June 11, 2006
That's Odd
- The Rev. Alex Kendrick, who directed and stars in "Facing the Giants," said it was produced for only $100,000 by using members of his Georgia church for both cast and crew.
Kendrick said when he sought permission to use a song by the Christian band "Third Day," their record label's parent company, Sony Pictures, asked to see the film and agreed to release it in 400 theaters in late September.
But after the Motion Picture Association of America rated the film, Kendrick said he was told that it got the 'Parental Guidance' rating for being so openly religious. Kendrick said he's never heard of that criteria before and suggests it shows how much times have changed.
The Passion was rated R for it's violence (the scourging scenes were especially graphic). I can't recall any other openly religious movies lately. Perhaps VP Al Gore's An Inconvienent Truth.
Resident movie critic JK, any ideas?
On the web Posted by AlexC at June 11, 2006 10:14 PM
Narnia, though I suppose there is one level of indirection.
As long as the movie ratings are voluntary and somewhat useful, I don't see too much room for abuse. I cannot imagine anybody will not see "Facing the Giants" because of a PG rating.
Jay Nordlinger at National Review points out that he went to a high school play. It featured course language, debauchery, &c. Yet the theater and program explicitly warned attendees that the play featured "herbal cigarettes and gunfire."
This culture has changed. Someday we might try to catalog whether it has been for the better or worse.
Posted by: jk at June 12, 2006 9:38 AM | What do you think? [1]