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Topic: Grosses for PASSION OF CHRIST - a 100 Million in 5 days ?
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Kamakshipalya Dhananjay
Expert Film Handler
Posts: 190
From: Bangalore, India
Registered: Aug 2002
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posted 02-15-2004 01:38 AM
This newsreport by Foxnews that PASSION OF CHRIST wont play in several important theatres in major markets and that, the target for this film, as chosen by its distributor, is mostly poor neighbourhoods, should it be true, accounts for an unprecedented criteria for reach of a religious themed film and may spoil the calculations for Box Office.
Quote :
Gibson's 'Passion' in Very 'Select' Theatres
Friday, February 13, 2004
By Roger Friedman
Gibson's 'Passion' to Open in 'Select' Theatres Only
If you live on the west side of Manhattan, on most of western Long Island, or in Beverly Hills and you want to see Mel Gibson's controversial new movie "The Passion of the Christ," you will be out of luck.
When the film — which some critics are calling anti-Semitic and inflammatory — opens on Feb. 25, it will be in very select theatres only.
Even though the makers of "The Passion of the Christ" are touting its 2,000 screen premiere, the movie's Web site and another Web site, moviefone.com, tell a very different story.
For example, in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, the film will play in a handful of out-of-the-way-theatres — one in Times Square, two in fringe areas of the East Side, one second-run theatre at Broadway and 100th St. and one in Harlem. There will be one screen below 34th St, and none from 42nd St. to 96th St. on the West Side. This excludes all prestige venues like the Ziegfeld, the Paris, the Beekman and Sony Lincoln Square.
Theater-goers will also be hard-pressed to find "The Passion of the Christ" in Nassau County, Long Island on either the south or north shore, or in affluent Westchester County, New York.
The pattern, for the most part, highlights black neighborhoods and poor neighborhoods. For example, all the Magic Johnson theatres in the country will show the movie, as will multiplexes in urban centers.
Gibson obviously thinks there's a potential problem in Chicago, where "Passion" will be on only two screens. Otherwise, Chicagoans will have to go to the suburbs.
The same goes for the wealthier and trendier parts of Los Angeles such as Beverly Hills and Century City. Those who are curious will have to seek their "Passion" in odd places, in out-of-the-way cineplexes. You won't be able to see it at the Beverly Center, for example. But four theatres in economically less desirable San Jose, Calif. will show the film.
All of this seems designed to keep "The Passion of the Christ" out of neighborhoods that are considered Jewish, upscale or liberal.
On the other hand, Tennessee is targeted for "The Passion of the Christ" with eight locations in Memphis and four each in Nashville and Knoxville. The number of theaters in many more states like Florida, Kentucky, Alabama and Oklahoma is high, especially in rural areas. In Florida, for example, Jacksonville and Tampa — more northern and central cities — will have "Passion" on four or more screens, while typically Jewish areas like Boca Raton will have it one screen if at all.
In Miami, where there's a huge Catholic-Cuban population, "The Passion of the Christ" will play in 10 theaters. In Houston and the Dallas-Fort Worth areas of Texas, there are the same number of theaters or more. Texas, in fact, will offer the most opportunities in the country to see the film.
Newmarket Films, which is distributing the movie, seems to have picked a pattern that concentrates heavily on the south and the Midwest, focusing on the Bible Belt and locations where "The Passion of the Christ" will meet with the least resistance. West Virginia will have about three times as many theaters as Rhode Island, for example. Vermonters have three theatres while their more conservative next-door neighbors in New Hampshire, a state equal in size, will have twelve.
Calls to Newmarket and to its public relations firm were not returned to this column yesterday. But in the positioning of "The Passion of the Christ," Gibson has consciously created a divisive atmosphere for the presentation of his film. For example, he has screened the movie widely for groups on the religious right while avoiding all mainstream groups, as well as film critics for fear of poor advance word.
"The Passion of the Christ" has come under intense criticism for being anti-Semitic from many groups Jewish and otherwise as well as journalists who've seen advance prints. In the current issue of Newsweek, reporter Jon Meacham also accuses director Gibson of completely changing historical references to suit his own agenda in an article called "Who Killed Jesus?"
Meacham writes: "To take the film's account of the 'Passion' literally will give most audiences a misleading picture of what probably happened in those epochal hours so long ago. The Jewish priests and their followers are the villains, demanding the death of Jesus again and again; Pilate is a malleable governor forced into handing down the death sentence."
The battle over "The Passion of the Christ" is coming quickly now, and I for one am sorry that Gibson and Newmarket chose to keep it out of places where they thought the reception would be less than positive. Everyone should have the chance to see this film and decide for themselves if Gibson has done the right or wrong thing with his $25 million.
What will be interesting is seeing how the annual Oscar party given by Gibson's agent, Ed Limato, at his palatial Beverly Hills home will be received two days after the movie's premiere. And then there are the Oscars, where Billy Crystal is no doubt thinking of clever ways to spoof the movie.
