CHICAGO (Reuters) - Arch Bonnema was so moved by Mel Gibson's controversial film "The Passion of The Christ," he bought $42,000 (22,000 pounds) worth of tickets so more people could see it.
"It had a profound impact on my life," said Bonnema, a Southern Baptist who runs a financial services firm near Dallas and saw a preview of the film. He gave away 6,000 "Passion" tickets for opening day on Ash Wednesday, February 25.
"The way the movie industry works is, the more people see a film at the beginning, the longer the film stays around."
A potent mix of religion and money looks set to make "Passion" a box-office smash, despite concerns the film could foment anti-Semitism. Gibson, who spent $25 million of his own fortune to make the film, is relying on evangelical churches to market it, and the strategy appears to be working wonders.
Except for Gibson's star power, the movie is hardly a typical Hollywood blockbuster -- it's a low-budget film with no well-known actors and the dialogue is in Latin and Aramaic.
The film will open on some 2,000 screens -- similar to what a major studio release would receive and almost unheard of for what is, in effect, an independent film.
Instead of the usual barrage of billboards and television advertisements, Gibson invited thousands of religious leaders to watch screenings and spread the word about his film, which looks at the final 12 hours in the life of Jesus Christ.
Critics contend the movie unfairly blames Jews for Jesus's death. Gibson, who belongs to an ultra-conservative sect of the Catholic church, has said he was surprised by the outcry.
BIGGER THAN 'HARRY POTTER'?
Full Story @ Reuters
Muddy's Notes : Well I can't believe my Jewish brothers are getting upset that Mel want's to tell it like it is. Shame on them. I suppose we've been mistaken all these thousands of years, it was the Druidish Priests not the Jewish that brought Jesus to be killed. They sound so close it's easy to see how we could mix that up. :-P
Posted by Muddy at February 13, 2004 06:21 PM | TrackBackIt's funny that they are upset that we say they did something that frankly, we're not all that unhappy that they did. Does that make sense?
Posted by: skywalker at February 13, 2004 08:04 PM*mrs. muddy roles her eyes back and forth in deep concentration while tapping her finger on her chin*
Hmmmmmmm...No, it doesn't make sense.
Of course, before Mel Gibson even *breathed* a word about this movie, I had no idea that some Jews DIDN'T know the role their ancestors played in history.
Maybe if Mr. Gibson would have realized their ignorance of this historical moment, perhapes he would have found a way to break the truth to them in a more gentle fashion? Could that have made the difference? Alas, the world will never know.
Oh, well, see you all at the movies :-)
Posted by: mrs. muddy at February 13, 2004 09:53 PM