The J-Tube Surgery

It happened, February 7. Jenn now has an artificial appendage for feeding. Jenn's posted pretty thoroughly about it on her personal blog. Check that out here and here.

So far, things are progressing pretty well. Keep checking here and at Jenn's blog for current reports.

Da Vinci Code Coverage Goes Live

The Hollywood Jesus coverage of the movie version of Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code went live on February 8. HJ is a partner in the "Da Vinci Dialogue," a website sponsored by Sony Pictures, the producers of the film. The purpose of the website is not to promote the film, per se, but to provide a gathering place and resource center for those who are concerned about the potentially inflammatory nature of the novel and movie.

Hollywood Jesus is hosting discussion forums for the movies (with Greg acting as one of the moderators) as well as a news blog covering the upcoming movie, directed by Ron Howard and starring Tom Hanks, among others.

In addition, Jenn and Greg are collaborating with Mike Gunn on a study guide called The Da Vinci Code Adventure: On the Trail of Fact, Legend, Faith and Film. The book will be out in May, prior to the film's release.

Please consider us a resource for any questions you have about this very controversial film project.

Recent Appearances and Press

The third weekend in January found us at the One Ring Convention in Pasadena. This was our second week there, and we did fantastic sales in the dealers' room, which we again shared with the likes of Peter Beagle, Colleen Doran and Tim Kirk. What a hoot! Greg delivered a lecture about Tolkien's and Lewis' ideas about film, moderated one panel (at right, with Mike Foster, Katrelya Angus, Alison Baird, Lynette Porter and Peter Beagle), and participated on two other panel discussions.

The next week, Jenn found herself in Beverly Hills for her first film junket, interviewing the cast of Terence Malick's The New World. More recently, Greg participated in panel discussions for two nights of University Presbyterian Church's annual Film Fest (movies discussed were To Kill a Mockingbird and The Sixth Sense).

Greg's recent interview with Jim Hanon, the director of End of the Spear, was picked up for reprint in the latest issue of Good News Magazine (the issue with Terry Bradshaw on the cover). Coincidentally, Greg expects to be interviewing Bradshaw next week (he appears in the upcoming movie Failure to Launch).

March 15th, Greg begins teaching his next EXCEL class at PSCC, "Film and Culture."

March 24th and 25th, we will be at the Northwest Christian Education Conference at Overlake Christian Church in Redmond. Greg will be speaking on drama in the church, and we will both be participating in a panel discussion of spiritual trends in Hollywood entertainment.

April 3, Greg will address the Northwest Christian Writers Association.

Reviews for January and February

Greg's Review of Curious George: "The MPAA ought to come up with a rating that’s even “safer” than G—something the cinematic equivalent of Gerber’s 1st Foods. If they did, Curious George would be a good candidate for the first film to be so classified. This movie is so intensely toddler-friendly, I was surprised that it was being offered as a theatrical release rather than as a TV special or a straight-to-DVD flick like Disney’s Bambi 2, also out this week." (Feb. 10)

Greg's interview with the director of Curious George: "The project was first brought to Imagine Entertainment, where, according to O'Callaghan, it received the personal attention and support of Ron Howard. Universal Studios then came on board, and O'Callaghan was a natural choice to helm the film. “The books were illustrated,” he says; it was logical, then, to also see that “the movie should be illustrated. I give a lot of credit to Universal and Ron Howard for saying ‘Let’s make this a movie, let’s stay true to the source material. We don’t have to sprinkle the movie with off-color gags or bodily functions to try to get an older audience.’” (Feb. 10)

Jenn's Review of Nanny McPhee: "Nanny McPhee is a fun, delightful movie, taking a 21st century twist on the Practically Perfect Mary Poppins of the olden days. But look out Nip/Tuck. Move over Extreme Makeover. When children learn to respect themselves and others, it affects the beauty of the entire world around them, without ever reaching for a scalpel or laser to remove the ugliness. And that is the beauty of Nanny McPhee." (Jan. 27)

Jenn's Review of The New World: "We're not privy to the rationale behind John Smith's choice to fabricate his death, nor are we certain why Pocahontas betrays the plans of her tribe's attack on the colonists. In superb parallel with real life, we are only able to speculate on why the characters choose as they do. One of Malick's great strengths is his ability to portray characters and their actions completely neutrally—there are no white hats or black hats, only people making difficult choices." (Jan. 19)

Jenn's Interview with the Cast of The New World: "Wes Studi (Opechancanough) was probably the most surprised by what was not included in the final cut. Openly preferring 'the nastier side of human nature,' Studi felt that the battle scenes showed far less of the violence inherent in those initial confrontations between the two worlds, also noting that while much of that fury and brutality was choreographed and filmed, very little found its way into the movie itself. Perhaps his final comment conveys best what many of those involved in the project feel: he’s 'looking forward to the DVD release' in order to see more footage—and 'a lot more Terrence.'" (Jan. 19)