Link here :
Gibson's 'Passion' to Open in 'Select' Theatres Only
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I hope this news article is completely wrong. I just do not believe this article at all.
Some criticisms against this article have already surfaced and it remains for the distributor, Newmarket films to confirm or deny the Fox news article.
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Criticism levelled by Worldnetdaily.Com
Quote :
Fox accused of twisting facts on 'Passion'
Catholic leader shows film not selectively distributed, as charged
Posted: February 14, 2004
1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2004 WorldNetDaily.com
The head of a Catholic group challenged a Fox News online column that criticizes Mel Gibson for "selectively distributing" his film "The Passion of the Christ" to avoid upscale, liberal and Jewish areas.
William Donohue, president of the Catholic League, however, insists Fox News columnist Roger Friedman has his facts all wrong.
Friedman, after detailing where he believes the movie will be shown, says Gibson "consciously created a divisive atmosphere for the presentation of his film."
The Fox contributor said, "All this seems designed to keep 'The Passion of the Christ' out of neighborhoods that are considered Jewish, upscale, or liberal."
Donahue responded:
"Roger Friedman says the movie will be shown in two Chicago theaters; in fact it will be shown in seven. He says it will not be shown in the L.A. neighborhood of Century City; in fact it will be shown at the AMC in Century City.
"He says it will not be shown in the 'wealthier and trendier parts' of Los Angeles; in fact it will be shown in Marina del Rey, Burbank and Santa Monica. He says it will not be shown in New York's Upper West Side; in fact it will be shown at 86th and Broadway. He says it will be shown only in the 'fringe areas' of the Upper East Side; in fact it will be shown at 86th and 3rd and 64th and 2nd.
"He says it will be shown at one theater below 34th Street; in fact it will be shown at three. He says it will be hard to find in Nassau County, Long Island; in fact it will be shown in seven theaters there. He says that theater-goers will be 'hard pressed' to find it in ‘either the south or north shore’ of Long Island; in fact it will be shown in towns like Glen Cove and Port Washington on the north shore and Merrick and Seaford on the south shore.
"He says those who live in Westchester will also find it difficult to see the movie; in fact it will be shown in Larchmont, New Rochelle and Yonkers. And so on."
Donahue suggested, wryly, "taking a course in Geography 101 might cure some of Friedman's problems, but it would not be enough."
"That's because his forced conclusion suggests something else is at work: To say that Gibson is intentionally keeping the film away from Jews and the rich is not only flatly wrong, it smacks of malice," he said. "We look for Fox to correct itself."
Friedman cited the movie's website and another website, moviefone.com, as sources for where the film will be screened.
He said the pattern for the film's distribution, "for the most part, highlights black neighborhoods and poor neighborhoods. For example, all the Magic Johnson theatres in the country will show the movie, as will multiplexes in urban centers."
Newmarket Films, which is distributing the movie, Friedman said, "seems to have picked a pattern that concentrates heavily on the south and the Midwest, focusing on the Bible Belt and locations where 'The Passion of the Christ' will meet with the least resistance."
Friedman said his calls to Newmarket and to its public relations firm were not returned.
Noting the charges of anti-Semitism against Gibson and the film, Friedman writes: "The battle over 'The Passion of the Christ' is coming quickly now, and I for one am sorry that Gibson and Newmarket chose to keep it out of places where they thought the reception would be less than positive. Everyone should have the chance to see this film and decide for themselves if Gibson has done the right or wrong thing with his $25 million."
The columnist said it will "be interesting in seeing how the annual Oscar party given by Gibson's agent, Ed Limato, at his palatial Beverly Hills home will be received two days after the movie's premiere. And then there are the Oscars, where Billy Crystal is no doubt thinking of clever ways to spoof the movie."
Link to the Worldnetdaily.com story :
Catholic leader shows film not selectively distributed, as charged
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Kamakshipalya Dhananjay
Expert Film Handler
Posts: 190
From: Bangalore, India
Registered: Aug 2002
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posted 02-15-2004 08:59 AM
Yes. The Fox news article on controversial release pattern for PASSION OF CHRIST is already generating a storm, inviting major opposition and denial from some more.
Here is one from MovieCityNews.Com
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Quote :
Breathtakingly inaccurate and malicious fairy tale by Roger Friedman, printed at FoxNews.com
ROGER FRIEDMAN'S BLOOD LIBEL
AGAINST THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST
by David Poland
Sometimes, a journalist makes a mistake. And sometimes, a journalist makes a mistake that is so heinous and easily remedied by any fact checking that the person's publisher deserves to be threatened with litigation and the person in question deserves to lose their job.
Such is the story with today's breathtakingly inaccurate and malicious fairy tale by Roger Friedman, printed at FoxNews.com regarding the release pattern of The Passion of The Christ. The premise of this unresearched mess is that Newmarket Films and Mel Gibson are avoiding big cities and Jewish populations with the theatrical release pattern of the film.
