L! C! B! May 1998

MORE RELIGIOUS GORE : Fresh from Mouse Hunt Gore Verbinski has taken over the helm from David Fincher on New Line's The Sky Is Falling set for a 1999 release. In the future two priests discover archaeological proof that God is dead, a discovery that unhinges them and leads to a drug-induced murder spree. The world's dominant religions consolidated into a global power hire a terminally ill hitman, now deeply religious, who comes out of retirement to hunt down the priests. Jane Champion is set to start the March filming of Holy Smoke for Miramax, a love story starring Kate Winslet as a woman recuited by a religious cult who falls for her deprogrammer Harvey Keitel. The more than capable Tim Burton is helming a remake of the 1963 Roger Corman classic X, The Man with the X-Ray Eyes for DreamWorks/Orion. Who can forget Ray Milland as he flees into the revivalist tent and confront the hellfire preacher who commands "If thine eye offends thee, pluck it out!" Universal's End of Days, another millennial thriller scheduled for a Summer 1999 release has the Devil arriving in New York City looking for a bride. Only ex-cop Arnold Schwarzenegger can stop him, but the good news is this is the replacement project for Arnold's misguided intention to remake the Richard Matheson classic I Am Legend, better known by the title of its anemic second film version, the Charleton Heston vehicle The Omega Man. Before the millennium actually gets underway (that's 2001 if you're counting) John Travolta stars in the big screen adaptation of L. Ron Hubbard's sci-fi novel Battlefield Earth. Isn't Clear and Present Danger a better title?

APOCALYPSE NOW NEWLY EXPANDED : What is it about "revised" and "updated" editions of prophecy texts? Was somebody a little bit too much in a hurry? Dr. Charles Taylor of Today in Bible Prophecy had to crank out various updates and sequels to his 1979 World War III and the Destiny of America while Jack Van Impe's The Coming War With Russia and like titles are now updated to include the collapse of the Soviet Union. Hal Lindsay? Don't even go there! Pray, when will the busy Jerry Bruckheimer give the green light to a Dwayne Walker remake of the Estus Pirkle/Ron Ormond classic If Footmen Tire You, What Will Horsemen Do? to reflect the relaxation of tensions with Fidel Castro's godless but Pope-friendly Cuba. Van Impe, "The Walking Bible" recently teamed up with the Lalonde brothers to produce the ambitious Apocalyspe: Caught in the Eye of the Storm reviewed next issue.

SECOND COMING ATTRACTIONS : David Prill's favorite author is Flann O'Brien. I just had to tell you though it might not be much help by way of introducing his latest and very funny novel Second Coming Attractions (St. Martin's Press, New York). Subtitled "God Is My Co-Producer" it sweetly skewers the Christian inspirational film industry with a story of fierce competition between old school Good Samaritans Films ('Salvation with a Smile') and upstart Blood of the Lamb Pictures. Highlights include the Fetal Detective, A Pro-Life Mystery, Christian teen idol Ricky Bible, inspirational movie mogul Leviticus Speck and a support group for women who love men who portray Jesus Christ.

MEDIA LEADERS PRAYER CALENDAR : Larry "The Last Temptation of Hollywood" Poland and his Mastermedia International is a stealth ministry to "the top leadership of film and television in Hollywood and New York" and helps believers "Keep up with the Spiritual War in Film and Television!" Vice President Robert "Buster" Holmes facilitates a MediaLife group at Universal Studios and produces the Media Leader Prayer Calendar which lists the "top 365 people in media" (though their numbers are clearly wrong - there are numerous days where couples instead of individuals have been choosen). Frankly this "media insider" ministry smacks of idolatry. Idolatry in the entertainment business?!? But you've got to think there might be something in praying for a Chris Carter or a Jim Cameron, right? Being an alphabetical listing the MMI prayer calendar discourages the fun one might have in collating significant dates and spiritual rankings. Still it's worth a look. DreamWorks SKG co-founders each get separate days and last November 17th the 5-Day Forecast notes a power prayer cluster running through Friday the 21st with Aaron Spelling, Steven Spielberg, Howard Stern, Oliver Stone and Barbara Streisand.

BRAISED HEART OR BLASPHEMY 451 : Guess the good folks weren't praying hard enough for Mel Gibson (April 30, Walpurgisnacht already!) because news has reached me that he's scheduled to direct a remake of Ray Bradbury's not-so-futuristic Fahrenheit 451 for a Summer 1999 release. Blasphmey requires one to have seen François Truffaut's flawed but gorgeous (cinematography by Nicolas Roeg) 1963 version of the novel with Oskar Werner as fireman Guy Montag and Julie Christie in dual roles as wife Linda and schoolteacher Clarisse. Mel's 'daring' choice for Montag is (tinder)box office god Tom Cruise! Sean Connery may come onboard in the Cyril Cussack role. A highlight of the original film is a series of book burning sequences - a name dropping medley of incongruous book titles, the camera caressing the covers as they blacken and peel, revealing fresh fuel for the flames. Will a copy of Dianetics make it into the pyre? "What do you think, Linda?"

PENECOSTAL PUSH BUTTON HORROR : Fresh writer-director Boaz Yakin, under fire from some Orthodox Jews for his Miramax release A Price Above Rubies which casts Renee Zellweger (Jerry Maguire) as a rebellous young Hasidic woman, just completed a script for a "horror film set in the Penecostal world of the South." Yakin adds "I accept that I'm doing things that push people's buttons...I'm going to have to change my address after this one."

VAMPIRES OF THE CLOTH : John Carpenter's Vampires already screening in France has LeMonde gushing on its front page "A vampire picture like no other." James Woods is the ass kicking anti-hero Jack Crow who battles armed vampires. It's the Church who's created vampires by accident hundreds of years ago and is desperating trying to undo the damage with Church trained vampire slayers. A standout motel massacre set piece opens this film which returns Carpenter to the top of his game. A stateside release should be ready later this year.

KATZENBERG'S COMMANDMENTS : After 3 years in the making, Jeffrey Katzenberg is finishing up DreamWork's first full length adult oriented animated feature The Prince of Egypt a digitally driven retelling of The Ten Commandents. Disney isn't sweating yet but things should get interesting when this one hits the screen. Val Kilmer voices Moses, Ralph Fiennes is Pharoah Ramses, and other cast include Helen Mirren, Patrick Stewrart, Jeff Goldblum, Mel Brooks, Michelle Pieffer, Steve Martin, Danny Glover, Sandra Bullock and Martin Short. Controversy is abroad in the casting of the voice of God. You go, Girl!

HEAT STROKE : It's that time again, the June/July Adult Christianity Summer 'Sex' issue, and what better time to remind our dear, generous readers about my plea in last March's Jesus filmography for information or (shudder) copies of alleged pornographic Jesus films. Up until now, all we've had is a couple of sketchy reports and no 'hard' evidence. The titles again are Him, I Saw Jesus Die, and The Many Loves of Jesus. Thanks in advance and see you next month!

Pete Aitken