First, Isabelle Allende writes a Zorro novel…
… now guess who’s writing a Jesus novel!
ANNE RICE.
Thanks to Professor Elizabeth Rambo for the tip!
“I’m not a priest,” Rice writes…. “I can’t be one. I’ll never be able to go to the altar of the Lord and say the words of consecration at Mass, `This is my body. This is my blood.’ No, I can’t work that magnificent Eucharistic miracle. But in humility, I have attempted something transformative which we writers dare to call a miracle in the imperfect human idiom we possess. It’s to bring Him here in the form a story, and that story is Christ The Lord.”
I’m pretty sure she’s referring to the fact that as a Catholic woman, she can never be a priest. I understand her to be speaking of approaching the altar in that capacity.
Ah, yes, you’re right. My mistake. I jumped to a hasty conclusion.
Interesting NPR interview with Rice a couple of years ago that talks about her emerging Christian faith.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1477768
Quote from Anne in that interview that caught my ear —
“I understand how the apostles could see Jesus walking on the water and still doubt things. Because this happens to you and you believe it completely, but then your rational mind says the next day — it probably wasn’t that way — there’s probably no hereafter. It’s hard to believe in the miracle you witnessed. As Luke says in the parable about Lazarus and the rich man, if they don’t believe Moses and the prophets, then they won’t believe if a man rises from the dead — and they didn’t — and they don’t.”
And her review list from Amazon.com reveals some of the thing she’s been studying up on over the last couple of years —
http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-reviews/AB4F6UHL20U95/ref=cm_aya_rev_all/
Wow, thanks for the link, Bryan. Oh my. I’ll have to eat my shoes.
You know how when you’re young(er) and idealistic and anybody can become a Christian. You pray for the iconic representation of fame or evil to come to Christ? In my stupidity, I’ve always feared Anne Rice because of the movement she’s associated with. I would have never guessed… Not that she is or was evil, but in the back of my mind I guess she was. And I wouldn’t have wasted a moment on praying for her.
But, like Keith Green said, “Love Broke Through.”
Father, forgive me.
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I’ve always feared Anne Rice because of the movement she’s associated with.
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I got hit by it the same exact way when I heard the NPR interview. I love having God come up with something surprising like this that totally forces me to rethink my pre-supositions.
If a movie script is lousy then the director should be the one to blame. After all it’s not the 1930’s when studios assigned the scripts to the director. Nowadays a director like Spielberg can choose what knd of movie he wants to make and choose the right script for his project. So if Spielberg (or someone like him) has a string of bad scripts then someone should notice this.
A director probably shouldn’t think about “fixing” the script, but think about making it personal.
An actor shouldn’t be even allowed to think about rewriting the story. An actor “writes” by performing.
Are you talking about Brothers Grimm?
Oh, man! My stomacn hurts! Thanks for sharing Borowitz. Now I can easily divide the load between him and Lark News.
C
In response to the question, I’m a big believer that if it ain’t on the page it ain’t on the stage…er, screen. And, yes, their is a certain responsibility on the part of the director to choose his projects wisely, however, not every director is Steven Spielberg. In other words, he or she does not have the option to be picky about projects and not starve in the process. In fact, even Jim Sheridan (In America, In the Name of the Father) does commercials and industrial films in between his wonderful feature films to support himself in the long interim periods (which may explain his involvement in Get Rich or Die Tryin’: The Fiddy Cent Story).
One issue that must be addressed as well is the over-emphasis that is put on the director in critiquing films. Being a film student and aspiring director myself, one of the first things I’ve discovered is the importance of a good Producer. If the producer is as dedicated to the story as you are, you’ll get something special. However, filmmaking is still a business and there are more than a few out there that are more concerned with what will sell and what won’t. And that affects which scripts they choose to finance and produce.
Well, that was longer than expected…
Julio
PS
Very sad news about The Brothers Grimm, Jeff! I’ll lower my expectations, albeit sorrowfully…
If you’re talking about _The Brothers Grimm_, then in this case it’s neither the director’s, nor the screenwriter’s fault. It’s the producers! The Weinsteins tamper with their films, and demanded certain decisions, which Gilliam did not approve of. For _Brazil_, his original vision was almost nearly ranscacked by the producers’ idiocy (if it weren’t for his pluck and perserverance, we wouldn’t have gotten the brilliant film today).
Another great film destroyed by greedy producers: “Once Upon a Time in America”. Sergio Leone’s film was a masterpiece abroad, but when it hit stateside, it was recut, re-edited, and shortened to an almost unfollowable length. Even “Cursed” this year, tainted Wes Craven’s streak because the producers demanded a PG-13 movie from an R-source.
I trust Gilliam’s judgment. If he’s not enthused by the Weinstein’s tinkering, then neither will I.
–Nick
Nice reading on “Catholicism and Fundamentalism.” Me thinks that it will be a straw man argument to discredit much that is evangelical though Evangelicals would probably be in agreement with what is said about Fundamentalism.
I’ve read “C&F”. The book isn’t interested in discrediting “Fundamentalism” nor “Evangelicalism.” It’s far more interesting in debunking anti-Catholic claims from Fundamentalist apologists. It’s much more interested in providing a reason why Catholics do a whole host of things, using Scripture and logic as a basis.
Jeff… let us know how you like it…
–Nick
I looked up that illustrated Bible and there is a $10,000 version and a $30,000 version. Which one did you buy?!
I couldn’t find it on eigth day books site. I’m assuming there’s like a $20 version available…
It does look pretty incredible
There’s a paperback for $16.50 at Amazon.
I noticed that I couldn’t find it on the Eighth Day Web site either. Weird. I bought it at the Eighth Day books table at the Glen Workshop, so I’m pretty sure he has it available. To tell you the truth, I’m having trouble using the search function on that site…