There has been no journalist who has been more critical of Gibson's self-fulfilling-prophecy style of showing this film selectively, building a furor when he is publicly claiming to be fearful that one will erupt, than myself. However, a major media outlet propagating false information in an attack on the film - especially when suggesting that it is news and not opinion - is beyond any acceptable idea of journalistic ethics.
Moreover, for Roger Friedman, a Jew, to so incautiously swing these lies around like a bag full of angry cats is, in my opinion, deeply damaging to Jews everywhere who do not wish to be accused of being willing to stoop to any depth in order to maintain our position in society.
I am not sure that Roger Friedman meant to put such a blatant factual lie in print. I am sure his editors would have stopped it had they known. But Friedman failed to do the most basic job of being a journalist… checking out the facts. Instead, he lazily went to one internet source, apparently unaware of two basic facts: 1. Ticket sales websites are not well designed for long-range presales. 2. There is no movie ticket sales website that offers tickets to all the theaters in any major market.
It took me all of two minutes to find out that Roger Friedman's facts were incorrect. I went to two web sites and made one phone call.
FRIEDMAN ACCUSATION: "In the borough of Manhattan in New York City, the film will play in a handful of out-of-the-way-theatres - one in Times Square, two in fringe areas of the East Side, one second-run theatre at Broadway and 100th St. and one in Harlem. There will be one screen below 34th St, and none from 42nd St. to 96th St. on the West Side. This excludes all prestige venues like the Ziegfeld, the Paris, the Beekman and Sony Lincoln Square."
THE TRUTH: Friedman is correct in asserting that the film will not be playing in The Ziegfield, The Paris or The Beekman. As much as the good folks at The Paris or The Beekman might like to have The Passion of The Christ sell out show after show at their theaters, putting the film into those theaters would suggest that the release of The Passion was, as Friedman falsely claims, opening in "select theaters only." Additionally, the film is playing at the Regal at 64th and 2nd, which Friedman claims is a "fringe area." Small fringe apparently, as it is 3 whole blocks away from his beloved Beekman.
As for The Ziegfield, one of the few important single-screen theaters still standing in Manhattan, currently playing, ironically, Miracle, I spoke to someone at Clearview Cinemas, who confirmed that The Passion of The Christ was not booked into the theater. However, Clearview did book the film into their Chelsea West Cinema. The film booker for Clearview was gone for the weekend when I called, so I couldn't ask whether there was any nefarious reason why the film was not playing there, 11 whole blocks away from the AMC Empire.
Had Friedman bothered to check just a tiny bit closer, even just using Moviefone, he would have found that the release pattern for Manhattan is almost identical to another very controversial movie opening this weekend… 50 First Dates. The two films are booked into eight of the same venues in Manhattan, including Friedman's "one in Harlem." In fact, the only theater 50 First Dates is playing in Manhattan that The Passion is not is Loews Cineplex Lincoln Square… though The Passion will be playing at Loews Cineplex's 84th St & Broadway multiplex, where 50 First Dates is not scheduled.
So I guess we can look for the story from Friedman on Tuesday about the slight against people with short-term memory loss in Manhattan. Funny, but I don't think they'd even remember being slighted.
Moving on to Los Angeles…
FRIEDMAN ACCUSES: "The same goes for the wealthier and trendier parts of Los Angeles such as Beverly Hills and Century City. Those who are curious will have to seek their "Passion" in odd places, in out-of-the-way cineplexes. You won't be able to see it at the Beverly Center, for example. But four theatres in economically less desirable San Jose, Calif. will show the film."
THE TRUTH: If Friedman wanted to make any effort - it took me one 30-second phone call - he could have found out that The Passion of The Christ is playing Pacific's theater at The Grove, the highest grossing theater in America these days - smack in the middle of a Hassidic neighborhood - even though the ticket sales website does not show it on the schedule. (The AMC Empire on 42nd Street is also in the Top 3 grossers nationally.) It is also playing The Arclight in Hollywood. It is also playing the Universal Citywalk, Loews Cineplex's massive complex about 8 miles away. It is playing the AMC Century 14 in Century City. It is playing in Santa Monica at the Loews Cineplex on the Third Street Promenade. It is playing at the Regal in Marina del Rey.
In other words, the film is playing pretty much every Westside (read: Jewish populated) theater that Newmarket or any other studio would want their movie playing.
Moving in to Chicago: "Gibson obviously thinks there's a potential problem in Chicago, where "Passion" will be on only two screens. Otherwise, Chicagoans will have to go to the suburbs."
THE TRUTH Apparently, Friedman's ignorance about the city of Chicago got in his way utterly. There are only five mainstream first-run houses left in non-suburban Chicago: Burnham Plaza, River East, 600 N Michigan, Esquire, and Webster Place. The Passion will play at River East and Webster Place.
Here there is a 50 First Dates gap also… it's playing in Burnham Plaza in addition to The Passion's 2 downtown playdates.
