Paul O'Donnell: August 2008 Archives

When Richard Dutcher wrote and directed "God's Army," a 2001 movie about the struggles of idealistic LDS missionaries negotiating the reality of Los Angeles, he instantly became a Mormon hero. Dubbed "the father of modern Latter-day Saint cinema" after the film became an indie hit, Dutcher disappointed his Mormon fans with his sequel, "States of Grace," that came out in 2006. With his latest, "Falling," he completes his separation.

The story of a Mormon videographer who loses his faith, besides being perhaps the first "R-rated Mormon film" according to the L.A. Times , "Falling" is an exploration of Dutcher's own falling out with the Latter Day Saints in what he calls "a very frustrating enlightenment."

In a bit of irony that one only hopes he's enjoying in his latest destination somewhere beyond the stars, Dave Freeman, co-author of the groundbreaking 1999 travel book "100 Things to Do Before You Die," passed away on Aug. 17 after falling in his Venice, Calif. home. He was just 47. The book not only inspired what is now practically its own genre of books (as well as movies like "The Bucket List), Freeman's title "reminded mortal readers that time was limited," according to his obituary in the Los Angeles Times.

Freeman's death only reinforces the theme he lived and preached in his way through the "100 Things" franchise, which began as a website founded with Neil Teplica in 1996. According to Teplica, the title meant "you should live every day like it would be your last, and there's not that many people who do, It's a credit to Dave -- he didn't have enough days, but he lived them like he should have."

If Jesus came back today, which television show would be his favorite? A clue comes from Mike Zak, youth director at St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church in St. Charles, Ill. According to the Chicago Tribune, Zak, a fan of "Home Makeover: Extreme Edition," asked parishioners to nominate a family that desperately needed a home renovation, and quickly settled on the Gautilles, whose son Nick has a rare genetic disorder that often robs him of the strength to walk or climb stairs. The family had actually applied to be a subject on "Home Makeover" but had been rejected.

I can forgive NBC's commentators at the Olympic gymnastics competition, Tim Daggett and Elfi Schlegel, their complaints about the judging, and nagging negativity; they are, after a fashion, journalists and they have to call it like they see it. But if they are journalists, why couldn't they tell us what U.S. gymnast Jonathan Horton was doing when he knelt by the chalk basin and bowed his head as he prepared for what turned out to be a silver-medal performance on the high bar?

It's no secret, after all, that Horton, a Texan who attends the University of Oklahoma, is a prayerful Christian. In their report of his medal win, the Houston Chronicle wrote, "He began, as always, with a prayer." Not only that, the Chronicle wrote in the run-up to the Games that Horton "wears a necklace reading "Thanks be to God that gives me victory" and, away from the gym floor, a bracelet inscribed with the same Bible verse from Philippians that diver Laura Wilkinson recites before she competes."

You don't think of former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne as an evangelist, except for those crazy Brazilian, African and Afro-Caribbean beats that practically broke poor drummer Chris Frantz's wrists and led Byrne off to a solo career of promoting world music. If Byrne and his bandmates were attracted to Christian music and artwork (as in the cover art by Christian outsider artist Howard Finster for their 1986 album "Little Creatures"), it was part of their passion for Americana. A Gideon's Bible was as interesting as a little-league ball field or an empty highway.

Earlier this week I ran into a huge Christian music fan in a coffeeshop in Hanover, N.H. (clue: his "Amy Grant & Friends" T-shirt) who had just returned from the second annual Smitty Cruise, Michael W. Smith's waterborne jamboree that...

It's cause for wonder that a biopic of Billy Graham, "America's pastor," hasn't been made before. And perhaps it's a blessing too. As the national release date for "Billy: The Early Years" nears (Oct. 10, according to a press release),...