever movie was top at the box office that week, often appearing in costume. This presented him with a daunting challenge as the summer was filled with blockbusters featuring a lot of violence and bad language.

"It's kind of risky to be watching to see what the number one movie is going to be and figuring out how to flip this thing for God," he said.

Sometimes, as with "Tropic Thunder," he was able to tie the movie to an important message but sill ended up recommending that the congregation stay away from the film. For that movie, by the way, he appeared in church as Kirk Lazarus, the white actor portrayed by Robert Downey, Jr. who has medical treatment to darken his skin so he can play a black man on screen. Pastor Seagears began with a joke about being a black man pretending to be a white man pretending to be a black man. While there have been some objections, the pastor's series proved to be very popular with the parishioners and a draw for new worshipers as well. And it was especially appreciated by teenagers.

Vampires are really big this year. Breaking Dawn, the fourth volume in Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series was the most eagerly anticipated book since Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. And one of the most popular events at Comic-Con was the...