Roger can't stop his unresearched lies. He writes: "In Florida, for example, Jacksonville and Tampa - more northern and central cities - will have "Passion" on four or more screens, while typically Jewish areas like Boca Raton will have it one screen if at all."
THE TRUTH: There are two major theaters in Boca Raton right now, The Shadowwood and The Muvico Palace. Not only are both theaters playing The Passion of The Christ, but Muvico already has tickets on sale for multiple screens.
It's very simple. I personally dislike the way Mel Gibson has turned his movie into a political referendum and left anyone who might have issues with the film politically sitting outside the door so his supporters can gleefully say, "But you haven't seen the movie, have you?" I don't think he is cynical enough to be doing this just to raise the film's profile so that it can have a huge opening with minimal advertising expense. I think he honestly feels persecuted. But still to no good end, in my opinion.
However, to have a member of the media lie outright without doing an hour's research before making a heinous and insidious accusation on a major, if biased, website, owned by a competing film studio is actionable. There is no question that there is malice in Friedman's work here. And there is no question that he is factually incorrect and intentionally misleading the public. At the very least there is malicious disregard for the truth.
Newmarket and Icon Productions have the legal standing to sue FoxNews.com and Roger Friedman for this story and an unassailable argument that financial damage was intended, even if actual financial damages to this moron-proof movie are unlikely . They probably will not, because it is not a good thing to do politically in this business. However, a retraction should be placed up immediately.
And Roger Friedman - and I don't say this blithely - should be fired. He has crossed a very serious line. This is not whoring for Miramax or others or attacking Drew Barrymore because she didn't let him interview her at a premiere. This is, in entertainment journalism, as serious a breech of professional ethics as any I can ever recall.
- David Poland
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Link to the story:
ROGER FRIEDMAN'S BLOOD LIBEL AGAINST THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST
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I personally was shocked myself to read the Foxnews article, more owing to an assumption that the facts stated therein were verified by the publisher and that the same was open to verification by anybody who wanted to.
These later attacks on the article by a fact-by-fact rebuttal leave me perplexed. Whats really happening here ?
I am going to stick to my original assessment. A 100 million in first five days for North America and a 400 million plus tally for the same territory.
[ 02-16-2004, 10:46 PM: Message edited by: Kamakshipalya Dhananjay ]
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Leo Enticknap
Film God
Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000
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posted 02-15-2004 11:50 AM
A review of the film from the UK's Daily Telegraph (a right-of-centre broadsheet):
quote:
Who would want to see a film this violent?
(Filed: 11/02/2004)
John Hiscock watches The Passion of the Christ, Mel Gibson's £15 million movie at the centre of a firestorm of controversy.
Jewish groups have condemned it, evangelical organisations have embraced it and writer-director-producer-financier Mel Gibson is reaping the benefits of a deluge of advance publicity.
The Passion of the Christ has been at the centre of controversy for months, but only this week, after a series of screenings to carefully selected Christian audiences - and having spent the past few weeks editing and tinkering with it - has Gibson finally shown the finished version to journalists and critics.
The film has already come in for vociferous criticism for allegedly kindling anti-Semitism, but having just sat through its two hours six minutes of virtually unremitting bloody beatings and torture, I would not be surprised if anti-violence groups have their say as well.
For, worthy and serious as Gibson's treatment may be, his blood-drenched depiction of the final hours of Jesus's life is harsh and brutal, dwelling almost entirely on pain, suffering and torment.
Beatings, whippings, floggings and the Crucifixion, are shown in close-up with frequent slow motion shots to ensure that no detail escapes us. We see a cat-o-nine tails rip repeatedly into Jesus's flesh as His body is torn and battered to a bleeding pulp; He stumbles, falls and is beaten many times during His long, slow crawl towards His crucifixion; and the agony of the Crucifixion is graphically and excruciatingly portrayed.
The film, due to be released in America on Ash Wednesday and in Britain on March 26, is being marketed to evangelical Christians, although Gibson has emphasised it is not for young children.
However, many adults are likely to have problems with the vivid depictions of pain and violence. It is being released with an R rating but people are already asking whether it should warrant an NC-17, a rating so far applied only to films with explicit sexual content. Gibson claims to have cut some of the most brutal scenes but there is plenty of scope for more editing.
Jim Caviezel stars as Jesus and the Italian actress Monica Bellucci is Mary Magdalene in the £15 million film, which is in Latin and Aramaic with English subtitles, and which was entirely financed by Gibson, who is a member of a conservative Catholic religious group.
It begins in the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus is praying as His disciples sleep. He resists the temptations of a Gollum-like Satan but less than 10 minutes into the film He is dragged away to endure the first of many beatings at the hands of Jewish and Roman guards.
The Roman leader Pontius Pilate, reluctant to harm Jesus but equally anxious to avert a rebellion by the Jewish mob, agrees to Him being severely lashed. The ensuing flogging becomes a gruesome bloodbath but the crowd and the high priest demand more.
