Earthquakes in the Entertainment Landscape
November 24, 2013

By David Outten, Production Editor Predicted long ago by Movieguide®, the landscape of the entertainment industry is shaking violently. The latest loser is Blockbuster’s video stores. Blockbuster recently announced the closure of their remaining DVD rental stores. The rising star, Netflix, recently announced deals with Marvel and Disney and plans to expand their made-for-Netflix catalogue. Another loser in the landscape is anyone who makes movie prints of movies or ships those prints around the country. In just the last few years, the percentage of theaters using digital projection has gone from a small minority to almost all. Hollywood itself is shaking. Though this trend has been with us for awhile, the percentage of movies and te...

MOVIEGUIDE®: Making Big Waves in Hollywood and Around the World
November 23, 2013

MOVIEGUIDE®:  Making Big Waves in Hollywood and Around the World   With only a small budget and less than 15 fulltime workers, a small not-for-profit is making big waves in Hollywood and around the globe.  Founded in 1985 by Dr. Ted Baehr, MOVIEGUIDE® is a ministry dedicated to redeeming the values of the entertainment industry according to biblical principles by influencing industry executives and artists to adopt higher standards and by informing and equipping the public about the influence of the mass media. Each year around Oscar time, MOVIEGUIDE® hosts its Annual Faith & Values Awards Gala and Report to the Entertainment Industry in Hollywood. At this event, which is now approaching its 22nd year, the best family-...

Hollywood’s New Family Man: Behind the Scenes of DELIVERY MAN with Vince Vaughn
November 22, 2013

By Carl Kozlowski, Contributing Writer It’s rare that Hollywood offers a strongly pro-life message in movies, and even rarer to find a deep message of any kind in a movie starring Vince Vaughn, but with his new movie DELIVERY MAN (read the review here), Vince Vaughn moves beyond his long-beloved status as the fastest-talking wisecracker in comedy and finds surprising new depths as a man who suddenly learns that he’s about to be a father to one child and has already unwittingly been the father to more than 500 others. DELIVERY MAN stars Vaughn as Dave Wozniak, a deliveryman for his family’s Brooklyn-based butcher shop. He’s a lovable slacker who racks up more parking tickets than timely deliveries, but he’s forced to grow up wh...

Hollywood’s Language Problem
November 21, 2013

By Carl Kozlowski, Contributing Writer, with Tom Snyder, Editor Of all the things that viewers and the MPAA movie ratings board can find objectionable in a movie, the use of foul language has to be the most confounding. Prior to the launch of the modern movie ratings (G, PG, R) in 1968 (with P-13 launched in 1984 and NC-17 in 1990), no obscenities worse than “d” or “h” words were allowed, and God’s name was rarely if ever invoked in vain. Now, with the new ratings system allowing them to say whatever they want in movies, filmmakers suddenly flooded movie theatres with all manner of expletives and profanities. Sure, many family movies still exist in which barely an offensive word exists, but the question to be asked is:  why...

The Need for Christian Heroes
November 20, 2013

By David Outten, Production Editor Christian filmmakers could learn a lesson from THE AVENGERS, IRON MAN, CAPTAIN AMERICA, and MAN OF STEEL. Audiences want heroes. The reason THE BLIND SIDE was an astounding success is because Sandra Bullock’s character was heroic. Yes, the movie had conflict, there were times when her friends didn’t understand her and the government questioned her motives, but it was entertaining to watch a white Southern Christian woman stand on her principles and show love. It was worth a $12 ticket and the purchase of a DVD. THE SOUND OF MUSIC featured Julie Andrews in the signature role of her career as Maria, a Catholic postulate turned governess. She was seeking God’s will for her live. She sought to show...

5 Lessons Hollywood Can Learn from C.S. Lewis
November 19, 2013

5 Lessons Hollywood Can Learn from C.S. Lewis By Ben Kayser, Managing Editor  The influence C.S. Lewis has had on Christianity, culture, art, and literature can fill, and has filled many pages in many books. Whether your first introduction to his work was THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA, MERE CHRISTIANITY, or THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS, undoubtedly most everyone has a connection with one of his writings.  In fact, with the 2005 release of the movie THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE, Movieguide® Publisher Dr. Ted Baehr and his son, Jim, edited a beautiful coffee table book on C.S. Lewis and Narnia, called NARNIA BECKONS. With Nov. 22 being the 50th year since C.S. Lewis died in 1963, it’s only appropriate, therefore, to visit some of the...

Fighting Against Tyranny for Liberty
November 18, 2013

Behind the Scenes of THE HUNGER GAMES:  CATCHING FIRE By Ben Kayser, Managing Editor THE HUNGER GAMES:  CATCHING FIRE is the science fiction sequel to the novel and movie THE HUNGER GAMES, which turned into a worldwide hit in 2012. The story takes place right after the first movie. Katniss and Peeta must face the challenge of figuring out their feelings for each other during a political revolution that puts them at the center of a fight for liberty. The movie addresses a number of topics, which can be read in Movieguide®’s full review here. Movieguide® recently had the opportunity to hear from the stars of CATCHING FIRE. Question:  Would any members of the cast and/or crew like to say what they most enjoy about the series? Jenn...

Weekend Report November 15-17, 2013
November 17, 2013

November 15-17, 2013       Select a studio's button to see that studio's 2013 Report Card <spanstyle="font-size: large;">THOR rules a second weekend THOR: THE DARK WORLD took first with a second strong weekend. It was followed by the weekend’s only wide-release newcomer THE BEST MAN HOLIDAY. LAST VEGAS, FREE BIRDS, and BAD GRANDPA rounded out the top five. FREE BIRDS would have to have a tremendous Thanksgiving boost to reach the $100 million mark.   Next weekend comes the box office juggernaut HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE. It’s expected to top $100 million in its first three days and quickly become one of the top ten movies of 2013. Disney’s F...

Why Hollywood Is Dumping Explicit Sex Scenes
November 15, 2013

By David Outten, Production Editor The web publication The Independent  reports, “New research, commissioned by Warner Brothers, has suggested that women now tend to decide what films a couple should see. These same women, according to the polls, are uneasy with scenes which might be thought to stray into the explicit, or exploitative, or inappropriate in some way.” In other words, sex doesn’t really sell. Movieguide® has been telling the Entertainment Industry this for a long time. Twenty years of our annual Reports to the Entertainment Industry have shown that explicit sex is a death knell when it comes to attracting a general audience. Of course, R-rated sex movies can reach a limited audience, like R-rated horror movies can...

Invasion of the Pod People: Technology - Friend or Foe?
November 14, 2013

By Lee Roscoe, Contributing Writer A largely unnoticed threat, oblivious to the general public, is aggressively invading and attacking the minds and bodies of our population causing serious life-threatening problems in the lives of children, students, parents, educators, and pastors, among others. Left unhindered, this threat will seriously endanger future generations unless we wake up, identify, confront and counteract this threat by taking informed, aggressive, and calculated steps to reverse its crippling and harmful consequences. In the 1956 Science Fiction classic film, INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS, the main character, Miles Bennel, is called away from a medical convention early by his office staff because they are experiencing a...