Stand up! Speak up! Refuse to give up!
June 13, 2013

     Stand up!  Speak up! Refuse to give up!       By Rick Scarborough, President of Vision America     Abraham Lincoln famously stated, “I tremble for my country when I remember that God is just.”                                   Vincent Van Gogh was born in Holland on March 30, 1853.  Today his original art works are considered some of the most valuable in the world.  His work, "Portrait of Doctor Gachet”, painted in 1890 -shortly before his death by gunshot wound, at age 37, sold in 1990, for $82.5 million.  Three of his original works have sold for more than $50 million each.   Yet, during his life, he considered himself a failure and fought mental illness thr...

Reflections of a Hollywood Missionary
June 11, 2013

Reflections of a Hollywood Missionary By Jack Kelly  When Ted Baehr asked me to write an article for him on the Hollywood Ministries, I have to confess, I wasn’t entirely sure how to approach the subject.  What is happening with these ministries is in some ways unprecedented in the history of the Church.  Over the last few years an entire generation of Believers has descended on what’s been called “the most influential mission field in the world.” They are actors, writers, producers, directors, pastors, teachers – combinations of these and more.  Many are highly trained, many have no training whatsoever, but most have come out of some sense of God’s calling.  Some have come to create evangelistic Christian films, some h...

An Inferno for Our Times?
June 11, 2013

Abandon all hope, you who seek Dante here. By  Stephen W. Smith Although skillful and clever throughout, Dan Brown’s Inferno is finally more of a gateway argument on behalf of population control than a simple thriller about Dante, Florence, or bioterror. Considered as a whole, the novel serves as something like a “gateway to the Posthuman age,” as the seeming villain of the novel says when describing the goal of his plot. While the gateways in Dante lead either to Hell and self-knowledge or to Mount Purgatorio and a climb to the stars, this novel leads the reader into a brave new world of genetic engineering and suggests that we embrace the new means required to “save the world,” even if we find them “uncomfortable.”...

PGA Produced By Conference - In Photos
June 10, 2013

The Producers Guild of America held their annual "Produced By Conference" at Fox Studios June 8-9, 2013. Movieguide's Ted Baehr, Tom Snyder, and Evy Baehr were present to report on the event.  According to www.producedbyconference.com, the Produced By Conference is "...the only event in the world where the most influential decision-makers in the entertainment industry --producers-- gather in one place over one extraordinary weekend."  Movieguide was honored to be among these influential decision makers, and snagged some photos of JJ Abrams, Jerry Bruckheimer, and many other important speakers and interesting moments from the weekend.  A full article will soon follow, but here are some of the best images from the exciting event! [Hov...

Weekend Report June 7-9, 2003
June 10, 2013

June 7-9, 2013       Select a studio's button to see that studio's 2013 Report Card Low Budget PURGE tops a Summer Weekend? Who says low budget movies can’t compete in the Summer? Shot for around $million, THE PURGE took the top spot in this weekend’s domestic box office. It slipped by last wekend’s top movies FAST AND FURIOUS 6 and NOW YOU SEE ME, as well as this weekend’s more costly newcomer THE INTERNSHIP. In fifth place the family animation EPIC is failing to be epic at the box office.   It looks as if EPIC will limp across the $100 million line but fade far before it reaches $200 million. THE CROODS at $184 million looks as it it may fade o...

The Politics of ‘THE PURGE’
June 07, 2013

Behind the Scenes of Hollywood: The Politics of ‘THE PURGE’ By Dr. Tom Snyder, Editor The new horror thriller THE PURGE has too many disturbing themes, too many strong profanities and crude obscenities, too much violence, and too much of a liberal mindset to make it acceptable viewing. However, despite its liberal mindset and negative content, there are some interesting, provocative political points about THE PURGE that are worthy of discussion. The other day, MOVIEGUIDE® was able to discuss some of these points with Producer Jason Blum and actor Ethan Hawke, who plays the frazzled father at the center of the story. THE PURGE is a futuristic Twilight Zone movie that comments on American society and its penchant and fascination f...

Grumpy Cat – Internet Phenom Gets Movie Deal
June 07, 2013

Grumpy Cat – Internet Phenom Gets Movie Deal By Ben Kayser and Tom Snyder If you spend any time on social media sites like Facebook or Twitter, it’s likely you’ve seen the incredibly popular Internet meme of a picture of a “cranky-faced” cat. This comedic picture of “Grumpy Cat” spread like wildfire on the internet creating almost instant fame for the furry creature. The cat, whose real name is “Tarder Sauce,” was named by MSNBC the most influential cat of 2012 and has appeared on a number of TV shows. Grumpy Cat has a major following on Facebook and YouTube and even has merchandise selling at Walmart. With this fame, it’s no surprise that Tarder Sauce’s representatives and managers (yes, even animal celebrities ...

Clean the Screens!
June 06, 2013

Clean the Screens! Hollywood Needs to Revisit the Code of Decency By Ted Baehr and Tom Snyder         EDITOR’S NOTE:  Movieguide® is an international guide to entertainment media, based in Los Angeles. Dr. Ted Baehr, Publisher, directed the TV Center at the City University of New York and Tom Snyder, Editor, has a Ph.D. in film studies from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois.    Teenagers' entertainment budget marks them as the No. 1 target for both movies and television programs. Yet according to Movieguide's extensive documented research, Hollywood's attempts to reach their most valued customers are misguided. As a non-profit Christian group, Movieguide holds tenaciously to the Motion Picture Code of Decency...

Weekend Report May 31-June 2, 2013
June 03, 2013

May 31-33, 2013       Select a studio's button to see that studio's 2013 Report Card A Not As Furious Weekend FAST AND FURIOUS 6 topped a second weekend as neither of the newcomers NOW YOU SEE ME, second place, or AFTER EARTH, third, could overtake it. AFTER EARTH actually came in well below expectations. EPIC came in fourth and looks as if it may struggle to make respectable numbers for a Summer animated movie..   IRON MAN 3 is cruising toward a $400 million domestic total and STAR TREK: INTO DARKNESS appears headed to break the $200 million mark. The next really big summer release appears to be MAN OF STEEL June 14. MONSTERS UNIVERSITY comes out June 2...

Jesus in Armani
June 03, 2013

Jesus in Armani by Prof. William L. Blizek   The movie “5 Minuti” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UghevhHJSVU) expresses much of Christian theology in a mere eleven minutes. Barbara is about to jump to her death when she is approached by a handsome young man who turns out to be Jesus. She tells Jesus that she will give him five minutes and in that five minute conversation we discover that Jesus is a being beyond time and place, that Jesus suffered greatly on our behalf, that God is the Creator of the Universe, that faith is important to salvation and love is an overriding good, that we should be humble and that we can have an intimate, personal relationship with the ultimate being in the Universe.    “5 Minuti” is ...