The second half of the film is devoted to Jesus's blood-soaked journey to His crucifixion. He stumbles and falls many times under the weight of His cross and is flogged almost senseless until the Romans order an onlooker to help share the burden.
The Crucifixion itself is 25 minutes of torment as drunken Roman soldiers struggle to hammer in the nails and Jesus's flayed body jerks and writhes in pain on the cross.
His death is accompanied by an earthquake which rocks Jerusalem, shaking and toppling walls in Pilate's home and in the building housing the high priest.
The resurrection is dealt with as the final scene in the film. The rock in front of the cave entrance where His body lies rolls back and a cleansed and healthy-looking Jesus walks away in slow motion, leaving His shroud on the rock where His body had lain.
Throughout the film, the violence and bloodletting is interspersed with flashbacks to Jesus as a working carpenter, with His mother, preaching to the disciples and at the Last Supper. But the respites are all too brief and after each interlude Gibson harshly pulls the viewers back to the horrors of the persecution.
Beneath the blood Caviezel makes an impressive, dignified Jesus while Monica Bellucci and the Romanian actress Maia Morgenstern as Mary, His mother, have little to do but look horrified at events unfolding before them.
While sticking mainly to the New Testament, Gibson has embellished his story cinematically by including scenes such as Roman soldiers joking and bickering among themselves and Pilate's wife Claudia making plain her sympathy for the women in Jesus's life. A wild-eyed Judas is chased and hounded by local children until, full of self-recrimination, he takes a rope from a dead camel and hangs himself from a tree above the camel's corpse.
It is difficult to know who would want to see a film this violent, but Gibson has been encouraging thousands of churchgoers to see it. Given that mainstream American audiences are generally more comfortable with violence than with sex, and that the anti-Semitic controversy has helped rather than hindered marketing efforts, The Passion is likely to boost Gibson's bank account by many millions of dollars.
Link to story, though you have to subscribe (i.e. give the paper's website your name and e-mail address) to view the linked page.
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Kamakshipalya Dhananjay
Expert Film Handler
Posts: 190
From: Bangalore, India
Registered: Aug 2002
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posted 02-16-2004 10:37 PM
Here is a news analysis by WashingtonPost.Com calling the PASSION OF CHRIST as the most talked about movie event in America.
Quote :
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'Passion' Is Already Generating a Faithful Following
By Caryle Murphy and William Booth
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, February 17, 2004; Page A01
A week before its release, before a single member of the general public has seen it, Mel Gibson's graphically violent film about the last 12 hours in the life of Jesus Christ has become the most talked-about movie event in America, in large part because of a marketing strategy that is targeting Christian audiences while trying to manage the controversy about anti-Semitism that swirls around the picture.
Paul Dergarabedian, the president of Exhibitor Relations, a company that tracks box office sales, told Variety that the pre-release buzz of "The Passion of the Christ" rivals that of the first "Star Wars" prequel, one of the top-grossing movies of all time. The film will be released next week on Ash Wednesday, on 2,000 screens. Hundreds of theaters, including a number in the Washington area, have already sold out showings for the opening week.
Gibson has said he wanted to make the "most realistic" Jesus movie ever made. The R-rated subtitled film, which contains scenes of blood-drenched violence and physical suffering, has generated intense interest among religious audiences, especially evangelical Christians, who have been identified by Gibson as his core audience -- and by some Jewish leaders who fear that the portrayal of Jesus's scourging and crucifixion in such excruciatingly realistic detail will spark anti-Jewish feelings. The film is being marketed by specialty firms directing their messages to evangelical churches and to religious leaders, who see the film as an opportunity to affirm the beliefs of the faithful and to bring the message of Christ to nonbelievers. Dozens of Internet sites directed at Christians have been touting the film; the marketing companies are offering a look at the movie's trailer, ways to purchase tickets online and supplemental study guides. An ad plugging the movie appeared on the hood of a race car at NASCAR's Daytona 500 on Sunday.
Outreach Inc., a purveyor of Christian products, is working with Gibson's company to market the film and has distributed thousands of sets of promotional materials, including DVDs of film highlights, to churches nationwide, encouraging them to attend the film as a congregation.
"People who see the film will become more curious about who Jesus is and what he accomplished. We have a lot of books and videos that focus on the person and work of Christ," said Rob Phillips of LifeWay Christian Resources, one of the companies with tie-ins to the film.
Denny Harris, director of ministry operations at McLean Bible Church, one of the largest Christian evangelical congregations in the Washington area, said he thinks that viewers "will be deeply moved and left with questions about" Christ's crucifixion. "What we desire to do is to help people understand what the implications of the death of Christ are . . . and to understand what they can do in response to that."
Harris's church purchased 10,250 tickets in advance -- and more than half have already been resold to the congregation.
Joseph P. Vitale, a young District lawyer who is Catholic, bought out the largest screen at the AMC movie complex at Mazza Gallerie in Northwest Washington for the first night's screening because he and his friends thought seeing the movie "would be a great way to start off Lent." Vitale then sent invitations to friends, acquaintances and Catholic youth groups at local universities, offering them the opportunity to buy tickets in advance at his cost. Within hours of sending the e-mailed invitations, Vitale said he received more than 350 affirmative responses, and within days his e-mail in-basket held requests for a total of 800 tickets.
