Mary Doria Russell Visits Seattle
When I finally shift gears and start publishing the novels I've been working on for the past decade, I can only hope to strike the kind of balance that author Mary Doria Russell achieves in hers. Have you discovered her yet?Read more
Looking Closer Becomes a Cover Story
The Seattle Times article is up! (... he says, as he crawls under his desk in bewilderment.)
On the front page of the Pacific Northwest Magazine section, it'll appear just ahead of the headline: Slug Bait No More!Read more
This Sunday Night: Rev. Bill Hogg and I Talk Oscars
For the last few weeks, I've been appearing as a guest on the call-in talk radio show Hogg Wild, hosted by the Reverend Bill Hogg, on Seattle's radio station KGNW.Read more
More Constantine Ramblings up at Paste Magazine
Yet another magazine has seen fit to let me ramble on about Constantine. This time, it's Paste.Read more
More Mail for CT's Top 10, and My Visit to an SPU Classroom
A couple of days ago, I posted some of the complaints that have come in to CT Movies about the year-end Top Ten List that they posted. And I replied to those complaints.
I also used them as material to enliven my presentation when I guest-taught a class for Dr. Joyce Erickson on literature and Christian cultural engagement yesterday at Seattle Pacific University.
Speaking of "engagement," several of the students were engaged enough to stick around for another 30 minutes discussing how Christians can enrich the cultural dialogue on movies. We discussed Signs, Saved!, Born into Brothels, and others. It was a rewarding experience for me, and a privilege, to have this opportunity. It's the second time I've guest-taught at SPU (I guest-taught a class for my friend and mentor, the award-winning Dr. Luke Reinsma, a few months back), and I hope to do this again. Frankly, I'm trying to pack so much into that hour-long session, I'd prefer to expand it into a quarter-long series.
I'll be talking about movies again at GreenLake Presbyterian Church on Sunday, March 13th, in the evening service.
Anyway... back to the Top Ten debacle....
Now, the CT Movies editor has posted some of the positive feedback that's coming in. And it is encouraging, especially after that initial wave of predictable, wearying outrage.
I appreciate your critics. The Christian public can be very opinionated about what Christian organizations do, and I imagine you have received a lot of criticism. But there are Christians out here who are very thankful for a site that honestly evaluates film and can find spiritual benefits without merely catering to the Left Behind 2 club. - Jennifer Harris
Regarding the flak you've received for your top 10 list, please know that I appreciate your critics' ability to practice criticism at a deeper level than merely counting swear words or body parts. That makes Christianity Today Movies one of the few mainstream Christian publications whose film coverage is not embarrassingly amateurish. I commend you for choosing a better way—equipping me to make my own choices based on reliable information and thoughtful Christian analysis. - Kenneth R. Morefield
Thanks for a strong list of movies among the best of 2004. I wish most Christians made the time and exception to view movies like Eternal Sunshine and Before Sunset before jumping to hasty censorship. I appreciate the work in your department even though it's like approaching a scorpion raising its sting. - James Harrelson
Regarding all the negative mail concerning your Critics' Choice list: I think your reviews of films like Million Dollar Baby help Christians see that art is about more than not offending people or being propaganda. I give you credit for being willing to acknowledge the excellence of films that raise questions in a thoughtful way. - Todd Truffin
Looking Closer's New Address
After almost a decade as a branch of the Promontory Artists Association, the Looking Closer website is launching itself out from under its non-profit status and establishing itself as an independent Web site.
What this means to you is that you'll never have to type out promontoryartists.org/lookingcloser again.
It's now as simple as this: lookingcloser.org.
Currently, that address points you to the same Web site that's been live all these years. But in a few weeks, the site will be its own entity, cleaned up, and improved.Read more
Danny Boyle - Director of Trainspotting and 28 Days Later and Millions
I've just come from a meeting with Danny Boyle, the relentlessly creative filmmakers responsible for Shallow Grave, Trainspotting, A Life Less Ordinary, The Beach, 28 Days Later, and now what is sure to become a treasured favorite of many... Millions.Read more
My First-Ever Link Regarding Architecture
In the new Books and Culture, Nathan Bierma contemplates Seattle's spectacular (or spectacularly ugly?) new downtown library.