Interesting article that touches this film:
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Evangelical mogul shaking up Hollywood
TERRY MATTINGLY:
Scripps Howard News Service
Wednesday, June 1st, 2005 11:45 AM (PDT)
(SH) - The loaded words appear early and often in articles about
entrepreneur Philip Anschutz of Denver.
The list includes "elusive," "reclusive," "mysterious" and many
others. Most writers then note that Anschutz has not granted interviews
since 1974 and the image is complete - he is a ghost worth billions of
dollars.
Nevertheless, Anschutz does have ideas and, on rare occasions,
he shares them in public.
Consider this statement about movies and the bottom line.
"Speaking purely as a businessman, it is of utmost importance to
try and figure out a way to make goods and products that people actually
want to buy," he said, in a speech last year. "I don't think Hollywood
understands this very well, because they keep making the same old movies. I
don't think they understand the market and the mood of a large segment of
the movie-going audience today. I think that this is one of the main
reasons, by the way, that people don't go to movies like they used to."
This speech received little, if any, attention when it was
delivered at a Hillsdale College forum. Once again, Anschutz avoided the
mainstream-media radar.
But this is changing, in part because he is backing a big-bucks
entertainment project that cannot escape attention. The man Fortune once
called "the billionaire next door" is changing his public non-image.
Atlantic Monthly described the old Anschutz this way: "He is
worth more than $5 billion - down from $18 billion at the height of the
1990s boom, when Qwest Communications, which he founded, was one of the
highest of the high-flying tech stocks. He is a devout Presbyterian and a
staunch Republican who has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to
right-leaning candidates. He owns oil fields, railroad lines, the country's
finest collection of western art, a network of farms and cattle ranches,
five Major League Soccer franchises, Regal Entertainment (the country's
largest chain of movie theaters), and two daily newspapers - the revived San
Francisco Examiner and the newly launched D.C. tabloid of the same name."
Now the Anschutz story has a new lead. His Walden Media studio
is working with Walt Disney Pictures to create a franchise that could catch
"The Lord of the Rings" or "Star Wars." The goal is to film all seven books
of the 20th century's most beloved work of Christian fiction - "The
Chronicles of Narnia" by C.S. Lewis. The $150 million production of "The
Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" arrives on Dec. 9.
The scandal of an evangelical mogul has mainstream Hollywood
whispering a nasty word that begins with the letter "p."
It isn't "profits." It's "proselytizing."
After all, the studio's mission statement - yes, a movie studio
with a "mission statement" - declares: "Walden Media believes that quality
entertainment is inherently educational. We believe that ... we can
recapture young imaginations, rekindle curiosity and demonstrate the rewards
of knowledge and virtue." Eyebrows are up in power pews as well as corporate
boardrooms, especially after two years of passionate debate about faith and
film.
As evangelical activist Charles Colson said: "If you happened to
stumble across a devout Christian in Hollywood, you'd likely assume he was
one of two things: He must be Mel Gibson, or he must be lost." On the other
side, Jack Shafer of Slate.com said bluntly: "Nobody dumps millions of
dollars into the movie and exhibition business - or newspapers - to uplift
the masses. There's got to be an angle."
Anschutz has heard the curses and hosannas. But he told the
Hillsdale forum that the edgy Hollywood elites will, ultimately, respect
someone who brings his own money to the table and succeeds.
"My reasons for getting into the entertainment business weren't
entirely selfless. Hollywood as an industry can at times be insular and
doesn't at times understand the market very well," he said. "I saw an
opportunity in that fact. Also, because of digital production and digital
distribution, I believe the film industry is going to be partially
restructured in the coming years - another opportunity.
"My friends think I'm a candidate for a lobotomy and my
competitors think I'm naove or stupid or both. But you know what? I don't
care. If we can make some movies that have a positive effect on people's
lives and on our culture, that's enough for me."
Terry Mattingly (
www.tmatt.net) is senior fellow for journalism
at the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities.
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