"For many people," Vitale said, "it can be more than just a moviegoing experience. It will also be a personal experience."
According to people who have seen the movie, Gibson (who funded and directed it and co-wrote its screenplay) has chosen to focus on the role of the high priests at the Jewish temple in Jerusalem in indicting Christ and calling for his execution. The Jewish leader Caiaphas is insistent that Jesus die, while the Roman governor Pontius Pilate is portrayed as a sympathetic character who only reluctantly gives in to the mob's bloodlust.
"I'm not sure there has been a film that has ignited such an exchange of inflammatory condemnations before people even see it," said the Rev. Christopher Leighton, a Presbyterian minister and executive director of the Baltimore-based Institute for Christian Jewish Studies.
Leighton criticized the media for pitting Christian evangelicals' fervor for the film against Jewish fears. "In that situation," said Leighton, "there is a lot of heat and not much illumination."
There are many Christians, he added, who also are "enormously anxious about the Gospel story being presented in a way that foments or incites anti-Jewish attitudes."
In an interview with ABC News's "Primetime" that aired last night, Gibson said of the film's violence: "I wanted it to be shocking. And I also wanted it to be extreme. I wanted it to push the viewer over the edge. And it does that. I think it pushes one over the edge . . . so that they see the enormity, the enormity of that sacrifice; to see that someone could endure that and still come back with love and forgiveness, even through extreme pain and suffering and ridicule."
In comments before clergy and test audiences, Gibson has said that his movie is based closely upon the four New Testament Gospel accounts of the crucifixion, as well as the visions and mystical testimonies of two nuns, Mary Agreda of Spain (1602-1665) and Anne Catherine Emmerich of France (1774-1824).
But Hollywood executives and religious leaders with knowledge of the project also say that Mel Gibson himself cannot be separated from the film. He is an Oscar-winning director whose characters often endure bloody trials of faith, such as his own portrayal of the Scottish rebel in "Braveheart" who is publicly disemboweled while lying upon a crosslike rack.
Gibson, 48, is a traditionalist Catholic, an ultraconservative in terms of his faith. Traditionalists reject the reforms of the Roman Catholic Vatican II council of the late 1960s, which lifted prohibitions on eating meat on Fridays and in an effort to make Mass more accessible, ordered that it be said in the lay languages of congregations rather than in Latin.
Gibson has defended "Passion" as an accurate portrayal of Christ's final hours and has condemned those who accuse him of anti-Semitism, telling the Global Catholic Network, a radio and television broadcasting service, that his film "collectively blames humanity for the death of Jesus. . . . Now, there are no exemptions here. All right? I'm the first on the line for culpability. I did it. Christ died for all men for all times."
But he has also conceded that the controversy surrounding the film has generated the kind of free publicity that can make a blockbuster. He has called it "inadvertent," but one Hollywood executive at a major studio, who asked for anonymity, described it as "a brilliant marketing campaign."
"The publicity, the controversy and the interest -- it's a movie phenomenon that hasn't been seen before," said Robert Fyvolent of Newmarket Films, which is handling the distribution.
Surveys by the market research firm Nielsen NRG suggest that the film could open in the $15 million to $30 million range -- which, as Gibson and others have said, is remarkable for a picture with no-name actors speaking two dead languages (Aramaic and Latin) with minimal subtitles.
Gibson has mostly shown the film to restricted, often handpicked audiences, who must sign releases pledging not to divulge details of the movie -- an astute marketing move, perhaps, but one that has aroused considerable suspicion and anxiety among some Jewish groups.
David Friedman, Washington regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, said, "The producers are not showing it to people who they think are not going to give laudatory comments."
An official at the New York-based Office for Film and Broadcasting, which reviews and classifies movies for U.S. Catholic bishops, said that it had not yet been allowed to see the film but was told it would be invited to a screening during the film's opening week.
Gibson, though, has shown the film to some Jewish leaders, to a gathering of Jesuit priests and to an unsuspecting audience of 250 self-professed film geeks attending movie-review maven Harry Knowles's film festival in Austin several months ago. Knowles, who runs a popular cinephile Web site called Ain't It Cool News, said his audience was anything but evangelical.
"It was a mainly agnostic, film-loving prime movie demographic. We had a phone repairman, an FBI agent and a paper shuffler from the IRS," Knowles said.
Gibson's film, Knowles said, "blew the audience away."
It is possible, Knowles said, "that if you are looking for anti-Semitism in the film, you might find it." But he also said he felt the film's message was "about a guy who takes more punishment than you've ever seen in your life, and how he doesn't cry out for revenge but prays for their forgiveness. We're not a Bible-thumping community. I'm as liberal as can be. And I think I understand the message better than they do -- the conservatives."
