Looking Closer in the Foursquare Church
Notes on Through a Screen Darkly in a Foursquare Church publication:
Overstreet must go far beyond the obvious and the traditional to show how spiritual issues are raised or that God can be seen in some of Hollywood's most unlikely films. And he contends that we can learn from the good in movies as well as the bad. ... Though some readers will find Overstreet's views controversial, others will find it rich fodder for discussion of relevant topics faced in the world today.
Do We Really Need Another "Wizard of Oz"?
Well... if Zooey Deschanel is Dorothy... why not?!
I'm sure this trailer is going to inspire some moaning and groaning among Oz enthusiasts. After all, there are quite a few adaptations out there already, and few have been built to last.
But I don't know why people tend to complain when we're treated to multiple cinematic versions of a single story. Sure... when a remake is done poorly, criticism is appropriate. But nobody complains when the stage comes alive with new and bold interpretations of Shakespeare every year. I'd like to see a hundred big screen versions of Seven Samurai, or Citizen Kane, or Beowulf, so long as they're imaginative and well-crafted. All the better to test the resilience of the source material, and to dazzle us with creativity, showing up the hacks and introducing an occasional visionary!
If you could remake a movie, rising to the challenge of remaking a great film or trying to make something good out of a bad one, which would you choose? Who would you cast? Who would you like to see direct?
I do hope I see another ambitious version of The Lord of the Rings in my lifetime.
Gosh Golly... a Facebook Group!
A fine fellow named Karl Weston Magnuson has gone and started a Through a Screen Darkly Facebook group!
Thanks, Karl! Good to meet you!
At the NWCSI-CTABC Convention
Today, I tried to sum up some of the ideas in Through a Screen Darkly to an overcrowded - and quickly overheated - room full of high school teachers at the NWCSI-CTABC convention in Lynden, Washington.
The notes I'd prepared... well, I thought that they just might be enough to cover a 95-minute seminar. As it turns out, I only got halfway through them. It's funny how the presence and participation of listeners can change your plans. Their examples and questions brought to mind all kinds of anecdotes and examples and questions I'd never thought about when I was preparing my outline. But God bless them... the 70+ teachers stayed for the whole sweaty presentation. And our chats afterward were inspiring.Read more
Brad Bird's Next Flight will Be Live-Action
From The Star Online...
In fact, his next film ... will be his, and Pixar's, first live action feature.
Titled 1906, it is an adaptation of the James Dalessandro novel about the famous San Francisco earthquake which wrecked the city.
Query him, and he is tight-lipped about the new project. But one can rest assured from this director's track record that the movie will offer a uniquely Bird's eye view.
Auralia in Image
And last but not least... it appears that somebody over at Image journal has read Auralia's Colors!
Over the Rhine's Essential Christmas Album, Re-released
Thom Jurek has a review, and I heartily agree with it.
The review doesn't mention the fact that OTR's fans have had this album for a year now.
The SuperFast Reader Interview
SuperFastReader is sure enthusiastic about Auralia's Colors. She's gone beyond reviewing it. Now she's giving a copy away, and she's posted the conversation we had last week.
Reading Letters and Blogs "Darkly"
Letters like this make my day. I hoped that the book would inspire people to meet together, watch great films, and discuss them. And it's happening. I continue to hear from people who are discovering the book and starting their own discussion groups. Here's one that came today:
... [M]y dad purchased your book for me and I read it over the summer while I was working as a counselor at a Christian camp. I cannot remember being so enamored of a book and eager to read since the first time I picked up and started the Tolkien books in middle school.
I am now back at school ... and have started a small group with about seven close friends. I have never led a small group before, much less one in which I am attempting to incorporate reading out of the meeting time and discussion over the reading in our meeting time plus trying to watch at least one of your most discussed movies per chapter and discussing it as well. For our first meeting i handed out your book to all the group members and then we watched The Story of the Weeping Camel.
...
I just wanted to tell you all of this because your book has greatly influenced me and encouraged me as a Christian who really enjoys movies and (until recently) hated to feel like I had to condemn movies because of "bad" things in them.
Along similar lines, a blogger named Stephanie is exploring new territory "through a screen darkly" too....
We are reading [Through a Screen Darkly] AND watching a film a week to discuss on Sunday morning. This past week we watched a film called Don't Come Knocking .... I was not real keen on watching this movie. I dislike heavy drama. It does not entertain me much. But I enjoyed the film much more than I would have thought especially after discussing it with Edward once it was over. And my estimation of the film grew even more after sharing thoughts with the class on Sunday morning. We all agreed that had we seen it in the movie theatre we would have soon forgotten it and probably not have recommended it to friends. But by the end of the hour of discussion we were all talking about seeing it again because it was so rich and deep. haha.
I must admit that the book, Through a Screen Darkly, would never had been my choice for the class either but Edward was enthusiastic at a time when I had no energy to suggest anything else. So I find myself reading a book I would never have picked up AND seeing movies I would not have choose to see either. So I guess this is where I admit that my life is richer for it and I am happy for the opportunity to step out of my little box. I know Edward is smirking as he reads this. (Quit it!)
The Wings of the Dove (1997)
It's a shame that Helena Bonham Carter earned a Best Actress nomination for this performance, when so many others — take last year's Margaret's Museum, for example — have allowed her to be the combustibly reckless personality that only she can be. Read more