Sophie Hoffman, president of the Jewish Community Council of Greater Washington, who like Friedman has not seen the movie, said she is most worried about the film's influence in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, "where anti-Semitism has been rising at frightening and dramatic rates."
One of the most sensational moments in the version of the film that has been screened in previews is a line from the Gospel of Matthew, in which the mob calling for Jesus to be put upon the cross shouts out, "His blood be on us and on our children!" Often called the 'blood libel' quote, it has been interpreted in the past to call down rage and blame upon the Jews in the centuries-long tradition of Passion plays.
One of the movie's other publicists, Larry Ross, who has often represented the Rev. Billy Graham, said that Gibson was still fiddling with the final edit of the film. "You will have to wait until Mel releases his film to know what decisions he has made as a director," Ross said.
William Booth reported from Los Angeles.
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Link :
Mel Gibson's graphically violent film has become the most talked-about movie event in America
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Kamakshipalya Dhananjay
Expert Film Handler
Posts: 190
From: Bangalore, India
Registered: Aug 2002
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posted 02-19-2004 02:55 AM
Just reported by VARIETY that PASSION OF CHRIST will release with 4000 prints against the planned 2500 prints and the number of theatres to touch 2800 against the initially planned 2000 theatres. Now, this is really good news. Also on the net are several other press articles indicating that the advance ticket sales in several circuits for PASSION OF CHRIST is the highest ever in recent times.
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Quote :
'Passion' building among exhibitors
Churches given screenings in advance of bow'
By GABRIEL SNYDER
No one will have a problem finding a theater playing Mel GibsonMel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" next week.
Responding to increased demand from exhibitors, Icon and Newmarket said Wednesday that they now planned to distribute more than 4,000 prints of "Passion," up from the approximate 2,500 previously announced.
The increase reflects the expanding number of theaters that will play "Passion" and the number of theaters that will show the pic on multiple screens. Icon and Newmarket now say they plan to be in 2,800 theaters, up from an original 2,000.
"It's really picked up in the last couple of days," said Newmarket chief Bob Berney. "A lot of what we've been hearing (from theater chains) is that instead of two prints, we want four. They anticipate a much bigger opening, and they want to be able to handle it."
"Passion" now stands to be distribbed on the same scale as some of Hollywood's biggest titles.
By way of comparison, "Master & Commander" unspooled in November with 3,101 playdates. "The Last Samurai""The Last Samurai" opened with 2,908. "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," which holds the record for opening at the most theaters, bowed at 3,703.
May add theaters
Berney said "Passion" may still add theaters and prints before the pic officially bows this coming week -- on Ash Wednesday. "I anticipate going up even slightly more because of increased demand, particularly after the great interview with Diane Sawyer."
Gibson appeared on a one-hour ABC News special Monday that attracted 17 million viewers, drawing better ratings than CBSCBS' "60 Minutes" interview with Michael JacksonMichael Jackson in December.
"Passion" is produced by Gibson's shingleshingle, Icon, which partnered with Newmarket to handle domestic distribdistrib. Pic was produced for $25 million.
Film is riding a wave of religious controversy and spiritual fervor. Gibson has cultivated a following among evangelical Protestants and conservative Catholics who have embraced "Passion" as truthful accounting of their faith.
"Passion" also has stirred up political debate as some Jewish leaders fear that the account of the crucifixion portrays Jews as culpable and that the film could spur an upsurge in anti-Semitism.
The combination has produced massive interest in a film that -- telling a religious tale with Aramaic and Latin dialogue and extremely gory violence -- once looked like it would be a commercial flopflop.
A rival distrib execexec praised the "Passion" marketing. "They've done a great job of drawing a line. You're either for it and you want to see it or you're against it and you want to see it. They've even advanced the idea that you're a hypocrite if you're against it and you haven't seen it."
Bruce DaveyBruce Davey, Icon's chair, said exhibs are responding based on continued strong advance sales of "Passion" tixtix, estimated to have already reached $8 million for the first few days of the pic's release. With around $2 million already booked in group sales, he said, "If no one walks up to a theater, we're going to do great, but I think we're going to do spectacularly."
Group sales key
Berney said that this coming Monday, two days before "Passion's" official bowbow, about 800 theaters will begin offering paid shows for churches that have bought out entire auditoriums. These group-sale shows alone could generate around $2 million at the wickets.
"We have never experienced this level of interest in group sales," said Regal Entertainment Group marketing senior VP Dick Westerling. Regal, nation's largest chain, will play "Passion" in about 450 of its 550 theaters. Most of its dates are also doing group-sale shows before this coming Wednesday.
At AMC, Rick King, corporate communications senior VP, concurs with Berney's assessment. "It's continuing to grow. The sales have just been very strong, particularly over the last seven or eight days."
Though those group-sale shows will be added into the Wednesday gross, Davey said they weren't intended to solely be moneymakers.
"They're all churches that are itching to see this film. What better word of mouth can you have from your core audience?" Davey said. "They all want to get out and see the movie first, then go spread the word."
Nationwide demand
Berney said increased exhibexhib demand was nationwide and not just in the Bible Belt. "It's pretty even across the board. It's a very typical wide studio release," he said, "as opposed to some stories I've seen that said it wasn't. We're not worried about people not getting in."
Several theaters around the country are planning midnight showings on Tuesday night, including the ArcLight in Hollywood.
A Cinemark theater in Plano, Texas, plans to show "Passion" on all of its 20 screens. After a midnight show, it plans to keep the pic playing 24 hours a day. Several other Cinemark locations, including theaters in Long Beach, Calif., Rochester, N.Y., Colorado Springs, Colo., and Valley View, Ohio, are planning to follow suit.
Berney would not hazard a guess at "Passion's" opening weekend take. "I don't want to pin down a number," Berney said. "It could really be through the roof. When you try to peg a specific number, it's really risky because if it's one dollar less, somehow it's a disappointment."
Distrib execs at other companies estimate an opening week take of $20 million to $30 million. Pic is aimed at older adults who sometimes wait to see pics after opening weekend, but rival execs marveled at how Icon and Newmarket had encouraged "Passion's" core audience of churchgoers to rush in next week.
'It's a cause'
"They've convinced them that they've got to see it and they've got to see it right away. It's not a movie, it's a cause," one said.
"Passion" has shunned standard movie marketing techniques, instead building a core audience by creating a network of churches that are seeking to use the film to attract new members.
Icon and Newmarket, however, have launched their broader advertising campaign. TV spots began running on cable the middle of last week. On Monday, network ads began airing. Time has also been bought on Hispanic nets.
Print campaign launches on Sunday with ads in the New York Times, L.A. Times and other majormajor metropolitan dailies.
"It's an aggressive campaign combined with a pretty much overwhelming grassroots and faith-based marketing campaign," Berney said. "We've tried to smartly combine the two."
Date in print: Thurs., Feb. 19, 2004, Los Angeles
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Link :
'Passion' building among exhibitors
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Will Kutler
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1506
From: Tucson, AZ, USA
Registered: Feb 2001
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posted 02-20-2004 06:36 PM
At one time, I did enjoy Mel Gibson, but no more! No, I will not watch this film.
I am convinced that Mel Gibson is in fact an anti-Semite.
There was a recent news article in which Gibson stated that those non-believers...er...non-Roman Catholics... are all condemned to hell, regardless of how one conducts his/her life. He included his spouse among the condemned.
Associated Press...New York...Friday 20 Feb. 2004:
"Gibson's Dad Again Belittles Holocaust"
"Days before the release of Mel Gibson's film about the death of Jesus, which some critics say could fuel anti-Semitism, his father has repeated his belief that the Holocaust was mostly fiction."
"Steve Feuerstein, host of SPEAK YOUR PEACE!, said he interviewed Hutton Gibson for a segment of his show to be broadcast Monday by the small TALKLINE COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK."
"According to a transcript released by the network, Hutton said, "It's all--maybe not all fiction--but most of it is," when asked about his views on the Holocaust."
"He added, "They claimed that there were 6.2 million (Jews) in Poland before the war, and after the war there were 200,000, therefore he (Adolf Hitler) must have killed 6 million of them. They simply got up and left. They were all over the Bronx and Brooklyn and Sydney and Los Angeles."
"The interview comes at a sensitive time for Mel, whose PASSION OF THE CHRIST, opens Wednesday."
"Some Jewish leaders say the movie could fuel anti-Semitism for its portrayal of Jews' role in the Crucifixion, while conserative Christians have praised it as a moving depiction of Jesus' death."
"Mel has said repeatedly that he is not anti-Semitic and that the project was a deeply personal expression of his own faith."
"Hutton could not be reached for comment. Alan Nierob, a spokesman for Mel, declined to comment on the interview."
"Hutton follows a tiny wing of traditionalist Catholicism that views the modernizing refourms of the Second Vatican Council as a conspiracy between Jews and Masons to take over the church."
"Asked in media interviews whether he shares his father's views, Mel has said that he loves his father and will not speak against him."
Throughout my life, I have personally been subject to acts of anti-Semitism perped by cults...such as "Jews For Jesus" and the like. They try to demonstrate that non-believers are all condemned to hell, and use the "fact" that their "rabbi" was formally a well regarded "rabbi" of an Ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect who has since converted to Christianity.
Gibson has tried a similar tact, by casting the Romanian Jewish actress, Maia Morgenstern, in the role of Mary. Gibson then attempts to use this casting ploy as a means of disproving his anti-Semitism and defending his "film". SHAME ON YOU, MEL!!! ![[fu]](graemlins/fu.gif)
Please refer to "PLAYING JESUS AN ACT OF FAITH--AND PAIN" by David Germain Associated Press, Friday Feb. 20, 2004.
Sorry Moderators about not applying a link to this article, maybe one of you can correctly do this?
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